In February the Reverend Phil Edwards talked to the Stockport Group about "A Rational Christianity?" beginning by saying that it is important to understand one another.
He is confident of evolution and that creationism is ill conceived. Plenty of biologists hold religious beliefs and have no difficulty reconciling science and belief in God. He himself has a background in Physics and has joined a Science and Religious forum which holds annual conferences. He had a gap year in which he studied the relationship of science and theology.
His talk was in three sections: what religious belief is about; what science is and rationality; and conflicts between religion and science.
Many Christian sects focus on Jesus and the New Testament. The theologian Mark Higton of Durham University says religion is about making sense of things. Theology has developed over centuries and he sees this as a strength. Unquestioning faith leads to fanaticism. Christians get their theology from scripture, tradition and reason. Later theology takes culture into account. The Bible is a difficult book and can be dangerous. It can be read as a fundamentalist view of the world on the one hand or a great work of literature on the other. There is a middle view that, by a coming together of divine view and that of writers, it is possible to tease out what God is saying.
Biblical criticism provides important insights into Jesus Christ. The truth does not depend on the accuracy of the stories but on the validity (whatever that means). There is lots of symbolism in the Bible. E.g. In St John’s gospel water is turned into wine, in the old testament there is the Tower of Babel. There are numerous other examples.
Science explains things but there are many forms of rationality and different kinds of knowledge. People like Richard Dawkins reject supernaturalism. Descartes made a distinction between mind and body but that brought another set of problems. You can apprehend God in all things and there is Imminence in all aspects of creation. People have huge difficulties with miracles. David Hume defined them as a violation of the laws of Nature which needs to have law-like regularity.
Some things like the weather can be unpredictable and at the subatomic level we have the Heisenberg uncertainty principle. Can god tweak the world at that level? If he needed to tweak the system he wasn’t a very good Creator. God’s purposes are redeemed through the processes that science discovers such as evolution, therefore there is no dualism.
Perhaps God acts as an information exchange – an influence in terms of complex systems. He rejects interventions such as answering prayers. The Natural world is created by God with potential for evolving - bringing about the natural processes of the universe. Even though someone prays for healing they usually still go to the doctor.
During the Q and A session which followed the Rev Phil Edwards admitted to being somewhat agnostic and to sharing many humanist ideas.
At the Stockport May meeting John Coss considered the topic Is Humanism a Religion? Much of the answer depends on the definition of Religion, which is a toxic word in Humanist circles. John considered two definitions which he called Religion 1 and Religion 2. Religion 1 is the strict dictionary definition which includes supernaturalism; Religion 2 is a more modern definition which permits, but does not require, dogma or supernaturalism. John hopes that religions will increasingly drop these features but until they do it is best not to refer to Humanism as a religion. But it is still worth regarding Humanism as a religion in the Religion 2 sense.
So Humanism can be a religion or an alternative to religion. Less controversially it is: a belief system, a world view, a life stance, a philosophy of life, a moral perspective, an ethical system, a spiritual path, an approach to life and a meaning frame.
The Amsterdam Declaration is a statement of the fundamental principles of modern Humanism and is the outcome of a long tradition of free thought. Humanism is ethical, rational, supports democracy and believes in personal liberty and human rights, values artistic creativity and imagination, and aims at the maximum possible fulfilment through the cultivation of ethical and creative living. It provides an alternative to dogmatic religion.
Humanists live as if there is no god or other supernatural agency intervening in the world or taking an interest in world affairs.
John dealt with a range of views on Humanism and Religion of various non-religious thinkers including our own David Seddon, Alain de Botton, Noel Cheer, Julian Huxley, Albert Einstein and Ronald Dworkin.
So what kind of thing is religion? And what is it about/for? Its beliefs are about matters of ultimate importance, community/fellowship, ethics, making sense of the universe, rituals and ceremonies, spirituality, the meaning of life and how are we to live?
According to the anthropologist, David Eller, Its functions fill individual needs, provide explanation for origins and causes, exercise social control, provide solutions for immediate problems and fulfil the needs of society. According to Jared Diamond it provides explanation, diffuses anxiety, provides comfort and hope and meaning in life, justifies obedience to the state, getting along with strangers and hatred of believers in other religions.
There are some humanly essential pursuits that religions engage in such as supporting people through difficult times (chaplaincy, spirituality or emotional fulfilment, morality without authority, a forum for philosophical discussion and debate, and community fellowship that need to be addressed by anything purporting to replace it.
It is difficult to get a consensus of a definition of religion. There are various dictionary and encyclopaedia definitions and many thinkers have provided their own definitions. E.g. Thomas Paine: “independence is my happiness . . . and my religion is to do good.” David Sloan Williams: “a religion is a unified system of beliefs and practices that unites members into one single moral community”. Examples from various websites include: “an explanation of the meaning of life and how to live accordingly” and “Our human response to being alive and having to die”.
From these and other definitions John concludes that Humanism is a religion according to some reasonable modern ideas of what religion is (Religion 2) He went on to discuss the implications of this conclusion for Humanism and the challenges ahead.
In November Jeremy Rodell spoke to us in Stockport on the topic - The Big Change in Religion and Belief: How Might a Humanist Respond? Jeremy took the inspiration for his talk from the book - A New Settlement: Religion and Belief in Schools by Charles Clarke and Linda Woodhead.
We are undergoing some of the most significant shifts in religious belief and practice since the Reformation as traditional religious authority, doctrine and practice have given way to a much wider and more diverse range of religious and non-religious commitments.
Nationalities whose populations think religion is most important range from Ethiopia (98%) to China (3%). The UK is low down with 21% who think religion is very important in their lives. It is projected that over the next 45 years Islam will grow faster than any other religion to rival Christianity in numbers. In the same period it is expected that the religiously unaffiliated will decline as a share of the global population.
Belief is only one dimension along with Belonging and Behaviour. For Example of British people “Uncertain or with no belief in God” there are 40% of Jews, 35% of Anglicans, 18% Catholics, and 8% of Muslims. Amongst British Catholics 14% of under 40s support a ban on abortion more than 50% of under 50s say same-sex marriage is right, and 58% support a change in the law to permit assisted dying for the terminally ill.
The number of British people identifying as non-religious depends on how the Question is asked. When the 2011 Census asked ‘What is your religion?’ 59% said Christian and 25% said no religion. When the British Social Attitudes (BSA) survey asked ‘Do you regard yourself as belonging to a particular religion?’ 6.5% said Christian and 46.2% said no religion. Over the period 2012-14 these changed to 44% Christian and 50% No Religion. According to Local Census Data Stockport is close to the average for the UK.
According to the BSA survey the trend for the non-religious is going up, with a big decline in C of E but an increase in non-denominational Christians and Muslims. Romans Catholics stay the same as immigration from Catholic countries offsets the decline in indigenous believers. Younger people tend to be less religious; more than 60% of 15-24 year olds professed no religion in 2015 compared with 24% of 75 and over.
The non-religious are not all atheists. About 64% do not believe in a god, 18% think there must be something, 14% do not know and 4% believe there is a god. Around half with no religion have a broadly Humanist worldview.
The future looks as if there will be Cultural super diversity with substantial religious minority and a non-religious majority. The religious minority will have diverse religious identities, diverse views within each identity and a higher average commitment and seriousness. The non-religious will have diverse beliefs and practices (including don’t care); around half will have a broadly humanistic worldview, many will be from faith backgrounds, and the situation will be evolving.
Challenges ahead include: polarisation and lack of social cohesion; uninformed generalisations about “the other”; faith-based and race based prejudice; declining institutions defending privileges; and conflicting values.
Humanists UK says “We want a world where everyone lives cooperatively on the basis of shared human values, respect for human rights, and concern for future generations. Of importance are: Secularism; Education; Dialogue and Participation
Secularism means the separation of religious institutions from the institutions of state; freedom of thought, conscience and religion for all; and no state discrimination against anyone on grounds of their religion or non-religious worldview. It does not mean Atheism or Humanism; denying the role of Christianity in our history and culture; or denying the right of religious individuals to express their views (providing no special weight is given simply because they are faith-based).
In Education there needs to be high quality education about religious and non-religious beliefs and ethics. This can be achieved with a positive contribution to curriculum development and by providing Humanist speakers for schools. We need to end faith-based admissions to state-funded schools, compulsory collective worship, and state funding for faith schools. Children need a broad preparation for life in a plural society. This means: sex and relationships education; curiosity, thinking skills and creativity; and values & citizenship. We need institutions where the core values are defended.
In Dialogue and Participation we first have to view others primarily as fellow humans; religion and belief are only one dimension of personal identity. Dialogue is preferred to Debate. We need to beware assumptions and generalisations, but recognise areas of disagreement and also common ground. There are some limits to Dialogue. There should be no tolerance of bigotry and no succour for terrorism. Humanist engagement in dialogue has two objectives: Making a positive humanist contribution to building a peaceful plural secular society, and improving others’ understanding of Humanism. Three broad types of dialogue are: Interfaith Dialogue and participative action via established organisations; public events; and private bilateral dialogue series and actions.
On 11 January Guy Otten, GMH Secretary, looked at the evolutionary origins of religion. He mapped the evolution of early man from 6 million years ago to the present day, highlighting the factors that led to the growth of religion. He correlated changes in the brain of our ancestors with the development of the conditions that led to the growth of religion. The elements of intelligence mapped were 1. general intelligence which includes learning by trial and error and associative learning, 2. social intelligence which involves the ability to infer the mental states of others, 3. technical skills relating for example to the use of tools, 4. awareness of the natural world and 5. language skills. Evolutionary psychologists believe that modern chimps are likely to resemble our ancestors from 6 million years ago.
At that time they would have had some intelligence, such as minimal technical skills, for example using sticks to reach into bee hives for honey, and some awareness of the natural world, but the various kinds of intelligence were separate. They would have lived in groups and would not have had any language skills as we know them. Guy talked through the changes to the brain at different periods: 4 million years ago with the appearance of the first early hominines, 1.8 million years ago and the emergence of Homo Erectus, 500 thousand years ago when Homo Sapiens and Neanderthals appeared. The brain grew in size, there were advances in technical skills, tools were becoming more advanced, and social and communication skills were developing. Our ancestors gradually moved out of Africa and by the Stone Age reached remote places such as Southern England. By 100 thousand years ago the areas of intelligence in Homo Sapiens started to overlap, with the barriers between different parts of the brain weakening. At that time Homo Sapiens could for instance think about the social world using technical ideas or the natural world using social ideas. This accompanied the development of language, a higher level of consciousness, and a growth of imagination, all caused by cross-fertilization of the formerly separated intelligence domains. At this time there is evidence of art in the form of beads, necklaces, figurines and burials with grave goods.
Guy talked about the role that the quick reactions of animals play in ensuring sensory responses to threats and their survival generally. When language abilities are developed, words can describe dangers. In addition, language can also facilitate the sharing of knowledge of technical skills about hunting and tool making. With the development of language came story telling, which played an important role in these societies. Pre-scientific humans, grappling with phenomena that they did not understand, developed stories about hunting, battles with large animals, changes in the environment, weather phenomena, shortage of food, illness and death, and warfare. Stories about exaggerated mythical ancestors and mysterious forces that caused events, agents of harm and agents who could save, were also common. These advances in human thinking set the conditions for the growth of religion. Religion in this sense is a belief in non-physical beings. Variants of belief systems involved individuals who claimed to be able to communicate with the spirit world. Evidence of this type of religion appears at the dawn of recorded history with burials in Egypt from 3100 BCE of the Pharaohs with everything they needed to live in the afterlife. The burial of the Chinese Emperor Qin Shi Huang in c 210-09 BCE with his Terracotta warriors to defend him in the afterlife provides a further example. There were also rituals in the ancient world designed to propitiate the gods. These form the origins of church services today, which generally include prayers to the deity. Shamanic types of religious thinking had their own cosmologies to answer questions about the earth’s origins. Guy questioned whether their ideas are any different qualitatively from those of the Abrahamic faiths.
This array of religious thinking developed in many parts of the world into the polytheisms of ancient history and still prevails in parts of the world today. From polytheism came monotheism, as was the case with Judaism and Islam, with belief in one god being just the latest development of magical thinking about the spirit world. There is an association with primitive people and religion and the cargo cult in Melanesia is a case in point. In Vanuatu there is a cult that believes that Prince Philip is a god. Guy pointed out that all religious thinking and beliefs in gods emanates from the same beginnings and are completely unfounded evidence wise. He argues that when one puts the evolution of religion into perspective one can see a history of some 60 thousand years with religious thinking persisting and different religions coming and going. Guy concluded that there was little reason to think that the current dominant religions would last indefinitely but we should be mindful that at this point we only have a few hundred years of scientific thinking to aid this turnaround.
On 12 October Imtiaz Shams, the founder of Faith to Faithless
(FTF), provided Greater Manchester Humanists with an outline of the organisation's work. FTF was set up in 2015 and continued the work that Imtiaz had being doing to support ex-Muslims since 2012. FTF provides services to people who leave, or are thinking of leaving their faith group. As an organisation, FTF is in its infancy and because it has such a small budget, its activities are limited.
He grew up in Saudi Arabia in a practising Muslim family but now lives in England and considers himself to be a Humanist. Despite this, he described in fond terms his continued engagement and involvement with his family and with the Muslim community. This approach underpins FTF’s work because Imtiaz is of the view that after a potential initial estrangement very few families disassociate with the apostate. He considers it important to maintain existing family and community relationships.
Imtiaz has supported people who have left their religion and talked about some of the problems that they encounter; some people face physical abuse, many face financial difficulties, and people often feel isolated. FTF offers a counselling and support network to these people. FTF also engages with faith leaders to encourage understanding of people who leave their faiths. Imtiaz thinks that faith leaders generally ignore the issue because they do not know how to deal with it.
He hopes that FTF will secure funding to expand its research capability to establish the extent of apostasy, to expand its counselling service, to build links with schools and organisations such as the Ex-Muslim Forum and the Samaritans, and to enter into dialogue with faith groups to discuss apostasy
A question and answer session followed Imtiaz’s talk. There was a discussion around the dislike of the term apostasy mainly because this is a religious term. Other terms to explain this were suggested; ex-religious, post-religious, enlightened and free-thinking. There was a general consensus that Humanists can assist FTF in its growth phase by advising its members, and the schools that it works with, about FTF’s work. At the end of the meeting a general collection raised £200 for FTF.
In January Professor James Crossley gave a talk on Religion and the Bible in Contemporary Politics.
The 1960s were crucial to the understanding of religion in politics – British politics that is. It is then that Britain started to see a serious decline in church attendance which has carried through to the present day. But this decline was not accompanied by an equal decline in religious affiliation as nostalgia for a religious past persisted. At this time there were 4 distinct understandings of the bible:
1. The cultural bible – seen as something of a work of literature, part of the British heritage.
2. The liberal bible – seen as a source of democracy, tolerance and the rule of law.
3. The radical bible – seen as a source of socialism in the radical tradition (Tony Benn wrote a lot about the bible in this context at this time).
4. The neoliberal bible – used to highlight all that is good for right thinking people (examples given of some American bible in this vein were: The team bible for girls, The team bible for boys, The team bible for soldiers, etc.).
Margaret Thatcher was a conservative revolutionary who rediscovers her Methodism. She starts talking about ‘freedom’ and ‘individuality’ with reference to biblical texts and their applicability to the country in terms of entrepreneurialism, a minimal state, free will and such like. She sees the good in Judaism and how it supports the entrepreneur, how Jews support each other and the fact they are not reliant on the welfare state. Later on in her career though, she saw it as a failing that her policies had not made people more charitable, i.e. in the sense of giving, as opposed to judging others leniently.
Tony Blair inherits Thatcher’s template of individualism and non-reliance on the welfare state. Many of Blair’s speeches had subtle references to biblical learning that went unnoticed by Blair’s PR guru Alistair Campbell. Blair was unable to see religion as a bad thing: there were good Muslims and bad Muslims but only good religion. His speech at one Labour Party Conference had many allusions to the bible. The press didn’t pick up on them but it’s expected that many of his supporters would have done. Blair believed the origins of Islam show a picture of a good religion with democratic values.
David Cameron talks about the bible as though it’s everything we like; Michael Gove also. In 2012 the government sends a bible to every school in Britain probably knowing people wouldn’t read it, but liking the image it creates.
The main exponents of the Radical Bible were outside mainstream politics, people like Peter Tatchell, the Occupy movement, Russell Brand and through his influence, Ed Miliband (to a lesser extent).
Corbyn doesn’t reveal himself as a true Christian, but he did reference the good Samaritan in his leadership speech where he talked about ‘not walking by’. This reference is well worn by other politicians including Cameron, who also believes that ‘true Islam’ is peaceful, tolerant and non-violent.
American politics is different, there are over 200 million Christians, so religion is very important and affiliation to it is openly demonstrated. In English politics though there does seem to be a need for politicians to defer to a higher authority, however subtly, for the state to function.
