The subject of religion is often a sensitive one, even (or maybe especially?) among humanists. While most of our members identify themselves as atheist, agnostic, or at least “unaffiliated” with any religion, either having never held any kind of religious beliefs, or having left one or more religious traditions behind, for some humanists, some form of a religious tradition continues to be an important part of their identity. And there are many people who are members of all kinds of religious traditions whose values largely align with ours. On the other hand, many religious traditions encourage or even demand attitudes and behaviors that are harmful to both their adherents and the non-believers around them, and are thus antithetical to humanist values. Since humanism has no dogmas, creeds, or articles of faith, and makes no claim to any kind of capital-T Truth, we seek to be open and accepting of every person whatever their personal beliefs, and at the same time to resist any effort to impose any religiously motivated rule or restriction on anyone. 

I am sure this will be an ongoing subject for us. I hope that all of you feel accepted here, regardless of your personal beliefs, and that you are not afraid to share your ideas when the opportunities arise. And I’ll encourage all of us, when reflecting on what we believe, to remember to consider: “I might be wrong.”

You can find the Leaving Religion discussion on our YouTube channel here https://www.youtube.com/@humanistsNM

Pete Dickinson (pete@HumanistsNM.org)