Beyond 'New Atheism'By GARY GUTTING, professor of philosophy, University of Notre Dame
September 14, 2011
http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/09/14/atheism-scientific-versus-humanist...Kitcher critically examines the spiritual experiences underlying religious belief, particularly noting that they depend on specific and contingent social and cultural conditions. Your religious beliefs typically depend on the community in which you were raised or live. The spiritual experiences of people in ancient Greece, medieval Japan or 21st-century Saudi Arabia do not lead to belief in Christianity. It seems, therefore, that
religious belief very likely tracks not truth but social conditioning. ...
Even more important, Kitcher takes seriously the question of whether
atheism can replace the sense of meaning and purpose that believers find in religion. ...Kitcher agrees that mere liberation from theism is not enough. Atheists, he maintains, need to undertake the positive project of showing how their worldview can take over what he calls the ethical "functions" of theism.
...Kitcher has a two-part answer. First, he offers a refined extension of Plato's famous dilemma argument in "Euthyphro" to show that contrary to widespread opinion,
theism is not in fact capable of grounding the ethical values that make life worthwhile. Second, to show that secularism is capable of grounding these values, he offers a sophisticated account of how
ethics could have evolved as a "social technology" — a set of optimally designed practices and norms — to satisfy basic human desires.
...secular humanists would still face the much greater practical task of embedding their convictions in secular versions of the religious institutions, rituals and customs that even today remain vital fixtures in our social world.
Alex's comment: "...secular humanists...practical task of embedding their convictions in secular versions of the religious institutions, rituals and customs..." The answer is Unitarian Universalism. Humanism plus "institutions, rituals, and customs" equals Religious Humanism. And Unitarian Universalism is more or less an inclusive religious community consisting of mostly Religious Humanists.
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