Humanism Versus Mystrikism
2. Key Humanist Documents
2.4 Naturalised 'Spirituality'
The final area to which McDonald [2024] devotes his attention is 'Naturalised "Spirituality"'. Here, he objects that: 'A naturalised form of "spirituality" akin to Mystrikism is generally absent or underdeveloped in these humanist documents.' The use of the term 'spirituality' is hotly contested in humanist circles because of it supernatural and religious connotations. My own view is that this is one of the words humanists need to reclaim from the religious. However, I'm not going to get hung up on a word when what is at stake here is the meaning and connection we bring to our fellow human beings, our deep reflection on our own lives and our awe of the natural universe. And it is because humanism is deeply concerned with these aspects of our lives that I am a humanist.
Contrarily, McDonald begins by taking issue with the Humanist Manifesto III [American Humanist Association 2003] because it only 'briefly touches on awe and wonder'. He has a problem with the Manifesto's statement that humanists find 'wonder and awe in the joys and beauties of human existence, its challenges and tragedies' because it only 'suggests a fleeting engagement with transcendent experiences, but it is not a core or defining element of the manifesto'. Why this expresses only a 'fleeting engagement' with what is beyond our own lives is not explained.
I think a more charitable reading of the Manifesto shows otherwise. The introductory sentence of the Manifesto affirms our ability to 'aspire to the greater good of humanity'. The very sentence from which McDonald quotes begins with 'We aim for our fullest possible development and animate our lives with a deep sense of purpose'. How McDonald sees this finding of meaning and beauty outside of our individual existences as 'not a core or defining element of the manifesto' is beyond me.
Now, McDonald may object that that is all well and good, but the Manifesto still neglects 'transcendent experiences'. However, McDonald's Mystrikism and humanism share the view that there is no metaphysical realm beyond the experiences of sentient beings. Just what these 'transcendent experiences' are experiences of other than experiences of the natural world is left for McDonald to explain if his critique of humanism is going to bite. For humanist discussions on 'awe and wonder in life', I suggest sourcing the many humanist articles and book chapters written on this very subject.
McDonald also takes aim at the supposed deficiencies of A Secular Humanist Declaration [Council for Democratic and Secular Humanism 1980]. He complains that it contains 'no significant discussion of "spirituality" beyond rejecting supernaturalism'. Again, expecting to find such a deep treatment of this aspect of humanism in a brief document intended to reinforce democratic pluralism and tolerance in an age of religious dogmatism is misguided. McDonald highlights how the document endorsers 'recognize the importance of religious experience' while they deny that such experiences 'have anything to do with the supernatural'. From this, McDonald concludes: 'This leaves little room for a naturalised form of spirituality that celebrates awe and wonder without invoking the supernatural, as seen in Mystrikism.' But how does McDonald get to that conclusion? Besides being a non-sequitur, his conclusion is divorced from humanist history and literature.
As humanists excited about scientific enquiry, our natural response is awe and wonder of the universe and of all life in it. Many notable cosmologists, astrophysicists, neuroscientists, philosophers, biologists, and so on, are humanists who spend their entire careers marvelling at the immense vastness and complexity of the universe and of life. For example, humanist biologist Richard Dawkins [2004] speaks of things and occasions that make him 'feel in awe' and that invoke in him 'a profound senses of the sacred'. Humanist philosopher Simon Blackburn [2004] recounts his feeling of 'awe and reverence' and his 'sense of the sacred'. In the same vein, we can also count here Daniel Dennett, Massimo Pigliucci, Jim Al-Khalili, A. C. Grayling, Sean Carroll, James Watson, David Attenborough, and many others.
A good book to read here is Chris Johnson's [2013] A Better Life: 100 Atheists Speak Out on Joy & Meaning in a World without God that tells the personal stories of many humanists who revel in wonder and awe. Here is but a very small sample of other humanist musings on natural wonders. In their educational pamphlet, Wonder: A Humanist Perspective, Humanists UK [2021b] discusses awe, wonder and spirituality. The American Humanist Association [TheHumanist.com Staff 2024] magazine shares thoughts from some prominent humanists on Finding Awe and Wonder in the One World We Have. In another article in the same magazine, titled Finding Awe in the Complexity of the Universe, humanist and physicist Alan England [2022] writes of how he is 'awed with the size and complexity of the universe and all of its laws' and how the 'known physical laws are a constant source of marvel'. Moving closer to home, in her article on What Gives Life Meaning?, fellow humanist Rosslyn Ives [2017] writes of how 'awe-inspiring' it is to view the Milky Way. Humanism, she implores, recognizes a 'sense of mystery'. Humanists Australia [2023], with its Climate Change and the Environment challenge, begins by emphasizing how 'Humanists find wonder in the natural world'. In my own booklet on Humanism and the Good Life, I reveal how, as humanists, we have a deep 'appreciation of love, wonder, music and art' and how 'Humanists stand in awe at the magnificent complexity of the universe, the beauty of nature, the all-consuming power of love, and the inspiration that drives art and music' [Allan 2019].
This is just a tiny snapshot of how humanists stand in awe and wonder of the natural universe. Again, Humanist organizations have done more to foster awe and wonder from a non-religious standpoint than any Mystrik community. The lesson here is that to truly appreciate the breadth and depth of humanist thinking and action, it pays to read beyond a small set of humanist declarations and manifestos.
Another aspect of spirituality is humanists' reflection on the meaning and purpose in our own lives and our deep connection with others. From mid last century, there developed a whole field of research and clinical practice called 'humanistic psychology' that explores this area. Prominent figures here are Abraham Maslow, Carl Rogers, Alfred Adler and Clayton Alderfer. In addition to this uniquely humanist emphasis on meaning and connection, Humanist societies around the world are working at building supportive communities and helping people transition from their psychologically damaging religious beliefs and communities to finding a new way of living. Humanists UK founded their Faith to Faithless (F2F) initiative. Humanist Dr Darrel Ray started the Recovering from Religion (RfR) international network. Here in Australia, I initiated and run the Ex-Religious Support Network (ESN), which is a Humanists Australia Community. Each of these initiatives, and others included, are humanists' attempts to help people connect deeply with their own inner being and with their fellow travellers in a universe without god.
As another example from my own work in building community and purpose as part of Humanists Australia, we run a series of reading group sessions using two Humanists UK books; one on Being Good [Norman 2018] and the other on Living Well [Docwra 2017]. This year, we are conducting some weekend reflection sessions centred on a book I mentioned above, A Better Life: 100 Atheists Speak Out on Joy & Meaning in a World without God. Many of the stories in the book are from well-known and not so well-known humanists.
McDonald's contention that a naturalised form of 'spirituality' is 'generally absent or underdeveloped' in humanism is, I suggest, a serious mischaracterisation of the humanist philosophy and of the international humanist movement. To see the full extent of how humanism connects people with the marvels of the universe and of nature and explores the human condition, I encourage readers to visit their local or national Humanist society and to engage more broadly with the extensive humanist literature on this subject and with Humanist communities.
