Religious Humanism seeks to heal the world through religion done better. It uses the cultural technology of religion to foster individual and collective thriving, and aims this uniquely motivating force at the urgent problems that confront us today. We sit down with Humanist Chaplain Jared Anderson to discuss Religious Humanism is and how its approach plays out in the world.

RESOURCES:

Jared’s 4 Meditation Points as a mystic – Integrity, Expedience, Life, Elegance

6 words to live by: Compassionate, Curious, Acceptance, Clear, Gentle, Firm

Jared’s Youtube Channel “The Life Devoted” – https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCZ0MypZizDzeWcPCDRWXfvw

Jared’s website: http://religioushumanism.org/

Engaging Gospel Doctrine Podcast: https://engaginggospeldoctrine.org/

Britt & Bill tackle Spiritual Bypassing on todays episode. Spiritual bypassing describes a tendency to use spiritual explanations to avoid complex psychological issues. Rather than working through hard emotions or confronting unresolved issues, people would simply dismiss them with spiritual explanations.

RESOURCES:

https://www.verywellmind.com/what-is-spiritual-bypassing-5081640#:~:text=Spiritual%20bypassing%20is%20a%20way,Avoiding%20feelings%20of%20anger

https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/the-empowerment-diary/201901/what-is-spiritual-bypassing

We pick up from last week’s episode and continue the conversation here in Part 2. Where does morality come from and how best might we humans nudge to a more effective way to create and perpetuate a healthier morality.

RESOURCES:
Sam Harris – TED Talk “Science can answer moral questions” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hj9oB4zpHww
Sam Harris — The Moral Landscape: How Science Can Determine Human Values – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nU0FeV3wj44
How Morality Has the Objectivity that Matters—Without God Ronald A. Lindsay – https://secularhumanism.org/2014/07/cont-how-morality-has-the-objectivity-that-matterswithout-god/
The Moral Argument – Good Without God – youtube.com/watch?v=OxiAikEk2vU

In this Episode Britt and Bill tackle a question that often comes up. If you leave religion how will you know right from wrong and how will you maintain a healthy morality rather than a laissez-faire attitude where anything goes?

RESOURCES:

Sam Harris – TED Talk “Science can answer moral questions” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hj9oB4zpHww

Sam Harris — The Moral Landscape: How Science Can Determine Human Values – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nU0FeV3wj44

How Morality Has the Objectivity that Matters—Without God Ronald A. Lindsay – https://secularhumanism.org/2014/07/cont-how-morality-has-the-objectivity-that-matterswithout-god/

The Moral Argument – Good Without God – youtube.com/watch?v=OxiAikEk2vU

We sit down with Mike Bahr who deconstructed his religious system later in life. We discuss what all is involved in deconstruction. The letting go of beliefs, the re-evaluating the existence of God, and the loss of community. But we also talk about how for most this feels like growth and involves feeling happier and more content with life.

Britt and Bill pick up off last week’s conversation where they discussed the benefits of a religious narrative and religious community when one is faced with tragedy and trauma and attempt in this conversation to help us understand how we got there. How did God come to be? Which Gods had more holding power? What functions did these adaptations have for helping groups of humans collaborate and perpetuate?

RESOURCES:

Hidden Brain Podcast – Creating God – https://www.npr.org/2018/07/16/628792048/creating-god

Oldest Cave Drawings – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cueva_de_las_Manos

The Sorcerer Cave Drawing – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Sorcerer_(cave_art)

God: A Human History – Reza Aslan https://www.amazon.com/God-Human-History-Random-House/dp/0525624333

Sapiens Yuval Hariri https://www.amazon.com/Sapiens-Humankind-Yuval-Noah-Harari/dp/0062316095

Civilized to Death – Christopher Ryan – https://www.amazon.com/Civilized-Death-What-Lost-Modernity/dp/1451659105

Britt comes back to update us on her life and to expound with Bill on the idea of how Religion helps us to deal with trauma. And How one receives such support outside a religious paradigm. They hope to help you see value in the mechanisms religions bring to the table and to help us all figure out how to not throw the baby out with the bathwater. Bad things are going to happen to each of us and if we are going to create a better world we need to consider how these systems were built in order to help humans survive and to have needs met.

Britt shares an update on her family situation and thoughts about spirituality in trauma after religion.

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