To what degree is it the case that what agnosticism and atheism, if we can call them ‘movements’, lack is a longstanding commitment to community service and community building in terms of people’s emotional and material wants and needs ? There seems a strong correlation between philanthropy and religion, but of course, that doesn’t necessarily prove causation.
As an agnostic, I don’t want to make the ironic mistake of preaching at people about my non-belief and I don’t want to preach to fellow agnostics nor to atheists. But it seems some of us agnostics and atheists have yet to embrace the idea of love, and have yet to engage in the degree of service to fellow Earthers that some religious folk demonstrate.
On the one hand, I suspect the core issue to be a radical change in collective human self-understanding, in terms of how we relate to each other and the rest of the ecosystem, and, in turn, suspect the major religions might change dramatically if not go away via an evolution of human consciousness. Part of that involves out-growing anthropocentrism.
On the other hand, for many people, religion is the foundation for morality, and churches are a community structure with which people come together to help each other meet wants and needs. Much of atheism seems focused on being intellectual, with inadequate attention on bringing people together via love. I would like examples that indicate I’m wrong.
How does the degree to which non-religious people, orgs, and institutions are putting love into practice compare with what religious folk are doing ? Agnosticism and atheism has got to be about a lot more than just critiquing and criticizing the views of those who claim to be religious.
What do Bruce Wright, Curt Day and other religious folk think about this ?
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