"Religulous" ?

Do you…

…Believe that science and critical thinking should play an important role in national culture and policy? Yes. …Believe in the necessity of the legal separation between Church and State? Yes. …Believe that freedom of religion cannot exist without freedom from religious impositions? Yes. …Want to meet others who share your passion for freedom of inquiry, science, reason and critical thinking, and the separation of Church and State? Yes. …Identify as an atheist, agnostic, freethinker, humanist or otherwise non-religious? No.

According to a small black and white flyer featuring a chimpanzee clasping its chin deep in thought, I am an ideal member candidate for the Secular Society of Temple University. Except for one sizable detail: I do believe in God.

An affiliate of the Secular Student Alliance, the Center for Inquiry, and the Greater Philadelphia Coalition of Reason, the Temple Secular Society meets every Thursday in the Student Activities Center and provides an organized space for open discussion, political advocacy, and community, particularly for non-religious students. To advance a more open and pluralistic society through critical thinking and inquiry is the mission of this on-campus group. The Greater Philadelphia Coalition of Reason says promoting a “wider acceptance of a more rational and contemporary view of humanity and the world in which we live” serves as the general aim for these kinds of local rationalist associations.

As a Christian believer, I can confidently say our dynamic transnational milieu merits rational and contemporary reflections, ones we must continually bend, revisit, and vary to keep up with society’s vigor. And I can say this not despite my affiliation with Christianity but rather and readily because of it.

The belief that critical thinking and inquiry are not and cannot be associated with religious practitioners actually limits the prospect for a more open and pluralistic society. But unfortunately this kind of dualism where logic stands as faith’s polar opposite infuses much of contemporary society. Perhaps to promote larger acceptance of a “more rational and contemporary view of humanity” we must first bridge the gap that serves to catalog a person’s quality based on his or her religious stance (humanists as “most credible” vs. believers as “least sensible," freethinkers as “good advocates” vs. Christians as “bad advocates”, etc.).

As a Christian and student of anthropology, I can expect weird looks from students in my Temple classes. I can expect questions concerning the apparent irony of embodying faith and more “humanist” kinds of studies. I can expect cynicism from Temple Secular Society members when I attend my first meeting this Thursday. But my spiritual beliefs do not make me any less of an analytical, concerned, lucid person, just as others’ non-belief does not make them any less ethical, feeling, or benevolent.

For a more open and pluralistic society then, perhaps our greatest aim from both sides should be humility, the kind that inspires the rational and religious to come together, rather than diffuse further. So for us students of faith and academia, perhaps this kind of bridging opportunity could be where effective reconciliation in church and society really begins.

Anyone up for a secular society meeting?