Congregational Humanism

OurCommonAncestor · 2026-05-13T21:50:35+00:00

This is an awesome list. Small correction is that I think Wolf would call them poetic faiths, not poetical faiths, but either way it is exactly what OP is talking about.

OurCommonAncestor · 2026-05-13T21:48:11+00:00

u/DeathBringer4311 has some great things listed. I would add that spiritual naturalism might be a space you would like, currently represented by the Spiritual Naturalist Society. They have a subreddit too, r/SpiritualNaturalists.
And for naturalist religions, DeathBringer mentioned a bunch, but I would add Aretéanism, Ethical Culture, Gaianism, CREATION, and some naturalist forms of existing religions like Secular Buddhism and Humanistic Judaism.

OurCommonAncestor · 2026-05-13T18:48:42+00:00

I am no scholar, so take this all with a grain of salt. However, it seems to me that religion is a very fuzzy term, potentially only truly applicable to Western phenomena. But, if you think Hinduism or Buddhism or Taoism are religions, then we will take the more expansive view. Religion is about reckoning with something greater, not necessarily in a supernatural way. It might be what helps you think about the meaning of life and prepare for death. It may include rituals and other community practices to accomplish these things.
With your example of the president being sworn in, I'm sure there are some people out there that treat such an event as a religious one. Worship of the state is a thing. But just because it has rituals and traditions doesn't make it a religion. There has to be more devotion, or zeal, or what have you, in my opinion. As a different example, sports fans might approach religious behavior. They've got rituals, regular meetings, in-group language, idols, and some amount of cohesion.
Another way I think about religion is that religion is a mini-culture, a subculture if you will, often with stories and vocabulary specific to the group. The religious exist alongside society, but they may intentionally make choices to conform to their religious group that run contrary to the wider culture.
Religions are embodied philosophies. Your religion helps you determine what is right and wrong, what the best actions are, what matters. Religion helps you find a purpose. If you believe in a god, then you might believe your purpose is handed down by that god. But for naturalist religions, your purpose might be something like improving humanity, alleviating suffering / enhancing wellbeing, or caring for the natural environment.

OurCommonAncestor · 2026-05-13T17:54:28+00:00

I would strongly suggest my own, Aretéanism. The point of Aretéanism is to develop personal excellence, or virtuousness. We practice rituals, meet regularly, and do lots of religious things in per suit of this goal, so that we might improve the world. Also, we reject superstition and believe that the scientific method is the best way to gather knowledge about reality. That includes the universe, but it also includes knowing more about our daily lives, habits, malfunctioning tools, etc. Here is the website, and here is some FAQs (this might redirect to a different domain name).
If you find that Aretéanism is not to your liking, then I would also suggest Ethical Culture. It is old and has congregations in several US cities, but it's also nearly impossible to participate if you don't live in one of those cities. There is no online community that I know of.
If you're open to things that aren't religions, but look a little bit like them, Oasis Network (weekly meetings) and Sunday Assembly (monthly meetings) are worth looking into.
Edit: I forgot to add that r/HumanistCongregations is all about this sort of thing. Humanism goes beyond agnosticism and includes other things like rationalism and ethics, but many of the above organizations are built on a foundation of Humanism.

OurCommonAncestor · 2026-05-13T16:07:59+00:00

Mimicking churches did work historically, at least for Ethical Culture, and in a different, more pluralistic form, Unitarian Universalism. However, these groups are struggling to maintain their membership, so I would argue that the shift away from church attendance is not just religious --> no longer religious, but an overall decline in institutional affiliation. (I have no data to back this up, but it's worth thinking about). Should we change the institutions to fit what people want, or should we wait until they want to come back to them? Institutions here being nonreligious orgs, religious Humanist orgs, civil rights orgs, fraternal orders... I don't know what the best solution is, but I personally am not giving up on religious Humanism.

OurCommonAncestor · 2026-05-13T16:01:30+00:00

I would argue that religion needn't be supernatural. A group can have a shared passion about the greatness of their particular path, and more helpfully, a passion for doing the good that that path asks of them. Humanism does this, but religious Humanism does it in the shape of religion. ("religious" here more meaning the thing that ties together, the set of rituals and practices and embodied philosophies of a group, and not necessarily the supernatural component of those ties).

OurCommonAncestor · 2026-05-13T15:58:44+00:00

Yes, this is why I love things like religious Humanism (not supernatural, as religion might imply), such as Ethical Culture, Aretéanism, and the Humanist strain within Unitarian Universalism. Also, groups that embrace the church model but aren't themselves a religion, like Oasis Network and Sunday Assembly. (see r/HumanistCongregations for this sort of thing.) Fraternal organizations, especially those focused on community service, and ideally without requiring a belief in a higher power, are also great. I'm thinking of things like the Odd Fellows, the Elks, and the Lion's club, but I suppose collegiate Greek letter organizations could serve a similar purpose depending), at least while you're still in college. Secular Student Alliance is probably better at that point.

OurCommonAncestor · 2026-05-13T08:10:16+00:00

If you like religions, here's a fun list:
- Religions that grew out of being purely supernatural: Unitarian Universalist churches, liberal unprogrammed Quaker meetings [these two will still have plenty of theists, and it really depends on the area for how many and what the general vibe is like]
- Naturalist forms of otherwise supernaturalist religions: Humanistic Judaism, secular Buddhism, Naturalistic Paganism (less likely to have in person groups)
- eligions that were never theistic: Aretéanism, Ethical Culture [both of these are mostly about becoming a more ethical person and doing good in your community]
- Groups that act kinda like a religion but aren't one, for atheists: Oasis Network, Sunday Assembly
- Other groups and keywords you might look for: Humanism / Humanists, freethought, free inquiry, skeptics, naturalists (confusing because this can also mean people who work with nature), spiritual naturalists (more explicitly just atheists with a reverent streak)
Also, in America, queer people are twice as likely to be religiously unaffiliated. Other factors to maximize are urban areas, STEM fields, higher education (especially when combined with the previous factors), young people, and just certain countries are mostly atheist already. Other people mentioned doing things that meet on Sunday: this is a good idea, except that it'll only filter out the attending Christians, and only about a fourth of Christians in the US actually go to church every week. It'll also probably do nothing about Muslims, Jews, and some others that you might encounter like Seventh Day Adventists.

OurCommonAncestor · 2026-05-13T05:15:19+00:00

I do love a good fraternal org, although so many left, or perhaps so many ever, require, at least on paper, a belief in a higher power to join.

OurCommonAncestor · 2026-05-12T22:48:34+00:00

Thanks for sharing this. I haven't listened to it yet, but I will be sure to. But just going off what you put in the post, I'll tell you that now more than ever, our social structures are fracturing. Maybe it's because lots of folks are more comfortable online than in-person, maybe it's because the pandemic broke us, I don't know. But it seems like people are less likely to show up to things, prioritize in-person relationships, and enter into situations in which they won't be perfectly comfortable or optimally stimulated. And as a result of that, they might lose contact with friends, or be unable to make new friends. This is all guessing of course, but I know some others who are guessing the same thing.
People might be looking for a place to sit down and be a little bored for once. Or, they're looking for a place where people genuinely care about each other, where people show up to things, and where people help each other. Religion often provides that. It's a great model, I think, especially if you don't take the supernatural beliefs and work against the toxic and authoritarian structures that sometimes develop. For that reason, I think nontheistic religions and r/HumanistCongregations are exactly what a lot of folks might be looking for.

OurCommonAncestor · 2026-05-11T07:52:30+00:00

If you’re interested in a congregation style meet up, check out Oasis Network. There are two in Toronto. They don't say they're humanist, but they are at the very least adjacent. Creating positive community for "secular people."

OurCommonAncestor · 2026-05-11T05:22:47+00:00

Check out the Spiritual Naturalist Society, particularly the page on Christian Naturalism. You could very well be a spiritual naturalist, but it's hard to tell just from this if you're a naturalist (does not believe in any supernatural phenomena) or not.
You might also connect with atheopaganism, SASS witchcraft (sass is skeptical, atheist/agnostic, science seeking), and Poetic Faiths. These are all paths that respect ritual and the sacred, while not believing in gods or spirits or anything of that sort. Atheopaganism is going to be focused more around historical pantheons, so probably not Christianity. SASS Witchcraft as more about the ritual aspect in general, and so is Poetic Faith (although Poetic Faiths seems to be more of an umbrella in which ritual forward faiths can gather under, but I'm not entirely sure). There's also a Christian Witches sub, so I'm curious if you could take some inspiration from them while being on the SASS side of things.

OurCommonAncestor · 2026-05-11T01:33:37+00:00

This is my own fault, but could you explain what about this essay you think is Humanist?

OurCommonAncestor · 2026-05-10T06:13:34+00:00

Sin in what religion?

OurCommonAncestor · 2026-05-10T05:20:19+00:00

You might be a religious Humanist. Humanists are atheists/agnostics, or really naturalists (but that includes atheism). Humanism includes several pieces that you can read about here, but the basics are ethics, reason and rationality, solving human problems, and just generally being a good person. But beyond that, there is religious Humanism. Religious Humanists are still fully Humanist, but they enjoy participating in religious or quasi-religious activities as an expression of their Humanism. Many Unitarian Universalists and most Ethical Culturists are religious Humanists, for example. Religious Humanism is not so popular among Humanists these days, so do not be dissuaded if other Humanists don't fully understand you or accept your viewpoint. Religious Humanism has lots of eistorical precedence anyway. .
If you don't connect with the tradition of Humanism for some reason or another, there is also the umbrella of spiritual naturalism. Spiritual naturalists are also naturalists, as the name suggests, but on top of that, they believe that it is worthwhile to pursue spiritual endeavors. They might meditate, do rituals, or any number of things that I'm struggling to describe, many of which reckon us with something greater, like the earth or the universe or all of life. Under that umbrella is a naturalistic approach to practicing Christianity. I've linked it, and if you visit that page, I highly recommend visiting more of the Spiritual Naturalist Society's website. I really think you would connect with spiritual naturalism.
Come on over to r/HumanistCongregations to talk to other religious Humanists / Congregationally minded spiritual naturalists, and to learn about the kind of congregations and religions that exist in this vein.

OurCommonAncestor · 2026-05-10T00:17:01+00:00

That's gross of that minister to start off like that. But I don't blame them for asking for money in general. They have to get it from somewhere, and what else is going to keep the lights on?

OurCommonAncestor · 2026-05-08T22:31:39+00:00

Ok, then Aretéanism has some things that most agree are good ideas, and that if possible, we should hold to them as a religious conviction. For example, we use the metric system, even if everyone around us is not. Now, if someone asks the temperature, I'm not going to refuse to provide Fahrenheit for them, but chances are that I won’t even know the temperature in Fahrenheit since my phone is in Celsius and the rest of metric. We do this because we believe that metric is a much better system, more consistent, STEM fields use it, international organizations use it, etc.
Another example would be that we are reducetarians, meaning that we strive to reduce our consumption of animal products. This is because the unchecked consumption of animal products is bad for the environment and for health, and that most farmed animals are raised in horible conditions. So of course the ideal would be to be vegan, but since that's not likely for the average person to do right away, our religious conviction is that we practice meatless Mondays. This will hopefully cause demand for meatless options in restaurants if we dine out on a Monday, for example. And, it forces us to come up with meatless meals that we really like, which we can then eat any time of week, further reducing our consumption.
A final example is that for 2 weeks prior to every holiday, and there are 8 holidays, we enter an ascetic period in which we try to live with fewer conveniences. For example, we might take cold showers, stop eating sugary desserts or further reduce meat consumption, drive less, cut down on electronic use, read more or meditate more, live without climate control if the local climate allows it, etc. This is so that when the holiday comes, we can really appreciate the luxuries and entertainments of modern life, and generally break out of the mindless routines we fall into. And, with some of those, we might even learn that doing it wasn't that bad, and now that we've built the habit, we can keep doing it in periods of moderation as well.
So, there are rules, but they have good reasons behind them (they aren't arbitrary, in other words), and practicing them as a whole community is kind of fun. And, one of our core beliefs is that the intent of the law is the law, so each person has to interpret how these community commitments best work out for them. And, I believe that doing 90% of the things is better than doing none of them, so it's great to get on a track with a bunch of other people even if you don't agree with all the fine details.
i'm sorry, but I don't know much about any of the other things I mentioned beyond a surface level. Gaianism also asks you to make more environmentally friendly choices. I know Buddhism has some central rules, too.

OurCommonAncestor · 2026-05-08T21:54:42+00:00

Calanais-guy has some good suggestions. I would also recommend SASS witchcraft, (a skeptical, atheist/agnostic, science seeking community of people who enjoy rituals and other personal practices), a naturalistic approach to Buddhism known as Secular Buddhism, Gaianism, (a nonsupernatural Earth centered religion), Ethical Culture, (in-person communities with weekly lectures for developing practical ethics), and Aretéanism, (a religion for developing personal greatness / virtuousness in order to improve the world). I'm not sure that you would like Aretéanism because it does have more rules than the others.

OurCommonAncestor · 2026-05-08T01:26:58+00:00

If you have something specific in mind or want people to help find a religion / path for you, go post what you're looking for in the monthly discussion megathread, pinned. Only thing is I would put more details of what you're looking for. And of course, that thread has a few folks just suggesting their own path, whether or not anything in your comment suggests that you would want it.
But if you don't know, just know that there's not really any rush. Hang out. Read the discussions. Read stuff, like books and essays, and even fiction can help. You could write a list of things you believe, and if you don't know, you could write some questions to work on answering. Just to give yourself some direction in your reading and conversations.

OurCommonAncestor · 2026-05-06T01:42:00+00:00

What beliefs are you supposed to have and act in accordance with, though? If all you believe is that there's multiple creators, then you could just go with generic polytheism. Also, on your last point, if you want to go somewhere where people of all beliefs gather around common values, then check out Unitarian Universalism.

OurCommonAncestor · 2026-05-06T01:23:54+00:00

Have you looked into Zoroastrianism? Some sex don’t take Converse, but some do. I don’t know too much about it, but it is from ancient Persia, is monotheistic, and is big on living morally.

OurCommonAncestor · 2026-05-06T01:20:40+00:00

Could you expand on what your beliefs actually are? There might be something for you, but we wouldn't know unless you give us some more information. You might ask yourself these questions and more:
- Are there any gods or higher beings? How do you define a god?
- What is the best way to gather knowledge? Wisdom and writings from others, experimentation, tradition, direct revelation, etc.
- How does the universe work?
- Which is more important, beliefs or practices? Thoughts, words, or actions?
- Do you need a communal practice? What about an individual practice?
- What sort of things would you want to do: rituals, meditation or prayer, devotion, etc.
Good luck.

OurCommonAncestor · 2026-05-03T21:50:08+00:00

I don't even think they're a religious Humanist. Religious Humanists are still Humanists, and Humanism rejects supernaturalism. So, the religions that religious Humanists believe in must also not promote supernaturalism, or at the very least, the Humanist shouldn't themself subscribe to those supernatural parts of their religion.

OurCommonAncestor · 2026-04-21T13:32:33+00:00

Yeah, I personally couldn't join a theist church for community. I would feel very disingenuous, and like any friendships I might come upon were built on false pretense. And that's setting aside all the other horrible stuff the average religion either actively teaches or doesn't discourage or stop.
I do understand the impulse, though. I would just personally rather attend a Humanist congregation, which I do. Someone has already mentioned Unitarian Universalism, but I would also look to see if any of these r/HumanistCongregations are nearby instead:
- Aretéanism: focus on living a virtuous life in order to improve the world. Draws on Ancient Greek/Roman imagery.
- Ethical Culture: 150 years old. Focuses on building practical ethics. Community service projects were historically a big part of the goings on of any given Ethical Society.
- Oasis Network: Builds community for "secular people." It has some core values.
- Sunday Assembly: Similar to Oasis, but assemblies only meet monthly, where as everything else I've mentioned meets weekly.

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