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A very free and idiosyncratic re-wording by Kate Lovelady, Leader of the Ethical Society of St. Louis, of the Founding Address by Felix Adler, May 15, 1876, New York Society for Ethical Culture.
On May 15, 1876, in New York City, twenty-five-year-old Felix Adler delivered the founding address for Ethical Culture, laying out his argument and design for a new movement that would modernize religion, ethicize philosophy, and commit its members to affirming the infinite worth of every man, woman, and child.
“Diversity in the creed, unanimity in the deed!” Felix Adler, Founding Address
For the 130th anniversary, we will revisit the Founding Address, translating it where necessary into modern understanding, and see how well it has held up and what inspiration and direction it offers our still-moving movement. This will be the inauguration of an annual Founders Day, a day on which Ethical Societies across the country recall our roots, celebrate our individual Society’s history and people, and consider our legacy as the founders of the future.
Read Kate’s updated text or the original address.
Felix Adler defined spirituality as awareness of our “infinite interrelatedness.” A few weeks ago, we explored our emotional and imaginative awareness of our interdependence with each other and the natural world. This Sunday, we’ll look at philosophical theories and beliefs. Ethical Culture’s assertion of universal human worth grew out of a long discussion in philosophy about human nature: How are we different from other animals? Are we more than material beings? On what can we ground our beliefs in worth and dignity and human rights? Adler’s struggle with these issues will lead us to perhaps the hardest question in ethics: What is our ethical responsibility to others? How do we live with that sense of responsibility and use it to inspire us?
“If men talked about only what they understood, the silence would become unbearable.” – Max Lerner ”
“Love the animals, love the plants, love everything. If you love everything, you will perceive the divine mystery in things. Once you perceive it, you will begin to comprehend it better every day. And you will come at last to love the whole world with an all-embracing love.” – Fyodor Dostoyevsky
The founder of Ethical Culture, Felix Adler, was brought up in a Reform Jewish household, the son and grandson of rabbis who were influential in Germany and America. Although Felix eventually chose a different religious path, his roots had a strong influence on his ethics, his beliefs, and the practical organization of the movement he founded. This platform address will explore some of the history of Reform Judaism in the mid-to-late 1800s and its impact on early Ethical Culture, using as a source the study by Benny Kraut, From Reform Judaism to Ethical Culture: The Religious Evolution of Felix Adler (pre-reading not required!).
Kate Lovelady has been the Leader of the Ethical Society of St. Louis since 2005. Previously, she was Leader Intern at the Riverdale-Yonkers Society for Ethical Culture, the Ethical Society of Austin, and the New York Society for Ethical Culture.
What is “horizontal religion”? Well, it’s not religion that you practice while lying down, but otherwise you’ll have to come out to the Ethical Society this Sunday to find out. As part of the answer to this question, we’ll continue our 2007-08 theme of Ethical Communication. Over the last two Sundays, we’ve heard about communicating with our unconscious and communicating with the wider culture in which we live. This Sunday we’ll try to define ethical interpersonal communication and explore how we can practice our ethical values in our everyday interactions. Buddhism has a concept of “right speech”-what does Ethical Humanism have to say about how we should speak and listen to each other?
Many of us have experienced, and all of us will experience eventually, changes in our lives that overturn much of what we have known and counted on: we move to a new place, we lose a job, we retire from a vocation, we lose a beloved person. And so we must start over; we must remake our lives within new circumstances, find new reasons for and new ways of living. The dawn of a new year is an appropriate time to acknowledge that life is a series of endings, but also of beginnings, and to ask, where do we find the knowledge, strength, and help to start over?
The U.S. Constitution explicitly prohibits any religious test for public office, yet polls reveal that Americans are less likely to vote for an atheist than a member of any other minority, and the presidential candidates as usual are vying to be named “Most Religious.” Americans also tell pollsters in over-whelming numbers that they believe in a god, yet more Americans are living outwardly-secular lives than ever before, and “angry atheist” books top the best-seller lists. What are the roots of anti-atheist prejudice and what is it really like being an atheist today? What is the duty of Ethical Culture, a “non-thiestic” religion that seeks to unite people on the common ground of ethics, to stand up for non-believers?
I like periodically to update and present some of the great wisdom from our past. We need to know history in order not to repeat it, or not to have to re-invent it; there is a lot of historical thought that is surprisingly relevant to today. Unfortunately, that thinking can lose its power over the years due to changes in language and communication styles.
This Sunday we will explore the central ideas in “A Common Faith,” a seminal work on religious humanism by famous American philosopher John Dewey, who while not a member of an Ethical Society had close ties with our movement. His ideas were radical in his day, and remain radical in ours, and I will do my best to translate them into modern language so that they may re-inspire a new generation.
“The religious is any activity pursued in behalf of an ideal end against obstacles and in spite of threats of personal loss because of its general and enduring value.” – John Dewey
There is a lot of over-lap in the history of the Ethical Culture and Unitarian Universalism. Both are liberal religions that grew out of enlightenment ideals and free thought movements. Today, both tend to attract people of similar bent: social activists and others looking for community and inspiration without dogma. Many people have found a comfortable home in ‘ one religion and then the other, and some people continue to visit or belong to both. But there are also differences, in history, emphasis, and style that make each tradition distinctive and that cause most people to choose one or the other. This platform will explore the similarities and differences between Ethical Culture and our nearest religious neighbor, Unitarian Universalism, to increase our knowledge and appreciation of both.
A comparison of classical Buddhism and Ethical Humanism that explores the overlaps of these traditions, both of which are non-theistic and focused on practical ways to improve human life.
As part of the Ethical Society’s new long-range plan, we are striving to strengthen our role in St. Louis as a welcoming home for humanists. The need for a home, or a home-away-from-home, is shared by many people, though we may have different ideas of what exactly that means to us and what that home should look like. There has been much discussion in recent years about community in America: people seem to be drifting away from traditional sources of community and toward sub-cultures, commercial transactions, virtual networks. How can humanists and our allies create community today? Why should we even want to?
Hell has been a powerful image for thousands of years, although in more recent times many religious traditions have been moving away from the concept of hell. This platform address will look at hell’s history, how it’s been used, and what it means to abandon it. Ethical Humanism has never promoted the notion of hell, and while there are obvious good points to not believing in hell for oneself, there are also ethical and psychological issues with not having a “final jail” to which to consign people who have committed cruel acts. What does it mean to live in a world with no hell below us, as John Lennon sang?
Faces of humanism: Robert Ingersoll and Felix Adler
This platform looks at what Ethical Humanism has in common with secular humanism, and how it differs as a form of religious humanism.
Will Humanism End or Save Religion? A platform presented by Kate Lovelady, Leader of the St. Louis Ethical Society.
Also see Kate’s related blog post, Will Humanism End or Save Religion?
Each August for the last four years Kate has given a platform address comparing and contrasting Ethical Humanism with a different religious or philosophical tradition: Judaism, Buddhism, Unitarian Universalism, and secular humanism. In this age when many people choose to stay home on Sundays, or to belong to virtual communities rather than physical ones, we will take a slightly different angle and look at the similarities and differences between the Ethical Society and National Public Radio, which many members listen to religiously, so to speak.
This special Platform celebrates the 100th anniversary of the Ethical Society of St. Louis’s original home, Sheldon Memorial Hall. Named for Walter Sheldon, the founding Leader of the Ethical Society, the building is famous for its acoustics. Hear the wit and wisdom of Leaders present (Kate Lovelady, playing herself), and past (member Ron Williams, playing the part of Walter Sheldon). Find out what we today have in common with Ethical Humanists of a century and more ago, as well as how our views and language have changed over the years.
This year for various reasons Kate’s annual “Get to know Ethical Humanism” platform address will be in June, not August. And this year we will be learning more about Ethical Humanism by exploring its relationship not to another religion, but to another philosophy/lifestance: existentialism. How is Ethical Humanism similar to and different from existentialism? Come and find out–berets optional.
Each year we compare and contrast a related-but different religious or philosophical tradition to Ethical Humanism. This year we’ll look at atheism in some of its different forms and explore in what ways Ethical Humanism overlaps with atheism (the Ethical Society has some members who identify as atheist), and in what ways Ethical Humanism has distinct values and practices that a person does not have to be atheist to embrace.
It’s time for the end-of-summer “compare and contrast” platform address! Learn more about Ethical Humanism and the Ethical Society by exploring some of the philosophies of ancient Greece that challenged traditional theories of reality and sought naturalistic answers to questions of how to live a meaningful and good life.
Every person is important and unique.
— Core value
“Every person is important and unique.” So says the very first of the core values of our Sunday Ethical Education for Kids Program. It’s pretty clear why we should treat every person as important, but why does being unique matter? What is so special about our uniqueness? Outreach Director James Croft will explore the many forms of human uniqueness, showing why it matters and how we can recognize the uniqueness of others in our lives.
I am free to question.
— Core value
That is the question! Questioning is a crucial freedom and an important source of information and wisdom. But can questioning be taken too far? And what does the Ethical Society slogan “Deed before creed” really mean?
I accept responsibility for my choices and actions.
— Core value
This month’s theme is about responsibility, a crucial aspect of ethics. This two-part platform address will encourage us to take more personal responsibility for our choices and our lives and not to see ourselves as victims, but it will also explore how “responsibility” can become a code-word for blaming actual victims and avoiding assigning true responsibility.
You can find the second part of this address here Victims and Victimhood, Part II.
I accept responsibility for my choices and actions.
— Core value
This month’s theme is about responsibility, a crucial aspect of ethics. The second of this two-part platform address will encourage us to take more personal responsibility for our choices and our lives and not to see ourselves as victims, but it will also explore how “responsibility” can become a code-word for blaming actual victims and avoiding assigning true responsibility.
If you missed the start of this series check it our first Victims and Victimhood, Part I.
I am a member of the world community, which depends on the cooperation of all people for peace and justice.
— Core value
The idea of a human community seems a simple one: we’re all human, after all, so don’t we all have common concerns? Yet recent decades have seen increasing emphasis on the uniqueness of individuals and the differences between groups of people. At a time of political polarization and increasing attention to the concerns of particular groups, can we find ways to assert that we are part of a human community, focusing on what we share while respecting the important differences between us?
Every person deserves to be treated fairly and kindly.
— Core value
We often think of “fairness” in terms of equality: if we treat people equally, then we are being fair. But this is not always the case. Some people, because they suffer from systemic disadvantages, need more than equal treatment in order to have a fair chance in society. This is the basis of affirmative action, which seeks to make up for a group’s disadvantages by going beyond equal treatment. Sometimes, equality is not enough.
I learn from the world around me by using my senses, mind, and feelings.
— Core value
“Naturalism” refers to a general worldview that reality in any useful sense is encompassed by what we can experience with our five senses and understand with relatively objective tools. This talk explains why and how Ethical Humanism uses naturalism as our common ground for ethical discussions, and what this means for how we relate to non-naturalistic arguments.
I can learn from everyone.
— Core value
In an increasingly polarized political environment, how can we learn from people we strongly disagree with? This Platform will explore the ethical importance of learning from those we disagree with, and offer some guidance as to how to do it.
I am part of this earth, I cherish it and all the life upon it.
— Core value
In a time when humanity is facing its largest environmental crisis since the Ice Age, what attitudes and behaviors are truly “extreme”?
I can learn from the past to build for the future.
— Core value
Authors, artists, and filmmakers throughout history have tried to imagine the future, and the different visions they have created reveal something about our hopes and fears for humankind. What can we learn from visionary depictions of the human future, from the utopian to the dystopian, and how do you imagine our future?
I strive to live my values.
— Core value
Our Core Value is to “strive” to live our values; we recognize that we will not always succeed in acting in accordance with our highest values. And of course, sometimes we are wrong about what is the right thing to do. But how do we react when others fail to live up to our values or expectations? Especially in this political season, what can we reasonably expect of our political leaders or would-be leaders? How can we judge them fairly?
I am free to choose what I believe.
— Core value
We may be free to choose what we believe, but how do we exercise our choice responsibly, with appropriate attention to evidence, reasons, and the views of others? This Platform suggests that while freedom of choice in belief is important, it must be balanced. We may be free to choose what we believe, but how do we exercise our choice responsibly, with appropriate attention to evidence, responsibility to provide public reasons for those of our beliefs which affect others.
Each August we look at the similarities and differences between the Ethical Society tradition and a philosophical or religious cousin. This year we will explore some of the history and lessons of Taoism as compared to Ethical Humanism.
It’s time for our yearly compare-and-contrast Platform! How is our tradition similar to and different from other traditions?
Ethical Societies promote a belief in the human potential to make continual progress toward kinder and fairer relations between all people. Progressivism is a political movement that supports social justice activism, usually to mitigate problems related to inequality, prejudice, and oppression of different kinds. Ethical Humanism historically tends to take ethical stances that align with progressivist positions, and a majority of Ethical Society members would likely identify as progressives (whether by that exact term or not). At the same time, Ethical Humanism is not a political movement, and the Society seeks to welcome people of a variety of political opinions. What, then, should the relationship be between Ethical Humanism and progressivism?
For this year’s “compare and contrast” Platform address, we’ll look at what Ethical Humanism has in common with and where it differs from Christianity, in its many forms. Some of the founders of the first Ethical Societies had Christian backgrounds, and many members today grew up in Christian households of one kind or another. Christianity is also still the dominant religion in America. What is the relationship between Ethical Humanism and Christianity today?
While most Ethical Society members know that Felix Adler, the founder of the first Ethical Society, was the son of a rabbi and grew up Jewish, we rarely talk about the relationship between Ethical Humanism and Judaism. In this Platform – the first of a new annual series exploring the similarities between Ethical Humanism and other religious traditions – James Croft will trace the Jewish roots of Ethical Humanism and show how our philosophy drew heavily on the Reform Judaism of Felix Adler’s upbringing.
James has spent eight years at the Ethical Society of St. Louis: one year as an Ethical Culture leader-in-training; four years as the Society’s outreach director and second leader; and three years as senior leader. In this, his final Platform address, he will offer his reflections on eight years of service, thank the Society’s members and friends for the welcome they extended, and think about the future of Humanism.
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