About 28% of adults in America are religiously unaffiliated, according to the Pew Research Center. But many people do seek community and something to believe in. That’s according to Fish Stark, the new president of the American Humanist Association. He will be speaking in Albuquerque and Santa Fe about what humanism offers to a divided America and talked with KUNM’s Megan Kamerick about what humanism means.
FISH STARK: Humanists believe in people. We believe that people are inherently worthy, without needing to be saved or redeemed. We believe in human potential, that there's nothing humans can't solve and no truth we can’t uncover, as long as we live in free-thinking societies and we believe in human responsibility, the idea that our highest good and our highest moral calling is helping humans in the here and now. So, humanists are people who believe in the golden rule, but not in God.
KUNM: Why do you think humanism is so important right now, in this moment and people might be more interested in it?
STARK: We are living right now in a society that is more stratified, lonelier, more depressed and lacking purpose than ever. I'm 29 years old. My generation, people under 30, more than half of us are struggling with anxiety and depression, and the number one reason they cite, even more than financial pressure, is a lack of meaning and purpose. Meaning and purpose, historically, they come from a belief system. They come from feeling like “These are my values, and I'm going to act in line with these values. That feeling of self-integrity, knowing you're taking action towards what you believe in, is what gives people confidence in their own lives. And the problem is that over the last, you know, 20 years, America has secularized pretty radically.
Now my feeling is, if religious faith is something that works for you, that's great, and I respect that. But for people for whom traditional religious faith isn't really motivating to them, we need community, and we need a belief system, and we need the identity for the same reasons everyone else does, being part of a community and having something to believe in is what makes you feel like you matter. And so, humanism really is something to belong to and believe in and fight for, for all of us who are looking for ways to contribute to the world and feel that our lives matter, but aren't motivated by a belief in God.
KUNM: In that vein, what kinds of policy solutions does your movement usually advocate for?
STARK: For decades, the American Humanist Association has been on the front lines of protecting church state separation in the United States and making sure that we're advocating not just for equality for ourselves, but full religious equality, that we're upholding that Jeffersonian ideal of freedom of conscience, no matter what you believe, there is an equal place for you in America. But the truth is that humanists have been involved in the protection of civil liberties, the advancement of social services, racial and gender and social justice for years. I mean, it was a humanist who founded the ACLU, a humanist who founded Planned Parenthood, a humanist who founded the National Organization for Women, and a humanist who planned and chaired the March On Washington. If you look back at the progressive movements that have happened throughout the 20th century, actually, many of them have been foundationally led by humanists, because our belief system isn't just about freedom of religion. It's about saying every person deserves to be treated humanely.
KUNM: Are you seeing membership is growing, or interest is growing in your movement?
STARK: Absolutely. So you know, since I became the executive director of AHA [American Humanist Association] about nine months ago, we've seen about an 80% increase in support from people in all 50 states, because people are looking more than ever, not just to defend the secular foundations of our country. And by the way, that's religious and non-religious people alike, right? We're especially seeing people more and more who have said, “you know, I've been looking for a long time for something to believe in and something to belong to. Maybe I grew up with religion and I left it, or maybe I never really grew up with anything at all, but humanism represents my values, and it's a community I want to be a part of,” and so our job is to make sure that as many people as possible hear about humanism.
And it's not for everyone. I believe really deeply that everyone's on a personal search for truth and meaning. Everyone's got the right value system for them to guide their life. For some people, that's Christianity. For some people, that's Islam. For some people, that's Judaism. We think there's 45 million Americans for whom that belief system is humanism, just haven't heard of it yet. And so our goal is to grow the movement from about 1.5 million Americans who currently identify as humanists to bringing in more of those, none-of-the-aboves, nothing-in-particulars who, research shows, are more likely to be socially isolated and more likely to feel anxious and depressed, not because faith in a particular God makes you mentally healthy, but because being part of a community and Having a stable identity is what gives you health and courage.
Fish Stark will speak on May 24 at 10:30 a.m. at the Albuquerque Museum. More information here.
He will also speak in Santa Fe on May 25 at 1 p.m. at Unitarian Universalist. More information here.
