I was recently requested to moderate a panel of religious leaders discussing "The Spiritual Aspects of Death and Dying." The panel was composed of representatives from four different denominations. I was challenged by the opportunity, but could find no resource material on the subject of humanistic spirituality. Apparently humanists have discarded the use of the term, along with the words prayer and religion because they have such strong connotations of mysticism. I refuse to give orthodox religions exclusive use of these poetic terms so I did a little research and found resources and definitions that I find humanistically comfortable.

In the book, When Bad Things Happen to Good People, the author Harold Kushner refers to the French sociologist Emile Durkheim's 1912 publication "Elementary Forms of the Religious Life" in which he suggested that the primary purpose of religions at its earliest level was not to put people in touch with god, but to put them in touch with one another. Religious rituals taught people how to share with their neighbors the experiences of birth and bereavement, of children marrying and parents dying. There were rituals for planting and harvesting, for winter solstice and for the vernal equinox. In that way, the community would be able to share the most joyous and the most frightening moments of life. No on would have to face them alone. (Page 119)

As a humanist I find that definition of religion completely compatible with the social passion of Humanist Manifestos I & II.

A recent issue of "The American Journal of Hospice and Palliative Care" (Sept/Oct 1991, Page 17) Thomas Welk says:

It is important to make a distinction between spirituality and religions. In explaining the issue of spirituality it becomes necessary to emphasize that this is the most central, deepest and most complex of human needs. It is often referred to as the integrative, creative function. It is our way of making sense, meaning, and significance out of life.

In the same issue of the magazine (page 33) another author, Richard Dershimer, writes, "I used spirituality in the secular sense, that is, humans turning their attention away from worlds beyond and toward this world and this time without, necessarily, recourse to religious creeds or doctrines. The spirit can be described as that force within each person that fosters good, the just, the beautiful and the truthful in life. It is both mysterious and consciously concrete, but it results in maximizing human awareness and connection to life."

After finding this material on religion and spirituality and with the late Harold Scott's definition of prayer, "The expression of the highest of human aspirations." Recalled to consciousness, I was able to comfortably accept the offer of moderating the panel on "The Spiritual Aspects of Death and Dying."

--Flo Wineriter