| I do think that some religions are better than others, and that some forms of religion are better than others. Additionally, as you know, I have not had sufficient belief in particular doctrines to comfortably retain membership in any particular religion or sect, and therefore have not been in a church, except for sightseeing, weddings or funerals, for more than 15 years. I will not, therefore, be a hypocrite and say that I consider institutional participation urgent. Since I think that the main theme of morality is human dignity, and that reason is the primary instrument of progress, we are not completely out of sync. However, I use "spiritual" to indicate a belief in the non-material aspect of existence, an affirmation of the truth of our sense of having a substantial self, rather than having the self be a neurological epiphenomenon, and in there being an underlying moral order to the cosmos, such that our deepest concerns and motivations are not merely delusions through which we mark time in order to pass on our genes, but mean something in the long run. Several religions, in their higher expression, help to underwrite spirituality in the sense I mean it, although there are sometimes more dubious elements present in the body of belief and narrative. However, I do not think that we go about purifying religious expression by being antagonistic to it, but by being sympathetic to the legitimate needs addressed, and trying to show what areas of tradition and reason may be reconciled. |
