Fact is, I find a lot of goodness in the world’s religions. I was educated in Catholic private schools for four years of my life, and while I might not have emerged a devout Catholic, I certainly feel like I’ve emerged better for the experience. I might not believe in the beauty and wisdom of an omniscient God, but I do believe in the beauty and wisdom of people, together with all of their flaws and foibles. The Bible, if nothing else, is a great work of literature, full of poignant imagery, comforting verses, and even some sex and violence, if that’s your kind of thing. I’ve had friends tell me things about Hinduism that I’ve kept with me as some of the best advice I’ve ever been given.

I find it saddening to discard all of that, the collective wisdom of billions of people, for the sake of a label.

For now, if anyone were to corner me and force me to label myself, I’d probably say Humanist. I say this only because I stumbled upon the Wikipedia article, and saw the IHEU Minimum Statement on Humanism:

Humanism is a democratic and ethical life stance, which affirms that human beings have the right and responsibility to give meaning and shape to their own lives. It stands for the building of a more humane society through an ethic based on human and other natural values in the spirit of reason and free inquiry through human capabilities. It is not theistic, and it does not accept supernatural views of reality.

It made a lot of sense to me, so I felt sort of obligated to call myself a Humanist from then on.  The feeling was a lot like reading the description of a Facebook group, agreeing with it completely, and then feeling obligated to join the group.  I still hesitate to label myself, since labels are for squares and people who don’t stick it to The Man, but if forced to by threat of physical injury, I will now say Humanist.