Organized Secularism in the United States: New Directions in Research PDF
Preview Organized Secularism in the United States: New Directions in Research
Organized Secularism in the United States Religion and Its Others Studies in Religion, Nonreligion, and Secularity Edited by Stacey Gutkowski, Lois Lee, and Johannes Quack Volume 6 Organized Secularism in the United States New Directions in Research Edited by Ryan T. Cragun, Christel Manning and Lori L. Fazzino An electronic version of this book is freely available, thanks to the support of libra- ries working with Knowledge Unlatched. KU is a collaborative initiative designed to make high quality books Open Access. More information about the initiative can be found at www.knowledgeunlatched.org This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No-Derivatives 4.0 License. For details go to https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/. ISBN 978-3-11-045742-1 e-ISBN (PDF) 978-3-11-045865-7 e-ISBN (EPUB) 978-3-11-044195-6 ISSN 2330-6262 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data A CIP catalog record for this book has been applied for at the Library of Congress. Bibliographic information published by the Deutsche Nationalbibliothek The Deutsche Nationalbibliothek lists this publication in the Deutsche Nationalbibliografie; detailed bibliographic data are available on the Internet at http://dnb.dnb.de. © 2017 Ryan T. Cragun, Christel Manning and Lori L. Fazzino, published by Walter de Gruyter GmbH, Berlin/Boston The book is published with open access at www.degruyter.com. Printing and binding: CPI books GmbH, Leck ♾ Printed on acid-free paper Printed in Germany www.degruyter.com Phil Zuckerman Preface OnNov.19–20,2014,forty-fivescholars,fromninedifferentcountries,gathered atPitzerCollegeinClaremont,California,forthethirdInternationalConference of the Nonreligion and Secularity Research Network (NSRN).The theme of the conferencewas“ExplainingNonreligionandSecularityintheU.S.andBeyond,” and the scope of the papers presented was impressively broad: from Lori Bea- man’s keynote address on church-state battles in Quebec, to Catherine Cald- well-Harris’s talk on low levels of religiosity among college students in Turkey, and from Penny Edgell’s look at anti-atheist sentiment in the United States, to KevinLenehan’sanalysisofsecularizationinAustralia–variousaspectsofnon- religion and secularity were explored, both theoretically and empirically, and from a multiplicityof disciplinary lenses. But one topic at the conference definitely stood out: collective, organized nonreligion and secularism. Amidst the historical narratives,political analyses, sociological data, psychological models, and meta typologizing, there was a clear prominenceof papersat the conference that lookedat how andwhy non- religious, anti-religious, and/or secular people – of varying shades and hues – come together collectively. The common concerns underlying these papers werealongthefollowinglinesofinquiry:whatsocialmovementsandcommunal institutions are secular or nonreligious individuals coming together to create in ordertoservetheirsocial,communal,and/orpoliticalneedsandinterests?And just what exactly are those needs and interests? How are they being met? Giventhedeepinterestinorganizedsecularismthatwasevidentatthecon- ference – and given the recent growth of social movements created by and for nonreligious people – it was clear to meeting participants Christel Manning, Ryan Cragun, and Lori Fazzino that a book bringing together and publishing those papers presented at the conference addressing these issues within the studyof secularity, secularism, and nonreligion would be timely. Hence,this volume. OrganizedSecularismintheUnitedStatesbringstogetherthirteenpaperslooking atdifferentaspectsandanglesofcollectivesecularity.Itisawelcomeadditionto the burgeoning field of secular/nonreligious studies, an interdisciplinary en- deavor which seeks to understand the lives,worldviews, beliefs, opinions,val- ues,challenges,andactivitiesofnonreligiouspeople.Thescholarlyfocusofsec- ular/nonreligious studies is placed upon the meanings, forms, relevance, and impact of political secularism, philosophical skepticism, and personal and cul- OpenAccess.©2017PhilZuckerman,publishedbyDeGruyter. Thisworkislicensedunder theCreativeCommonsAttribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives4.0License. https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110458657-001 VI PhilZuckerman turalsecularity–andallofthesematters,inonemanifestationoranother,and invaryingdegrees – are delved into in the chapters ahead. Since Barry Kosmin established the Institute for the Studyof Secularism in Society and Culture at Trinity College in 2005, and Lois Lee and Stephen Bulli- vant founded the Nonreligion and Secularity Research Network in 2008 while at Cambridge University and Oxford University respectively, scholarly attention to the secular/nonreligious has been blossoming. Significant developments in- clude the following: in 2011, the open-access, peer-reviewed academic journal SecularismandNonreligionwaslaunched;alsoin2011,aSecularStudiesdepart- mentwasestablishedatPitzerCollege;in2012,theAnthropologyDepartmentof the London School ofEconomics launched a“Programme for the Studyof Reli- gionandNon-Religion;”alsoin2012,NewYorkUniversityPresslaunchedaSec- ularStudiesbookseriesandPalgraveMacmillanlaunchedabookserieson“His- toriesoftheSacredandtheSecular,1700–2000;”in2014,DeGruyterlauncheda book series on “Religion and Its Others: Studies in Religion, Nonreligion, and Secularity”(ofwhichthisvolumeisapart);in2016,theUniversityofMiamien- dowed a chair in the studyof atheism and secularism. Subsequent to the NSRN conference of 2014 at Pitzer College, from which this book springs, an abundance of academic conferences have been held with a focus on the secular, including: “Approaching Nonreligion: Conceptual, me- thodical,andempiricalapproachesinanewresearchfield”(2016)attheUniver- sityofZürich,Switzerland;“TheEndofReligion?”(2016)attheUniversityofSan Diego;“Secularisms andthe Formations of Religionin Asia:Pluralism,Globali- zation,andModernities”(2016)atQueen’sUniversity,Belfast;“VarietiesofSec- ularSociety”(2015)attheInstitutFrancaisdeLondres,UnitedKingdom;“Secu- larism and Religion in Modern Europe” (2015) at the Escuela Espanola de Historia y Arqueologia, Italy; “Women’s Religious Agency: Negotiating Secular- ismandMulticulturalisminEverydayLife”(2015)atUppsalaUniversity,Sweden; “Old Religion and New Spirituality: Continuity and Changes in the Background of Secularization” (2015) at the University of Tartu, Estonia. In sum, the academic study of secularity, secularism, and non-religion is currentlyinfullswing,andthisvolumebothreflectsandbolstersthisburgeon- ing scholarlyenterprise. Table of Contents Ryan Cragun & Christel Manning Introduction 1 Charles Louis Richter “I Know It When I See It:” Humanism, Secularism, and Religious Taxonomy 13 Michael Rectenwald Mid-Nineteenth-Century Secularism as Modern Secularity 31 Lori L. Fazzino and Ryan T. Cragun “Splitters!”: Lessons from Monty Python for Secular Organizations in the US 57 John R. Shook Recognizing and Categorizing the Secular: Polysecularity and Agendas of Polysecularism 87 Amanda Schutz Organizational Variation in the American Nonreligious Community 113 Aislinn Addington Building Bridges in the Shadows of Steeples: Atheist Community and Identity Online 135 Jesse M. Smith Communal Secularity: Congregational Work at the Sunday Assembly 151 Jacqui Frost Rejecting Rejection Identities: Negotiating Positive Non-religiosity at the Sunday Assembly 171 Joseph Langston, Joseph Hammer, Ryan Cragun & Mary Ellen Sikes Inside The Minds and Movement of America’s Nonbelievers: Organizational Functions, (Non)Participation, and Attitudes Toward Religion 191 VIII TableofContents Björn Mastiaux ATypology of Organized Atheists and Secularists in Germany and the United States 221 Dusty Hoesly Your Wedding, Your Way: Personalized, Nonreligious Weddings through the Universal Life Church 253 Nicholas J. MacMurray & Lori L. Fazzino Doing Death Without Deity: Constructing Nonreligious Tools at the End of Life 279 Barry Kosmin Old Questions and New Issues for Organized Secularism in the United States 301 Index 319 Ryan Cragun & Christel Manning Introduction WhatwouldhappentoahighschoolseniordeepinthebiblebeltoftheUnited States if they told their high school administrators that they would contact the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) if the school had a prayer at his high school graduation? This isn’t a hypothetical scenario – it happened in 2011. Damon Fowler, a senior at Bastrop High School in Louisiana, informed the su- perintendentoftheschooldistrictthatheknewschool-sponsoredprayerwasil- legalandthathewouldcontacttheACLUiftheschoolwentaheadwithaplan- ned, school-sponsored prayer at the graduation ceremony. Damon’s threat was leaked to the public.What followed were death threats from community mem- bers and fellow students,weeks of harassment, and eventually his parents dis- owning him and kicking him out of their home. Onemorethinghappened,whichiswhywerecountthisstoryatthebegin- ningofthisbookonorganizedsecularism:thesecularcommunitycametogether tosupportDamon.Ashisstorymadeitswayintothelocal,national,andeven- tually international press, nonreligious¹ and/or secular individuals made offers of a place to stay, protection, and transportation, and a college fund was set up for Damon since his parents had cut him off financially.Various secular or- ganizationsexplicitlyofferedDamon help.TheFreedomFromReligionFounda- tiongavehima$1,000collegescholarshipandotherorganizationsvolunteered to help him legally. Damon’sstoryshouldbesurprisinginacountrythatpridesitselfasamelt- ing pot of races,ethnicities,cultures, and religions.Yet, it is also a not entirely uncommonscenariointheUnitedStates,whereatheists’moralityisesteemedat about the same level as is rapists’ (Gervais, Shariff, and Norenzayan 2011) and only about 50% of Americans would vote for an atheist for President (Edgell, Gerteis,andHartmann2006).Damon’sstoryalsoservestohighlightseveralim- portantcharacteristicsoftheorganized,secularcommunityintheUS.First,per- haps to the surprise of many Americans,there actually is an organized secular communityintheUS.Whilethenumbersarestillquitesmall(seebelow)relative tothetotalproportionoftheUSpopulationthatisnonreligious,those involved in the community are not insignificant. Second, the response of the organized secular community to Damon’s situation also illustrates thatorganized secular- Manypeopleusethetermsnon-religiousandsecularinterchangeably,butscholarscontinue todebatetheirprecisemeaning. OpenAccess.©2017RyanCragun&ChristelManning,publishedbyDeGruyter. Thisworkis licensedundertheCreativeCommonsAttribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives4.0License. https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110458657-002 2 RyanCragun&ChristelManning ismintheUSisoftenreactive.Manyoftheformalorganizationsexistspecifically because theyare reacting tothe privilegingof religion in American culture and thelaw(Blumenfeld,Joshi,andFairchild2008;Schlosser2003).Likewise,many of these organizations spring into action precisely when religious privilege moves from the abstract or implicit into the concrete and blatant,undermining the rights of secular individuals.Third, secular organizations in the US share a common goal: to normalize nonreligiosity. In other words, the aim of many of these organizations is to make it so people who are not religious, whether they are atheists,² agnostics,³ or those who are unaffiliated with any religion, can live ordinary lives without fear of unequal and discriminatory treatment. While in many ways Damon Fowler’s story is a tragedy – a failure of public schools tofollow the law and protect minorities and a tragicfailure of parental support–hisstoryalsohelpsdelineatethecharacteristicsoforganizedsecular- ism. Beforewegomuchfurther,weshouldbeclearinwhatwemeanby“organ- ized secularism.” The term“secular” originatedtodistinguish thethingsof this world (e.g., work, food, sex) from religious things (e.g., prayer, heaven, god). Secularcanmostsimplybedefinedas“notreligious”(thoughhowwedetermine whatisreligiousandwhatisn’tremainsamatterofdebate).“Secularism,”inits primarymeaning,isatheory,philosophy,orideologythatdistinguishesthesec- ular from other (usually religious) phenomena.⁴ In its most common use, secu- larismreferstoapoliticalphilosophythatthereshouldbeaseparationbetween religions and government (Berlinerblau 2013).The logic behind such a separa- tionisthat,whengovernmentandreligionareintertwined,typicallythereisfa- voritismtowardcertainreligionsandthereforeimplicitorexplicitdiscrimination againstotherreligionsandthosewithnoreligion.Secularismcananddoesman- ifestitselfinmanywaysaroundtheworld,fromFrenchlaïcité(Bowen2013),to Turkey’s unique restrictions on Islam despite being a predominantly Muslim country (Hurd 2013), to the supposed “wall of separation” that exists in the US (Smith 2013). Regardless of the particular manifestation of secularism, the idea remains that the safest way to manage religiously pluralistic populations is with a government that is separate and distinct from religion. Secularism in the sense described above is a neutral term.Over time, how- ever,partlyinreactiontoculturaland/orstateresistancetosuchneutrality,sec- By“atheist”wemeanthosewhodonothaveabeliefinagod. By“agnostic”wemeanthosewhodonotbelievethereisanywaytogainknowledgeabouta god. SeetheOxfordDictionaryofAtheismformoredetaileddiscussionoftheseandrelateddefi- nitions.
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