Humanism

In this post Sam Harris and Phil Zuckerman discussed rational religion. It supported LP's view of religion as a cultural format for organizing society. I see their discussion in this article* on humanism, with its own debates between its secular and religious branches. But even the secular branch falls within LP's broader definition of religion, and it is a fine example of the kind of rational religion to which we must move on a societal scale to redress socio-economic inequality and a host of other ills, in part propagated by 'lesser gods.'


* E.g.: "To serve social needs humanist religious communities (such as Ethical Culture societies and many Unitarian Universalist churches) offer a sense of belonging, an institutional setting for the moral education of children, special holidays shared with like-minded people, a unique ceremonial life, the performance of ideologically consistent rites of passage (weddings, child welcomings, coming-of-age celebrations, memorials, and so forth), an opportunity for affirmation of one's philosophy of life, and a historical context for one's ideas."

Even us secular humanists see the value in the above in this expanded definition of religion.