Are you an agnostic? An atheist? Or simply non-religious? If so, you probably happen to identify with Humanism.
"Humanism," according to the British Humanist Association, "is the view that we can make sense of the world using reason, experience and shared human values and that we can live good lives without religious or superstitious beliefs. Humanists seek to make the best of the one life we have by creating meaning and purpose for ourselves. We choose to take responsibility for our actions and work with others for the common good."
Humanism provides non-religious individuals with a step to take after first embracing atheism; it describes explicitly what many non-religious individuals agree on, what they aspire to and that they aim to work together for the greater good.
So why do we need a Humanist chaplaincy? In the Nov. 20 Tufts Daily article, "Students adjust religious values to accommodate college life," Jewish Chaplain Rabbi Jeffrey Summit provided a background to this question: "I think that while many students say they are ‘not religious,' in fact, they ask religious questions ... What is important in my life? What is my relationship to community? What are my responsibilities to the world? What values do I hold as important?" So to whom can non-religious students turn with these questions?
The fact that four separate religious chaplaincies exist on campus is a testament to Tufts students' need for answers to these profound questions. Indeed, it is not the job of philosophy teachers, psychologists or Ears for Peers members to help you with your personal quest to find meaning in the universe, nor is it their job to mentor you throughout life if you so desire it.
These Tufts chaplaincies do not address the needs of the non-religious. To frame this as a metaphor: A Humanist asking a Catholic chaplain about the meaning of life is like a teenager going to someone who thinks they're Santa's Helper and asking where presents come from. It might provide for an interesting if not amusing discussion, but ultimately if the answer has to do with Santa Claus, it simply will not do. The helper's answer relies on a belief that the teenager doesn't hold. Regarding Humanism, this explains what non-religious students face when seeking answers from theist chaplains.
And yet this is the only sort of option available to non-religious students at Tufts. The preliminary results of the Tufts Community Union (TCU) Senate's 2009 survey indicates that 37.5 percent of respondents identify with no religion at all, which would indicate there are 1,800 non-religious students at Tufts. According to Father David O'Leary, 300 students, or 30 percent of Tufts Catholics, are active in the Catholic Chaplaincy weekly.
As a student-run TCU funded group, Tufts' Freethought Society (TFS) lacks the presence, the funding and the university sanction to meet the need of non-religious students on this campus. TFS is currently only meeting the needs of less than one percent of the entire non-religious community in spite of the larger percentage that might like to participate. For a school that found it justified to fund a chaplaincy for two groups that compose less than three percent of its population (Muslim and Protestant), it would come as shameful for Tufts trustees to not allow for a group that accounts for 37.5 percent of its population to have the chaplaincy it needs. I will add here that the group intends to raise funds to cover all associated costs with this chaplaincy, putting no financial burden on the school.
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This article was edited from its original print version on 12/10/09 for purposes of clarity.
As TFS President, I work towards the establishment of a Humanist chaplaincy for those who see laws of nature behind miracles, for those who have left religion and seek a replacement community, and for those godless individuals who stand alongside me and wait for our turn to be integrated into the Tufts community and have our needs recognized.
I call on you to join me.
