Over the years we've been involved in a few Christian churches ranging from the Catholic Church, the Lutheran Church, the Baptist Church, as well as the Unitarian Universalist Association of Congregations. Ultimately we found ourselves flustered with all Christian churches and found ourselves fairly closely in line with the beliefs and values espoused by the Unitarian Universalists. We also came to the realization that we were frustrated and discouraged with most any religious organization or association and moved away from any church or association.
We have issues with atheism and agnosticism, since those terms infer negative or undefined views. We began exploring other views and ran across Humanists and Free Thought philosophies. Interestingly Free Thought movements within the United States evolved into the Unitarian Universalist Association. The definition for Humanism from the American Humanist Association is "Humanism is a progressive philosophy of life that, without theism and other supernatural beliefs, affirms our ability and responsibility to lead ethical lives of personal fulfillment that aspire to the greater good of humanity." Again a negative perspective (without theism and other supernatural beliefs) instead of focusing more on the positive. We feel like we relate to some of the Humanists views such as "Secular Humanism is a life stance that focuses on the way human beings can lead good, happy and functional lives." The problem we have is that we don't necessarily feel we need a church or association to help us lead the life we aspire to. That's my question. Why do I need to be labeled? Is that for my benefit, or for others?
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