Journeys to Humanism, theHumanist.com’s regular series, features real stories from humanists in our community. From heartwarming narratives of growth, to more difficult journeys, our readers open up about their experiences coming to humanism.
Moriant Hernandez
Chicago, IL
As a Latino in Miami, my journey was a bit difficult because of Christianity’s influence on the Latino culture. I didn’t attend church regularly but I was baptized and received communion when I was younger. I did pray when I needed to, but as I got older I started to question the reasoning for prayer and the outdated rules within my religion (Catholicism).
I thank the information age and the ease in accessing new voices of reason within the atheist movement. Their arguments helped me come to the conclusion that god didn’t exist. From that point on, I knew I had to replace the old Catholic system of rules with a more modern approach.
In college I pursued a minor in Religious Studies. I learned about the history of religions around the world, their evolutions and different sects, the influence religion has had on film, and also the different types of religions in America. One of my books (Experiencing the World’s Religions: Tradition, Challenge, and Change by Michael Malloy) discussed modern belief systems and where humanity will transition to next. This is where I first heard about humanism. Once I read what it means to be a humanist, I was excited to learn more about it. I searched humanism on Google and discovered the Florida Humanist Association and the American Humanist Association. I read through the Humanist Manifestos and further explored the resources available on humanist philosophy and knew my journey was complete.
I see humanism as a progressive evolving philosophy that is made for our modern world. Currently I’m a Humanist Celebrant and I encourage anyone that wants to pursue a personal journey to humanism to get a clear understanding of the world’s major secular and religious traditions and how they evolved throughout history. This education will guide you to personally decide where your views and beliefs fit best and help guide all of us to lead ethical lives of personal fulfillment that aspire to the greater good.
The post Journeys to Humanism: Aspiring to the Greater Good appeared first on TheHumanist.com.
Moriant Hernandez recounts the path he took from Roman Catholicism to the progressive evolving philosophy of humanism.
The post Journeys to Humanism: Aspiring to the Greater Good appeared first on TheHumanist.com.