May I introduce
Secular Humanism?
This is probably the closest description of where I stand.
I've read this thread, and seen a lot of people whom I consider colleagues and friends chime in with their thoughts. Some of those thoughts I agree with; others, were we sitting at a bar or a coffee joint, would lead to, what I think would be a tremendously fun discussion.
Religion is not for me. Belief in a Supreme Creator does not fit with my view of the world. It's what works for me.
I was raised in a strict Catholic household in a Catholic neighborhood, went to Catholic schools. When my parents split up, I was ten. Once word of the divorce got round the community, my sister and I became social pariahs from that day forward, largely due to the Catholic parents passing judgement on my family's situation, and passing that judgement along to their kids. Our parents were divorced, which the Catholic church didn't take a real cheery view on, which somehow made us kids less worthy of Christian kindness, rather than more in need of it. It didn't end with our peers; the good Sisters that ran the school were equally determined to punish us for our parents' transgressions. For whatever reasons, we were to be subjugated rather than saved.
OK, fast forward thirty years. As an adult, I understand things a little better. Every religion, every faith, is comprised of
people. People are, inevitably, going to screw things up. We can't help it. Also, like any other religious structure, there are those who preach the words, and those who perform the words. I lived in a community that loudly preached, but poorly performed. I've seen the other side of that, where the community was outwardly very religiously quiet - probably due to the sheer exhaustion of working their tails off to help their neighbors.
I worked with a fellow who once told me, "Did you ever notice that the people who speak the loudest about being 'Good Christians"... aren't?" I have never found reason not to disagree with him on that thought. And the same holds true for any religion in the place of Christian.
I've explored many religions, with varying intensity. One of those I looked at introduced me to the concept of the Wiccan Rede. I don't hold with it; much of it is spellcasting and other silliness. But the final lines are nothing more than a re-telling of the timeless Golden Rule: "Do unto others as you would have done unto you." The Wiccan Rede closes with, "An
[sic] Ye Harm None, Do What Ye Will." I don't follow any faith, but those words are pretty clear enough, and good practice.
Are there militant believers of every stripe? Absolutely. Those who seek to impose their beliefs upon others, and who seek to legitimize those beliefs by way of legislation, are a clear and present danger to the safety of ALL religions and ALL faiths in any given country. Sharia law as the law of a land should terrify any reasonable human being. Christian law as the law of a land should do the same. Religion is a PERSONAL choice, and should remain in the purvey of individuals. It is not the responsibility of the state to mandate religion.