Learning how to build ethical relationships and cultivate a humane community is a life-long endeavor. Self-reflection and our social nature require us to shape a more humane world. Spiritual life is rooted in self-reflection, but can only come to full flower in community. This is because people are social, needing both primary relationships and larger supportive groups to become fully human. Our social nature requires that we reach beyond ourselves to decrease suffering and increase creativity in the world.
Democratic process is essential to our task.
The democratic process is essential to a humane social order because it respects the worth of persons and elicits and allows a greater expression of human capacities. Democratic process also implies a commitment to shared responsibility and authority. Life itself inspires religious response. Written in collaboration with leaders and members of the American Ethical Union, coordinated by Lois Kathleen Kellerman, Emeritus Leader, Brooklyn Society for Ethical Culture . All rights reserved.