Actually Secularism Will Work

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/deepak-chopra/only-spirituality-can-sol_b_474221.html

Deepak Chopra argues that, “If there is anything that will at this moment heal our wounded planet with its immense problems of social injustice, ecological devastation, extreme economic disparities, war, conflict and terrorism, it is a deeper experiential understanding and knowledge of our own spirit.”

On the contrary, rather than wasting our time trying to deepen our understanding and knowledge of the spirit, which has never been proven to exist, we must take a secularist approach to solving these problems.

Secularism can be defined as, “the view that human activities and decisions, especially political ones, should be based on evidence and fact unbiased by religious influence” (Kosmin, Barry A. "Contemporary Secularity and Secularism." Secularism & Secularity: Contemporary International Perspectives. Ed. Barry A. Kosmin and Ariela Keysar. Hartford, CT: Institute for the Study of Secularism in Society and Culture (ISSSC), 2007.). We need to work in the here and now to help our follow humans to reach out to them.

Our society must put humans before God. Chopra gives mention to the atrocities that have been committed in the name of religion. He says that getting closer to God and developing a better understanding is the key to solving the world’s problems. I’m sure those who were behind the horrors that occurred in the name of religion also felt they were getting closer to God. Either way, we need to take action on the “immense problems” we face today. I fear that if we as a society move in a direction in which we seek a better spiritual understanding that we will never find the answers to our problems because the answers will not come.

Chopra’s argument comes off as a fancy way of saying, “we need to pray more.” After all, prayer is a way in which the faithful attempt to bring themselves closer to God. Now, who is more likely to save a dying child? A group of people praying, mediating, or doing whatever they can to enlighten their sense of spirituality or a group of doctors who through years of training and practice are able to perform the necessary procedures to save her life? Will spirituality stop our “ecological devastation” or will finding and rooting out the causes of the devastation? I’m sure that getting in touch with your spiritual side can be very fulfilling if you believe but, it is not an effective approach to solving world issues. It is a personal journey not meant to help the whole.