Name:

Beingism

Channel Views:

2,903

Total Upload Views:

12,645

Joined:

August 17, 2008

Last Sign In:

2 days ago

Subscribers:

103

Website:

Country:

United States

Hobbies:

Our mission is to establish a coherent vision of ethical behavior and social activism for people disinclined to accept religious and faith-based philosophies of life, and to further it by creating community and developing new and enjoyable ways of changing the world for the better. It may be that nonreligious individuals are less likely to form communities than their religious counterparts. Certainly, the lack of a preexisting community (such as an established church) is a relative hindrance to community-building. No doubt also willingness to question pervasive societal norms, particularly when they are part of belief systems from which most people derive emotional, social, and/or financial support, probably tends to accompany an individualistic (rather than community-oriented) approach to life. In addition, social stigma reduces the community resources available to nonreligious people, both financially (e.g. nonreligious institutions are not given the same financial benefits as faith-based organizations) and socially (e.g., fear of discrimination leads to increased difficulty in reaching out to find others with similar values). Unfortunately, these factors have fractured communities of nonreligious people, making it extremely difficult for them to agree upon or articulate a positive vision for the future, or to create social change. This lack of community also leads religious communities to conclude that nonreligious people are without ethics. When we say that we're "nonreligious," "agnostic," "atheist," or "unbelieving," we're really only saying what we aren't. These words certainly reflect an aspect of our identity, but we can be (and we are) much more than this: We are a community of people with many shared ideas and values, including reason, happiness, and compassion. Creating the social change these values ask of us isn't always easy. Powerful forces oppose it, and devoting effort to creating change may mean hard work helping others or engaging in activism. It may mean giving up the time to do other fun activities. Sometimes it means [nolink]being stigmatized by ideological enemies as unpatriotic, weak, contrary, or worse. And even if we don't fear wasting our efforts or [nolink]being criticized, we may simply not know how to go about it by ourselves. By working together, we can avoid many of these problems. By doing so, we not only get closer to creating the kind of society we want to live in, we also find ways to enjoy the process. By unleashing our creativity and passion in the common pursuit of a well-chosen goal, and by finding whatever connections between us as we may, we make it exciting and enjoyable. The point is that we can be ourselves — and change the world.