I was raised Catholic. Much more than that, though, really. I went to Catholic school for 16 years – from first grade through college. Holy Trinity elementary, Bishop Hafey High School, and the University of Scranton (Jesuit). That’s called indoctrination. I observed all the holy days of obligation. Went to mass continually, though it felt like constantly. Did the alter boy gig for 2 years (unmolested I might add, thankfully). My parent were very Catholic. We prayed the rosary every evening during Lent – on our knees (just absolutely ridiculous) as a family. Had the Advent wreath. Fasted. So, you see, I was raised Catholic and have unquestionable bona fides when it comes to Catholicism. (Lots of fun and joy growing up in my big Irish Catholic family, though. I don’t want to give the impression of a dour family life.)

But I’m not Catholic now. (I know – I started an entirely new paragraph with “But” which is an absolute grammatical faux pas. My mother is spinning. Remember, my blog site, so my rules.) So, how do I describe myself in the South when someone asks and, in the South, they do ask? Lapsed Catholic doesn’t begin to describe how far I am away from my Catholic upbringing. Besides “lapsed” seems to imply that the person might make their way back to Catholicism at some time. Since that ain’t gonna happen, lapsed is just not accurate. Has to be another, more descriptive term.

When asked, I could always fall back on the, “I’m not religious, but I am spiritual” response. My God, do these people hear themselves? How fuckin pompous. Anyone who ever says that should immediately be hit in the back of the head with a 6 pound bag of horseshit. What is spiritual anyway? I know I’m not it. I just have to accept the fact that there has never been anyone who knows me that has ever said, “You know that Mike McGeehin seems to be a spiritual guy.” I’m ok with that. I think you have to wear Birkenstocks and socks to be “spiritual” and that’s just not worth it.

You’re probably asking yourself, “Well, how did he lose his Catholic faith if he was so indoctrinated since childhood?” Or you might be asking yourself, “What the hell am I still doing reading this drivel?” Both are fair questions, but let’s just deal with the first one. There was no cataclysmic event that made me turn my back on the church. I’d like to say it was learning of Pope Pius XII’s response to the Holocaust during World War II, or the church’s position towards women over thousands of years, or the rampant, undisciplined pedophilia. Any of those should have done it and all of them probably inched me in the direction, but it was really just developing into a thinking adult that caused me to “cast a cold eye” on Catholicism.

It is not my intention in this space to cast aspersions on all of the beliefs that so many good, decent people use to navigate through life. However, for any historian, or really any person aware of current events, tremendous damage has been inflicted on humanity by various forms of religion and the biases and suspicions that are inherent in those beliefs. Wars, pogroms, genocide, massacres, and terror. As a famous American might tweet, BAD. Without these evil excesses that large religions seem to continually propagate and even revel in, participating in a community with a shared belief system might be a very good environment for many people and help them live a charitable life. For me, I really don’t see the good. I’m with John Lennon – “Imagine no religion/it’s easy if you try/no hell below us/above us only sky”. You do your thing. I’ll do mine.

So, if not Catholic (lapsed or otherwise) and certainly not “spiritual” (I don’t even own a pair of sandals), what am I? I have for some time described myself as a secularist and that’s accurate, but by no means complete. The simplest definition of secular is a rejection of religion and religious contributions. While that represents my view, secularism is only part of how I approach my life and this world. In addition, secularism by itself, is a belief of negation. You reject religion, ok, but what do you believe in?

After searching for some time, I think my approach to life can best be described as “secular-humanist”. The “secular” retains my rejection of religion and all of its’ ramifications and the “humanist” describes my beliefs and moral compass. Humanism has been described as an approach to life based on reason and our common humanity, recognizing that moral values are founded on human nature and experience alone. The philosophy of humanism totally rejects the premise that people must have religion to have morals or to care for their fellow humans. You care for people and you strive to do good based on our shared humanity rather than some list of archaic rules underpinned with the threat of eternal damnation. My humanism is based on my scientific, factual approach to life combined with my life experiences, including, quite frankly, my Catholic upbringing. To be honest, I’m still working it all out. Except for funerals and weddings, I haven’t set foot in a church in 40 years. So, I know where I’m not going. The rest is a learning curve into the future.

I know one thing, it’s much easier to have someone else tell you all of the rules on how to live your life than to try and find your own way.

One last point, the common humanity in my humanism is best thought of in the most general, theoretical sense. I don’t suffer fools well, so it’s best for me to consider humanity in theory. As Charlie Schultz’s Linus once said, “I love mankind. It’s people I can’t stand.”

One final point (this really will be the last point), maybe all of this is too much to go into with everyone who may ask me what religion I am. Maybe they only want to know what church I go to? Maybe they only want to start a conversation? Nah, I think they’ll find all of the basis of my belief system just fascinating. I’ll try it at the next party. I’m sure I’ll be surrounded the entire night.