Restoring Meaning and Purpose in the 21st Century – A Prelude

This week, Passover, Ramadan and Easter coincide, which only happens three times each century.

This rare and special occasion is an invaluable opportunity for all communities to embrace our shared humanity and make a common call for compassion, inclusion and peace.

Regardless of whether one believes that the Bible, Quran or Torah is the irrefutable word of God or that there is even a God, I maintain that the stories we find in religious texts can be used for their conceptual value to convey important ideas about self-sacrifice, justice, mercy and compassion, rather than rigid scriptural mandates.

As a humanist and philosopher myself, I’ve found ways to ground my sense of meaning and purpose without invoking the supernatural. It’s been a journey to get to this point and I’m fortunate to have had such a strong support network. I’ll always be grateful for having grown up surrounded by fervent religious people – both Christians and Muslims – because an inherent sense of purpose and a desire to be virtuous don’t come naturally to everyone.

I’m in the process of writing a book that details my journey from Christianity to humanism because I believe it’s important we all reflect on our belief systems and embrace our authentic selves.

We’re currently at an inflection point where so many across the globe are experiencing what Jamie Wheal describes as a ‘crisis of meaning’ due to the failures of both traditional religions and modern liberalism. I hope my book and my advocacy work with groups like Surviving Universal UK, British Institute of International and Comparative Law, The Conduit and the Royal Society of Arts will help create liberating structures so that all people around the world can experiment, innovate and adapt their own unique approaches to finding and restoring meaning without the dictates of hegemonic forces.