Sacred Humanism Without Miracles: Responding to the New Atheists

In Sacred Humanism Without Miracles, Roy Saltman provides the premises of sacred humanism: the nonexistence of miraculous interventions and the unknowability of the existence of supernatural beings. Saltman argues that the evolution of humanity over billions of years after the Big Bang provides a basis for valuing life as sacred. As humans demand answers to the meaning of death, religion will not die. He further argues that the New Atheists' claim that religion always leads to fanaticism is baseless. State-backed religion results in tyranny. He shows how sacred humanists work to implement their highest values - for example, enforcing separation of church and state, eliminating denigration of nonbelievers, assuring just governance, and preventing human trafficking - to improve this world.