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Originally Posted by to_hobbes  If you are agnostic, or atheist, or even consider yourself religious but also agree that a naturalistic worldview is important, then you can call yourself a "Bright". |
This is incorrect, you cant be religious and be a bright. You can only subscribe to the cultural aspects of your religion but not its supernaturalism i.e. if your jewish you can wear a yarmulke and light hannukah candles but you cannot believe in God or the supernatural. Though they have agnostics in their organization, its hard to see how they fit: "I am a naturalist but am open to being a supernaturalist if you show me proof". It doesnt quite fit their charter beliefs.
the website states as follows:
"Besides those who self-identify as atheists, humanists, secular humanists, freethinkers, rationalists, naturalists, skeptics, etc., the network includes Ethical Culturalists, Pantheists, Scientific Methodists, Buddhists, Yogis, Unitarians, and a gamut of folks (Jews, Catholics, Quakers, Episcopalians) who maintain their religion’s cultural aspects but not its supernaturalism."
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Anyway, I hope everyone here will consider at least looking at the website, or joining the consortium because like I said, being agnostic fits the definition of a "bright". You can read all about it on the front page of their website"
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Took a look at their website and it is nothing more than a bunch of atheists who wish to semantically redefine themselves as "brights" for the purpose of shedding the negative connotations and stereotypes of the word "atheist". They claim that if your agnostic you can be considered a "bright" but if you are an atheist that decorates according feng shui, believes that the physical properties of magnetism have some type of effect against disease or has a passing interest in astrology you cannot be a bright. Go figure! Here are the quotes from the website and you can decide for yourself:
"Is a Bright an atheist?
A naturalistic worldview connotes something far broader, and identifying their "type of worldview" frees people from defining themselves (negatively) in reference to religion. One can now define oneself free of religious terms or comparisons."
"Of course, a great many Brights are atheists by definition (e.g., they are without belief in any gods). Many self-identify as atheists, too. But, by the same token (i.e., by definition), atheists who have worldviews that do incorporate supernatural ideas are not Brights. It helps to keep those atheists in mind. This helps to see how being a bright is something else. There are the atheists who wear magnets to ward off disease, atheists who arrange their furniture using feng shui, or make decisions by horoscopes, or plant their gardens "by the signs." These are atheists who would not be Brights. They do not have the requisite naturalistic worldview."