Ralph Waldo Emerson advocated direct experience of religious sentiment, unmediated by clergy, or by tradition or ritual. In describing himself as a “Transcendentalist,” Emerson lifted up his belief that it was possible for people to have a direct, transcendent experience of reality, a personal…

Part I John Stuart Mill (1806-1873) was a 19th-century British politician and political philosopher. Born and raised in London, Mill had a brilliant mind: He learned Greek starting at the age of three, and Latin and algebra when he was eight. He went on to serve the University of St. Andrews as…

Adapted from Workshop 12 of the Tapestry of Faith curriculum Building the World We Dream About by Dr. Mark A. Hicks….

Natural Rights: Natural rights are associated with philosophy and religion. The idea behind natural rights is that our humanity (our unique nature) imbues us with certain inherent rights, including the right to life. Such rights are commonly attributed to scriptural or religious teachings, the…

By Meg Barnhouse. Used with permission. I dragged myself to the early morning Theme Talk, even though it was the last day of a week at church camp and I was tired from staying up late singing with friends and dancing my fool head off. A panel of old-timers was talking about the early days of…

Remarks by Ralph Waldo Emerson, delivered before the graduating class of Harvard’s Divinity School on July 15, 1838. The intuition of the moral sentiment is an insight of the perfection of the laws of the soul. These laws execute themselves. They are out of time, out of space, and not subject to…

All people have the right to worship and believe what they choose. People have the right to bear arms. Church and state should always be separate. Social clubs (like the Boy Scouts of America) have the right to limit their memberships however they see fit….