The greatest American religious leader you never heard of died recently. Rabbi Sherwin T. Wine, founder of the international movement of Humanistic Judaism, and dubbed "the atheist rabbi" by Time magazine in 1965, was returning from dinner Saturday night in Essouria, Morocco, when his taxicab was hit by another driver, killing Wine and the taxi driver. But what made Wine’s life special enough that this all-too-common tragedy is worth noting nationally?
He worked no miracles; at least not the sea-parting, divine intervention variety he vigorously disbelieved in, for lack of scientific evidence. Wine’s works rather involved building a worldwide network of congregations for proudly atheist and agnostic Jews. Organizing atheists is often compared to herding cats, and most Americans see Judaism as a monotheistic religion: but this U.S. Army Chaplain in the Korean War, trained as a Reform Rabbi by the prestigious Hebrew Union College, had a different vision. He asserted that Judaism is a culture, which is why it can claim famous doubters from Freud to Woody Allen to Theodore Herzl, not to mention the 49 percent of American Jews today who say they are not Jewish by religion. Wine powerfully preached that we might all take pride in our culture, while affirming the equality of all human beings as part of a Humanist worldview.
This past April at Harvard University, I organized an international conference on Humanism, a non-religious approach to life based on reason and compassion. Wine was easily chosen as the most outstanding speaker of the weekend-long event, which included such world-famous figures as Sir Salman Rushdie, Nobel laureate Amartya Sen, and 2-time Pulitzer Prize winning scientist E.O. Wilson. As one conference attendee wrote, he was “the surprise speaker who blew me away,” but for those of us fortunate enough to know Sherwin, his excellence came as no surprise. What made him among the finest orators I have seen was his dedication to demonstrating what it means to be good without god.
Wine performed thousands of weddings, funerals, bar and bat mitzvahs, and baby-naming ceremonies based not on praise of god but on celebration of the human spirit. He listened at the bedside of sick and dying patients with the same passion, commitment and warmth that drove him to found numerous successful organizations such as the Society for Humanistic Judaism, the International Institute for Secular Humanistic Judaism, and the Humanist Institute.
Wine taught that human dignity, courage and love are our most important values, not religious obedience. He publicly debated religious fundamentalists such as Jerry Falwell and Meir Kahane. And he refused the religious veneer that America so values in its leaders-- though he kept the title rabbi he did not pray or praise a god he did not believe in.
Yet the movement Sherwin founded and the career he pioneered-- creating a new tradition that I am among those dedicating our lives to carrying on-- was never against god but rather sought, beyond god, to create humanist community, led by humanist professionals, for the benefit of all human beings. If we learn one thing from his loss, let it be this: now that the world's attention has turned to the 1.1 billion non-religious people on earth, including 30-40 million Americans, and now that bestselling books on atheism by authors such as Richard Dawkins and Christopher Hitchens have shown millions what Humanists do not believe in, let those of us who happen to be freethinkers follow Sherwin's example and build a positive alternative to traditional religion. Let us build communities, organizations, and families that do good for ourselves and others, based on the Humanist ethic of reason, compassion and creativity.
When I met Rabbi Wine I was a confused post-adolescent, unfulfillingly exploring Buddhism and rock music. My father’s death was haunting me and my life-choices expressed a subconscious whine, “why me?” Without the theatrics of grabbing me by the collar, he patiently argued life isn’t fair, and the good life is not one of constant sensual pleasure or of narcissistic self-regard.
He taught me what Humanist teachers have been teaching since Epicurus in ancient Greece and the Charvakas in ancient India: life’s most worthwhile goal is to achieve dignity and recognize the dignity of all people; and self-esteem comes not through navel gazing, but from finding the courage to help others even when we fear it is we ourselves who need help.
Like Eleanor Roosevelt, Sherwin knew it is better to light a candle than curse the darkness. So let us remember the words of his moving liturgical song, "Ayfo Oree" (“Where is My Light?"):
Where is my light?
My light is in me.
Where is my hope?
My hope is in me.
Where is my strength?
My strength is in me.
And in you.
"On Faith" panelist Greg M. Epstein serves as the Humanist Chaplain of Harvard University, and sits on the executive committee of the 38-member interfaith corps of Harvard Chaplains.
