Purpose-Driven Life and Secularism

How can you find purpose and meaning from a secular perspective?

Mike meets regularly with friends and acquaintances from his neighborhood in a large
building. There, he enjoys listening to presentations about big life questions: on the
meaning of life, on the nature of morality, on ethical behavior, etc. He participates in study
circles that engage with these questions in more depth. Mike sings, dances, and enjoys
musical performances there. Together with others, he volunteers to help clean up the
streets and build housing for poor people in the neighborhood.

Research generally shows that those who believe in God and go to church have an
overall more powerful sense of purpose and meaning in life, although some recent
studies nuance these conclusions. As research shows, a strong perception of meaning in life
leads to significantly higher mental well-being and physical health. But is it the belief in God
that creates this stronger sense of life meaning and purpose, or something else going on?
Other research indicates that religion satisfies people’s desire to belong. Studies show that
people have a higher sense of life meaning and purpose when they are part of a
community and have strong social bonds. Likewise, people have a stronger sense of life
meaning when they have an opportunity to reflect on this question, by themselves and
especially together with others. Religion provides the primary opportunity for community
ties and the main venue for discussing life meaning and purpose, at least in the United
States. In other societies different institutions offer many of the same benefits as churches
do in the US.

Well, what about Mike? After all, through his activities, he gains social bonds and
community connections, chances for serving others, and places to reflect on big life
questions – all the components that make up gaining a sense of meaning and purpose.
Mike’s full name is not Michael, but Mikhail, and his experience describes the prototypical
experience of Soviet citizens in state-sponsored community activities. For example, the
future Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev described in his memoirs how much he and other
Soviet citizens enjoyed such events: according to him, “everybody was keen to participate”
(pg. 6). The Soviet Union is typically perceived as a militaristic and grey society, with a
government that oriented all of its efforts to taking over the world. Well, that’s simply not
true, as the Soviet authorities put a lot of resources into providing its citizens with
opportunities to find meaning and purpose in life, as well as fun and pleasure – although
they also certainly wanted to spread communism throughout the world, and put a lot of
efforts into this goal as well. To understand how the USSR’s government helped its citizens
gain a greater sense of meaning and purpose, I spent over a decade investigating
government reports in archives across the Soviet Union, exploring national and local
newspapers, read memoirs and diaries, and interviewed over fifty former Soviet citizens.
The answer: to a large extent, through government-sponsored community and cultural
centers called kluby (clubs). These venues, and other ones such as discos, replaced in
many ways the social function provided by churches, offering Soviet citizens social and
community connections, chances for serving others, and places to reflect on meaning and
purpose in life, in a setting that combined state sponsorship with grassroots engagement.
Present-day societies with a more secular orientation than the United States have similar
stories to tell, as illustrated by research on contemporary Denmark and Sweden. Most
Danes and Swedes do not worship any god. At the same time these countries score at the
very top of the “happiness index,” have very low crime and corruption rates, great
educational systems, strong economies, well-supported arts, free health care, egalitarian
social policies. They have a wide variety of strong social institutions that provide community
connections, opportunities for serving others, and other benefits that religion provides in
the United States.

So believing in God and going to church is not the only way to attain a strong sense of life
purpose and meaning. You can gain it in venues that are secular and provide an
opportunity for community ties and a chance to reflect on life purpose and meaning just as
religious communities have traditionally offered. Research indicates that those who engage
with such deep questions in a setting that does not expect conformity to a specific dogma
overall gain a deeper perception of meaning and purpose.

In the United States, such venues are few and far between, but their numbers are growing.
Right here in Columbus, OH, you can join the Humanist Community of Central Ohio, an
affiliate of the American Humanist Association. Other groups that provide local affiliates the:

 American Atheists
  American Ethical Union
 Americans United for the Separation of Church and State
 Black Nonbelievers
 Center for Inquiry
 Council for Secular Humanism
 Foundation Beyond Belief
 Freedom From Religion Foundation
 Hispanic American Freethinkers
 Military Association of Atheists and Freethinkers
 Oasis Network
 People of Color Beyond Faith
 Recovering from Religion
 Secular Coalition for America
 Skeptics Society
 Society for Humanistic Judaism
 Sunday Assembly
 United Coalition of Reason

Those in college and high school can go to Secular Student Alliance affiliates, while children
and teenagers enjoy lively discussions and fun activities at Camp Quest. Venues that
include both believers and non-believers also exist, such as United
Universalist congregations, including the First UU Church in Columbus, OH, that I attend
with Agnes Vishnevkin, my wife and fellow Intentional Insights co-founder. Within UU
congregations, specific subgroups exist for those who are secularly-oriented, part of the UU
Humanist Association.

So if you want to gain a rich sense of life meaning and purpose, without an externally
imposed and God-oriented framework, check out local affiliates of these national
organizations. You will find a place to reflect on deep life questions from reason-based
perspectives, and gain an opportunity to enter communities where you can form strong
social bonds and great friendships. Also, check out workshops and videos by Intentional
Insights on finding purpose and meaning from an evidence-based perspective, and discuss
your thoughts on this topic in a virtual forum on our blog.
What is your experience reflecting on life meaning and purpose in a community setting? If
you are part of a community, do you find that such social ties help reinforce your sense of
life meaning and purpose? If not, what steps might you take to gain this benefit and thus
increase your mental and physical well-being?

P.S. For additional resources, check out this workbook with exercises on finding meaning
and purpose using science-based strategies; this free science-based web app to evaluate
your current sense of meaning and purpose; this free online class on finding meaning and
purpose using science; and the wide variety of other resources on meaning and purpose
available at Intentional Insights.