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Photo by Philip Maher
Welcome to Good But Not Religious, a website by and about Keith Martin.
More and more people in Canada and the United States say they have no religious affiliation. Many of these identify as 'Spiritual but not religious' (SBNR). 'Spiritual,' however, can sound religious or New Agey to some, especially iGen students who are becoming less religious and less spiritual.
Good But Not Religious is for both SBNR and GBNR students and adults. If spirituality is about values more than beliefs, and being spiritual is about having and living by life-enhancing values like goodness and compassion, then spirituality can be about goodness rather than oneness or transcendence. Goodness can also be your highest value without calling yourself 'spiritual.'
Here you will find resources for being and doing good, with or without religion; for being spiritual without being religious. And since humanism is about being a good human being, here you will find resources for being a good humanist.
Keith was a nonreligious chaplain and educator at two Canadian universities, U. of Waterloo and U. of Guelph, from 2014-20. For 2020-21 he was online but has now retired, though this website will stay up for at least another year. He is the author of 2 books, Seismic Shift: From God to Goodness, and Seismic Shift: The novel. Both books are about making the worldview-shaking transition from believing in God as a higher Being to viewing God as a metaphor for or personification of Goodness—and even letting go of the concept of God.
Here you will find resources Keith has developed or come across on campus for you to use wherever you are. Keith encourages students and adults to have and live by life-enhancing values like goodness and compassion that lift our spirits, promote wellness, and enable relationships to be healthy. Here you will find resources for transcending meaninglessness and nihilism—for being an instrument of goodness, love and justice in our world.
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Photo by Philip Maher
Good But Not Religious Monthly Updates:
September 2018
October 2018
November 2018
December 2018
January 2019
February 2019
March 2019
April 2019
September 2019 (and the fall)
December 2019
January 2020
February 2020
March 2020
April 2020
May 2020: Retirement from Campus Ministry
June 2020: Cancer & COVID-19
July 2020: Spectrum Celebrates 40 Years
August 2020: Keith's Tribute to Jenny
September 2020: GBNR Poster on Campus
October 2020: Fall and Thanksgiving Prayers
November 2020: Apprends moi (Teach me)
December 2020: Responses to Fall GBNR Updates
January 2021: Letting Go of God (and embracing goodness)
February 2021: Letting Go of an Afterlife (and embracing this life)
March 2021: Letting Go of Meaning (and embracing meaning)
April 2021: The Ten Commitments: Living Humanist Values
May 2021: Excerpts from Beyond Order
June 2021: The 7 Principles of Unitarian Universalism
July 2021: Responses to Winter and Spring GBNR Updates
August 2021: The Golden Rule (final GBNR Update)