Natural Religion
A None’s Journey of Religious Discovery
- World Religions
- Publisher: Wipf and Stock
- Published: 2025
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Publisher's Description
This book began with a trunk of manuscripts written by my grandfather, Earl Clement Davis (1876-1953) who was a Unitarian minister from 1905-1953. Born a year after he died, I never knew him. Growing up without any religion, I was surprised to discover in these century-old writings a compelling approach to religion, one that resonates with the struggles we face today. My grandfather denied any supernatural aspects of religion. He was an enthusiastic advocate for science. He vigorously argued against all authoritarian forms of governance—religious and civil. He believed in human divinity—the “living God”—the power of humans to pursue the ideals of truth, beauty and goodness to make the world better, a heaven on earth, what I call “Natural Religion.”
Endorsements (3)
“[A] timely and engaging close look at the message of an unheralded Unitarian minister of the first half of the twentieth century in the context of the world today.”
“Davis Baird’s meticulously mounted presentation of his grandfather’s mindset and sermons is both a reaffirmation of Jeffersonian liberal scientific values and a remarkable act of filial piety. One might quarrel with his grandfather’s optimism but undeniably his was a clarion and eloquent voice of early twentieth-century American progressivism. With grace and energy Davis Baird has recaptured his grandfather’s heartening message.”
“In Natural Religion, Davis Baird uses his family’s past to explain why religion still matters in the present in ways that few might expect. His elegant, heartfelt, and deeply spiritual analysis of his grandfather’s sermons and papers touches themes that resonate with our most important human values: peace, nature, compassion, and most of all, our shared stakes in a world that we have the power to steer in better directions than we have done recently.”
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