Who are the "Nones"? What does humanism say about race, religion and popular culture? How do race, religion and popular culture inform and affect humanism?The demographics of the United States are changing, marked most profoundly by the religiously unaffiliated, or what we have to come to call the "Nones". Spread across generations in the United States, this group encompasses a wide range of philosophical and ideological perspectives, from some in line with various forms of theism to those who are atheistic, and all sorts of combinations in between. Similar changes to demographics are taking place in Europe and elsewhere. Humanism: Essays on Race, Religion and Popular Culture provides a much-needed humanities-based analysis and description of humanism in relation to these cultural markers. Whereas most existing analysis attempts to explain humanism through the natural and social sciences (the "what" of life), Anthony B. Pinn explores humanism in relation to "how" life is arranged, socialized, ritualized, and framed. This ground-breaking publication brings together old and new essays on a wide range of topics and themes, from the African-American experience, to the development of humanist churches, and the lyrics of Jay Z.

AcknowledgementsIntroduction: Sisyphus, Humanism, and the Challenge of ThreeSection One: Race1. Racing Humanism: Two Examples for Context2. The Ongoing Challenge of Race3. African Americans Living Li(f)e4. Does Race Have a Religion? On the 'Faith' of Du BoisSection Two: Religion5. Nimrod Is a Hero...and God Is a Problem6. Humanism and the Rethinking of a King's King7. Putting Jesus in His Place8. Gathering the Godless: Intentional 'Communities' and Ritualizing Ordinary LifeSection Three: Cultural Production9. Learning to Be Cool, or Making Due With What We Do10. End of the 'End': Humanism, Hip Hop and Death11. Speaking in Public: The Problem of Theistic Language for Collective LifeEpilogue: Sisyphus's HappinessBibliography