Editing Transhumanism (section)

=== Spirituality ===
Although many transhumanists are [[atheism|atheists]], [[agnosticism|agnostics]], or [[secular humanism|secular humanists]], some have [[religion|religious]] or [[spirituality|spiritual]] views.<ref name="Hughes 2005"/> Despite the prevailing secular attitude, some transhumanists pursue hopes traditionally espoused by religions, such as [[immortality]],<ref name =imminst/> while several controversial [[new religious movement]]s from the late 20th century have explicitly embraced transhumanist goals of transforming the human condition by applying technology to alter the mind and body, such as [[Raëlism]].<ref name="Rael 2002"/> But most thinkers associated with the transhumanism focus on the practical goals of using technology to help achieve longer and healthier lives, while speculating that future understanding of [[neurotheology]] and the application of [[neurotechnology]] will enable humans to gain greater control of [[altered states of consciousness]], which were commonly interpreted as [[spiritual experience]]s, and thus achieve more profound [[Self-knowledge (psychology)|self-knowledge]].<ref name="Hughes BH 2004"/> Transhumanist Buddhists have sought to explore areas of agreement between various types of Buddhism and [[Buddhist meditation|Buddhist-derived meditation]] and mind-expanding neurotechnologies.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://ieet.org/index.php/IEET/cyborgbuddha|title=IEET Cyborg Buddha Project|work=ieet.org|access-date=October 14, 2014|archive-date=October 16, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141016231222/http://ieet.org/index.php/IEET/cyborgbuddha}}</ref> They have been criticised for appropriating [[mindfulness]] as a tool for transcending humanness.<ref name="Evans 2014"/>

Some transhumanists believe in the compatibility between the human mind and computer hardware, with the theoretical implication that human consciousness may someday be transferred to alternative media (a speculative technique commonly known as [[mind uploading]]).<ref name="Sandberg 2000"/> One extreme formulation of this idea that interests some transhumanists is the proposal of the [[Omega Point]] by Christian cosmologist [[Frank J. Tipler|Frank Tipler]]. Drawing upon ideas in [[Digital physics|digitalism]], Tipler has advanced the notion that the collapse of the [[Universe]] billions of years hence could create the conditions for the perpetuation of humanity in a [[simulated reality]] within a megacomputer and thus achieve a form of "[[posthuman God|posthuman godhood]]". Before Tipler, the term Omega Point was used by [[Pierre Teilhard de Chardin]], a [[paleontologist]] and [[Jesuit]] theologian who saw an evolutionary [[telos (philosophy)|telos]] in the development of an encompassing [[noosphere]], a global consciousness.<ref name="tipler1994"/><ref>{{Cite journal |url=http://jetpress.org/v20/steinhart.htm?pagewanted=all |title=Teilhard de Chardin and Transhumanism |first=Eric |last=Steinhart |journal=Journal of Evolution and Technology |volume=20 |issue=1 |date=December 2008 |pages=1–22}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |title=Transhumanism and Transcendence |first=Michael S. |last=Burdett |page=20 |quote=...others have made important contributions as well. For example, [[Freeman Dyson]] and Frank Tipler in the twentieth century... |publisher=[[Georgetown University Press]] |year=2011 |isbn=978-1-58901-780-1}}</ref>

Viewed from the perspective of some Christian thinkers, the idea of mind uploading is asserted to represent a [[#Contempt for the flesh|denigration of the human body]], characteristic of [[gnostic]] manichaean belief.<ref name="Pauls 2005"/> Transhumanism and its presumed intellectual progenitors have also been described as [[Gnosticism in modern times|neo-gnostic]] by non-Christian and secular commentators.<ref name="Giesen 2004"/><ref name="Davis 1999"/>

The first dialogue between transhumanism and faith was a one-day conference at the [[University of Toronto]] in 2004.<ref name="Campbell & Walker 2005"/> Religious critics alone faulted transhumanism for offering no eternal truths or relationship with the divine. They commented that a philosophy bereft of these beliefs leaves humanity adrift in a foggy sea of [[postmodern]] [[Cynicism (contemporary)|cynicism]] and [[anomie]]. Transhumanists responded that such criticisms reflect a failure to look at the actual content of transhumanist philosophy, which, far from being cynical, is rooted in optimistic, idealistic attitudes that trace back to the [[Age of Enlightenment|Enlightenment]].<ref name="TransVision 2004: Faith, Transhumanism and Hope Symposium"/> Following this dialogue, [[William Sims Bainbridge]], a [[sociology of religion|sociologist of religion]], conducted a pilot study, published in the [[Journal of Evolution and Technology]], suggesting that religious attitudes were negatively correlated with acceptance of transhumanist ideas and indicating that people with highly religious worldviews tended to perceive transhumanism as a direct, competitive (though ultimately futile) affront to their spiritual beliefs.<ref name="Bainbridge"/>

Since 2006, the Mormon Transhumanist Association sponsors conferences and lectures on the intersection of technology and religion.<ref>{{cite web |title=Mormon Transhumanist Association |url=https://www.youtube.com/user/transfigurism |work=YouTube}}</ref> The Christian Transhumanist Association<ref>{{cite web |title=CTA Website |url=https://www.christiantranshumanism.org/ |publisher=Christian Transhumanist Association}}</ref> was established in 2014.

Since 2009, the [[American Academy of Religion]] holds a "Transhumanism and Religion" consultation during its annual meeting, where scholars in the field of [[religious studies]] seek to identify and critically evaluate any implicit religious beliefs that might underlie key transhumanist claims and assumptions; consider how transhumanism challenges religious traditions to develop their own ideas of the human future, in particular the prospect of human transformation, whether by technological or other means; and provide critical and constructive assessments of an envisioned future that place greater confidence in nanotechnology, robotics and information technology to achieve virtual immortality and create a superior posthuman species.<ref name="AAR: Transhumanism and Religion Consultations"/>

The physicist and transhumanist thinker [[Giulio Prisco]] states that "cosmist religions based on science, might be our best protection from reckless pursuit of superintelligence and other risky technologies."<ref>{{cite web | publisher=Turing Church | title=Religion as Protection From Reckless Pursuit of Superintelligence and Other Risky Technologies | date=September 9, 2014 | url=http://turingchurch.com/2014/09/09/religion-as-protection-from-reckless-pursuit-of-superintelligence-and-other-risky-technologies/ | first=Giulio | last=Prisco | access-date=May 8, 2016 | archive-date=May 7, 2016 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160507034125/http://turingchurch.com/2014/09/09/religion-as-protection-from-reckless-pursuit-of-superintelligence-and-other-risky-technologies/ }}</ref> He also recognizes the importance of spiritual ideas, such as those of Russian Orthodox philosopher [[Nikolai Fyodorovich Fyodorov]], to the origins of the transhumanism movement.