Editing Religious humanism (section)

===Ethical Culture===
The [[Ethical Culture]] movement was founded in 1876. The movement's founder, [[Felix Adler (Society for Ethical Culture)|Felix Adler]], a former member of the [[Free Religious Association]], conceived of Ethical Culture as a new religion that would strip away the accumulated unscientific dogmas of traditional religions while retaining and elevating the ethical message at the heart of all religions. Adler believed that traditional religions would ultimately prove to be incompatible with a scientific worldview. He felt that the vital aspects of religion should not be allowed to fall by the wayside. Religions provided vital functions in encouraging good works. And religions taught important truths about the world, albeit these truths were expressed through metaphors that were not always suited to modern understandings of the world. For example, monotheistic religions were based on a metaphor of an authoritarian monarchy, whereas democratic relationships were now understood to be the ideal.

Initially, Ethical Culture involved little in the way of ceremony and ritual. Rather, Ethical Culture was religious in the sense of playing a defining role in people's lives and addressing issues of ultimate concern. Some [[Ethical Society|Ethical Societies]] have subsequently added a degree of [[ritual]] as a means of marking special times or providing a tangible reminder of humanistic ideals.