Was Charles Schulz a Secular Humanist?
I've noticed various web sites state that he was a Secular Humanist.
On the MetroActive.com website (http://www.metroactive.com/papers/sonoma/12.30.99/schulz2-9952.html), here are a few excerpts from the article in question:
I've been thinking of the afternoon, over four and a half years ago, that I had lunch with the Peanuts creator.
I soon found myself drawn into an unexpected conversation about religion and Christian fundamentalism with a somewhat pessimistic craftsman--he often referred to himself as a "lowly cartoonist"--who was nevertheless warm, open-hearted, and sharp as a tack.
Schulz revealed that in the years following World War II he'd been quite involved in the Church of God in Minneapolis, occasionally dabbling in what he called "some very lousy preaching."
Though his philosophical views evolved over the years--"The term that best describes me now is 'secular humanist,'" he explained--his characters continued to quote biblical passages, occasionally musing about the darker inconsistencies of religion. These thoughtful reflections were never heavy-handed; rather, Schulz had become the reigning master of the lighter-than-air, spiritually resonant comic-strip koan.
http://www.metroactive.com/papers/sonoma/12.30.99/schulz2-9952.html.
From the December 30, 1999-January 5, 2000 issue of the Sonoma County Independent.
Consider the following New York Times excerpts:
He was a member of the Church of God, where he was a Sunday school teacher and administrator and would occasionally deliver the Sunday sermon.
Personal Anxieties Shared With Millions
Despite his large family and large success he was a melancholy man who worried and was often lonely, depressed and plagued by panic attacks, features that Rheta Grimsley Johnson brought out in her 1989 biography "Good Grief: The Story of Charles M. Schulz." Sally, Charlie Brown's sister, put it well in a school report on night and day: "Daytime is so you can see where you're going. Nighttime is so you can lie in bed worrying."
He hated cats, coconut and sleeping away from home.
Mr. Schulz always felt for the little man and the little animal. He once said that his philosophy of life could be found in the Gospel of St. Luke: "It were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and he cast into the sea, than that he should offend one of these little ones."
http://www.nytimes.com/library/arts/021400obit-c-schulz.html
Consider also the following Washington Post excerpt:
Short said in an interview that Schulz was pleased with the attention to religious nuance. Short considered the cartoonist a deeply religious man--he belonged to the Church of God and called himself a secular humanist--who "did not want to offend" readers with grandiose expressions of his faith.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/WPlate/2000-02/14/109l-021400-idx.html -->
Baptist Surfer Comment: The MetroActive Interview must have been conducted around 1995-1996. It does state he described himself as a Secular Humanist. However, it also stated:
"...he'd been quite involved in the Church of God in Minneapolis, occasionally dabbling in what he called "some very lousy preaching."
&
"...his characters continued to quote biblical passages."
However, The New York Times (http://www.nytimes.com/library/arts/021400obit-c-schulz.html) noted that
"...he was a melancholy man who worried and was often lonely, depressed and plagued by panic attacks. "
The MetroActive article did note that he:
"...often referred to himself as a "lowly cartoonist"
I suspect that when he was interviewed, during the 1995-1996 interview, that his depression caused him to "downgrade" himself in this way. e.g "lowly cartoonist" (the opposite was true) & hence "Secular Humanist" (the opposite could also be true).
Although he did crack a few jokes in the interview, many comedians use humour to mask depression. In addition, his criticism of religion used in other comic strips, may have stemmed from their "heavy handed" approach to the subject, whereas Schulz preferred to keep it subtle and "lighter-than-air".
The New York Times stated that :
"...he was a member of the Church of God, where he was a Sunday school teacher and administrator and would occasionally deliver the Sunday sermon.
It also noted:
"...He once said that his philosophy of life could be found in the Gospel of St. Luke: "It were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and he cast into the sea, than that he should offend one of these little ones."
Perhaps the most shocking line is from the New York Times article:
"He hated cats, coconuts and sleeping away from home."
I'm shocked and dismayed...how could anybody hate coconuts....(!)
Seriously, I guess the person who drew Snoopy (a dog) probably wouldn't be too fond of cats! (Didn't Sir Isaac Newton invent the catflap?!?!)
Technically, Schulz was never a pocket profile - from the offset, It was always an article of interest on the Articles page. I think I was concerned that, although it's carried by the Daily Mail (a UK newspaper), it's very, very American & may not mean as much to a UK visitor - and so I decided that it was more suited to the articles page.
Most websites maintain that he was an active member of his church, occasionally preached & that his comic strip contained numerous religious references, and hence I don't think the MetroActive article reflected his long term beliefs, but were a reflection of his depression at the time of the interview. So, I'm keeping the link on the Articles page.
