Jerome A. Stone (born 1935) is an American author, philosopher, Congregationalist minister, and theologian. He is best known for helping to develop the religious movement of

religious naturalism Religious naturalism is a framework for religious orientation in which a naturalist worldview is used to respond to types of questions and aspirations that are parts of many religions. It has been described as "a perspective that finds religious ...

. Stone is on the Adjunct Faculty of

Meadville Lombard Theological School The Meadville Lombard Theological School is a Unitarian Universalism, Unitarian Universalist seminary in Chicago, Illinois. History Meadville Lombard is a result of a merger in the 1930s between two institutions, a American Unitarian Associatio ...

; is Emeritus Professor of Philosophy at William Rainey Harper College; is in Preliminary Fellowship with the

Unitarian Universalist Association Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA) is a liberal religious association of Unitarian Universalism, Unitarian Universalist congregations. It was formed in 1961 by the consolidation of the American Unitarian Association and the Universalist Ch ...

; and is a member of the Highlands Institute of American Religious and Philosophical Thought and the

Institute on Religion in an Age of Science The Institute on Religion in an Age of Science (IRAS) is a non-denominational society that promotes and facilitates the ongoing dialectic between religion and science. The Institute has held annual week-long conferences at Star Island in New Ham ...

(IRAS).

Biography

Stone grew up in

Connecticut Connecticut ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York (state), New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. ...

and

Rhode Island Rhode Island ( ) is a state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Connecticut to its west; Massachusetts to its north and east; and the Atlantic Ocean to its south via Rhode Island Sound and Block Is ...

, the son of a Protestant pastor. Though his family was of modest means he had access to a broad range of books. His father taught him respect for other religions early on. He was educated in the aesthetic and moral dimensions of church life. Instead of oppressive moralism, he was given a vision of moral integrity, service and a sense of the numinous. At the age of sixteen he left home, an early entrant to the

University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, or UChi) is a Private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Its main campus is in the Hyde Park, Chicago, Hyde Park neighborhood on Chicago's South Side, Chic ...

. After a year of graduate studies, he transferred to

Andover Newton Theological School Andover Newton Theological School (ANTS) was a graduate school and seminary in Newton, Massachusetts, affiliated with the American Baptist Churches USA and the United Church of Christ. It was the product of a merger between Andover Theological ...

outside of Boston, MA. His M.Div. thesis was done there on ''Paul Tillich’s Concept of God as the Ground of Being''. He then continued his graduate training at the

University of Chicago Divinity School The University of Chicago Divinity School is a graduate professional school at the University of Chicago dedicated to the training of academics and clergy across religious boundaries. Formed under Baptist auspices, the school today is without ...

, completing his doctorate there in 1973. His doctorate thesis was done on ''The Secular Experiences OF Transcendence: The Contributions of Bernard Meland,

H. Richard Niebuhr Helmut Richard Niebuhr (; September 3, 1894 – July 5, 1962) was an American theologian and Protestant minister who is considered one of the most important Christian ethicists in 20th-century America. He is best known for his 1951 book ''Chr ...

and Paul Tillich''. During this time he served as pastor at three

Congregational Congregationalism (also Congregational Churches or Congregationalist Churches) is a Reformed Christianity, Reformed Christian (Calvinist) tradition of Protestant Christianity in which churches practice Congregationalist polity, congregational ...

and

United Church of Christ The United Church of Christ (UCC) is a socially liberal mainline Protestant Christian denomination based in the United States, with historical and confessional roots in the Congregational, Restorationist, Continental Reformed, and Lutheran t ...

churches. He helped organize the Danville Council on Human Relations which is said to have become the seed bed for the first Head Start program to receive funding. He went on to teach religion, philosophy, ethics and racism in America at

Kendall College Kendall College at National Louis University is a culinary arts and hospitality management college of National Louis University, a private university in Chicago, Illinois. It was founded in 1934 as an independent college and later became a sub ...

, William Rainey Harper College and later at the Meadville Theological School. Over these years he developed a strong environmentalism. In 2002, Stone wrote: :''Lets get religious for a minute. What if the earth and its creatures were sacred? The sacred we treat with overriding care. What if the earth and our sibling creatures were sacred, either inherently sacred, or because they have a derivative sacredness as creatures of God... I would say that my enlightenment involves finding out that I am of the earth, earthly. The continuing task is to find out what this means and to live by it''. Stone has moved from liberal

Protestantism Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...

through a flirtation with

neo-orthodoxy In Christianity, Neo-orthodoxy or Neoorthodoxy, also known as crisis theology and dialectical theology, was a theological movement developed in the aftermath of the First World War. The movement was largely a reaction against doctrines of 19th ...

to a more serious wrestling with

Paul Tillich Paul Johannes Tillich (; ; August 20, 1886 – October 22, 1965) was a German and American Christian existentialist philosopher, religious socialist, and Lutheran theologian who was one of the most influential theologians of the twenti ...

and finally to a Religious Naturalism shaped by

Henry Nelson Wieman Henry Nelson Wieman (1884–1975) was an American philosopher and theologian. He became the most famous proponent of theocentric naturalism and the empirical method in American theology and catalyzed the emergence of religious naturalism in t ...

, Bernard Meland and

John Dewey John Dewey (; October 20, 1859 – June 1, 1952) was an American philosopher, psychologist, and Education reform, educational reformer. He was one of the most prominent American scholars in the first half of the twentieth century. The overridi ...

Religious naturalism

Stone's latest work, ''Religious Naturalism Today: The Rebirth of a Forgotten Alternative'', looks at the history and revival of Religious Naturalism, a 1940s option in religious thinking. It seeks to explore, develop and encourage spiritual ways of responding to the world on a completely naturalistic basis without a supreme supernatural being. Stone traces its history and analyzes some of the issues dividing Religious Naturalists. He includes analysis of nearly fifty distinguished philosophers, theologians, scientists, and figures in art and literature, both living and dead. They range from

Ursula Goodenough Ursula W. Goodenough (born March 16, 1943) is a retired Professor of Biology Emerita at Washington University in St. Louis, where she researched on eukaryotic algae. She authored the textbook ''Genetics'' and the best-selling book ''The Sacred ...

, Gordon D. Kaufman,

William Dean William, Will, Bill or Billy Dean is the name of the following people: Arts and entertainment * Bill Dean (1921–2000), British actor * Billy Dean (born 1962), American country music singer Sports * William Dean (Hampshire cricketer) (c. 1882� ...

Thomas Berry Thomas Berry, CP (November 9, 1914 – June 1, 2009) was a Catholic priest, cultural historian, and scholar of the world's religions, especially Asian traditions. Later, as he studied Earth history and evolution, he called himself a "geologian ...

and

Gary Snyder Gary Snyder (born May 8, 1930) is an American poet, essayist, lecturer, and environmental activist. His early poetry has been associated with the Beat Generation and the San Francisco Renaissance and he has been described as the "poet laureate ...

Jan Christiaan Smuts Field Marshal Jan Christian Smuts, (baptismal name Jan Christiaan Smuts, 24 May 1870 11 September 1950) was a South African statesman, military leader and philosopher. In addition to holding various military and cabinet posts, he served as P ...

William Bernhardt William Bernhardt is an American thriller/mystery/suspense fiction author best known for his "Ben Kincaid" series of book Career Bernhardt is best known for his series of legal thrillers. ''Library Journal'' called him the "master of the court ...

Gregory Bateson Gregory Bateson (9 May 1904 – 4 July 1980) was an English anthropology, anthropologist, social sciences, social scientist, linguistics, linguist, visual anthropology, visual anthropologist, semiotics, semiotician, and cybernetics, cybernetici ...

and Sharon Welch. His history includes its birth from

George Santayana George Santayana (born Jorge Agustín Nicolás Ruiz de Santayana y Borrás, December 16, 1863 – September 26, 1952) was a Spanish-American philosopher, essayist, poet, and novelist. Born in Spain, Santayana was raised and educated in the Un ...

to modern contributors such as

, Loyal Rue and

Chet Raymo Chet Raymo (born September 17, 1936, in Chattanooga, Tennessee) is a noted writer, educator and naturalist. He is Professor Emeritus of Physics at Stonehill College, in Easton, Massachusetts. His weekly newspaper column "Science Musings" appeare ...

. He briefly explores Religious Naturalism in literature and art. Contested issues are discussed including whether Nature's power or goodness is the focus of attention and also on the appropriateness of using the term God. Mary Doak, author of ''Reclaiming Narrative for Public Theology'' says of it:

This is a timely contribution to contemporary
theology Theology is the study of religious belief from a Religion, religious perspective, with a focus on the nature of divinity. It is taught as an Discipline (academia), academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itse ...
. I know of no other book that provides such a clear yet nuanced account of the origins, development, and contemporary forms of religious naturalism. Stone's achievement ensures that religious naturalism will again be a major contender in theological debates

The individual perspectives on Religious Naturalism of Loyal Rue, Donald A. Crosby,

and Stone are discussed by Michael Hogue in his 2010 book'' The Promise of Religious Naturalism''.The Promise of Religious Naturalism - Michael Hogue, Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc., Sept.16, 2010,

Works

Major publications

* ''Religious Naturalism Today: The Rebirth of a Forgotten Alternative'',

State University of New York Press The State University of New York Press (more commonly referred to as the SUNY Press) is a university press affiliated with the State University of New York system. The press, which was founded in 1966, is located in Albany, New York and publishe ...

, December 200

* ''The Chicago School of Theology'', 2 Vols, Edwin Mellen Press, The Edwin Mellen Press, 1996, co-edited and wrote Preface. * ''The Minimalist Vision of Transcendence: A Naturalist Philosophy of Religion'',

SUNY Press The State University of New York Press (more commonly referred to as the SUNY Press) is a university press affiliated with the State University of New York system. The press, which was founded in 1966, is located in Albany, New York and publishe ...

, 1992. *

Major articles

* * * *

References

External links

''The Journal of Liberal Religion''

''What is Religious Naturalism?''

''Best of UU''''Report on Religious Naturalism Today''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Stone, Jerome Meadville Lombard Theological School faculty Religious naturalists Living people Year of birth missing (living people)