Star Trek began as the Vietnam War was just beginning to heat up, a time when the Cold War was at its zenith. Americans were afraid: afraid of Russians, afraid of communism, afraid of the racial, social and cultural upheaval confronting our nation. Amidst all this turmoil came a television show that depicted a vision of our future that was optimistic: A future in which the conflict between capitalism and communism had been overcome, a future where earthbound forms of racial, ethnic and religious strife had disappeared, a socialist Utopia where merit determined one's station in life.
By the 23rd century, the human race is done waging war upon itself. Instead, humanity is bound together in an interstellar federation, a united federation of planets engaged in missions of exploration and humanitarian relief. Science and technology are embraced as natural and good, reason and scientific method are valued; revelation, superstition, and the religious are missing all together, or viewed as suspect, and revealed as fraudulent.
Indeed, a large part of what made Star Trek great was the distinct lack of religion. Roddenberry regarded himself as an "agnostic atheist," and banned most religious references from the show. As such, the program was a subtle but powerful beacon for freethinkers and agnostics, for those who rejected the petty religious superstitions enslaving so many otherwise good people. The vision of the future articulated in Star Trek was a refreshing change from the apocalyptic future embraced by main stream Christianity. In Star Trek there was a glorious, alternative weltenschaung, a humanist world view, an affirmation of self determination and the dignity and worth of all intelligent forms of life. More than a negation of the supernatural, Star Trek represented a process by which truth and morality could be sought and won through human investigation.
This vision inspired a generation. The adventure continues, and the dream lives on.
from: http://www.examiner.com/x-10853-Seattle-Humanist-Examiner~y2009m5d20-Star-Treks-humanism
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