Movements need a sense of history and tradition to inspire respect and loyalty in their members. Tom Flynn’s enthusiasm and research in creating the Freethought Trail and establishing the Robert Green Ingersoll Birthplace Museum reflected his keen awareness of the importance of educational and public relations in maintaining the heritage of secularism and valorizing its early American heroes and founders.

In fact, secular humanism’s relationship to the arts and culture is a source of potential strength in its struggle with religion and ignorance. One criticism of modernity and the associated triumph of science and rationalism maintains that a secular society and culture has no place for the spiritual, the sublime, or the romantic. Yet a visit to any of the nation’s museums and art galleries dispels this argument. These institutions are essentially secular shrines, and they are places of deep meaning in contemporary culture. Americans view of museums, art galleries, and public libraries as places of awe and reverence is characterized by silence and decorum. The secularizing influence of science and natural history museums is obvious; otherwise there would be no need for a rival Bible-oriented Creation Museum in Kentucky or the Museum of the Bible in Washington, D.C. The transfer of Christian religiously themed paintings and sculptures from churches to public art galleries to be placed alongside exhibits  from earlier pagan and non-Western cultures was in itself a process of secularization.

Similarly the performance of a Bach, Brahms, or Mozart requiem in a public concert hall desacralizes the event and places the emphasis on the human artistry of the composer and the orchestra.

Most public museum mission statements reflect the heritage of Renaissance-style humanism and the Enlightenment, the essential harbingers of secularism. Museums do an excellent job of conveying secular values by stating their hope to inspire people of all backgrounds by imbuing them with a greater appreciation for human achievement and diversity. The nation’s cultural institutions espouse pluralistic values and court broad audiences by implicitly offering visitors a chance to connect with one another through dialogue and shared experiences with the arts. The impulse to universalize goes hand in hand with the tendency to secularize. One can see museums as temples of a sort: temples of culture and memory. In fact, many older museums are notable for their resemblance to classical Pre-Christian Greek temples with Doric columns. Many contemporary museums are heavy on glass—suggesting the absence of boundaries and letting in light, a very secular concept.