“The things that have to do with human character and virtue and those things that make life meaningful will not change as a result of human enhancement, just like they haven’t changed as our society has changed,” says Ted Peters, a professor of systematic theology at Pacific Lutheran Theological Seminary in Berkeley, California.“As long as we are still human, these things will be important.”

Furthermore, an enhanced life will still contain challenges and limits, just different ones, says Ronald Cole-Turner, a professor of theology and ethics at Pittsburgh Theological Seminary, which is associated with the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.).“The challenges of life will still be there, they may just be different and harder,” he says.“The goal posts will have moved further down the field, that’s all.”

TRANSHUMANISM AND FAITH TRADITIONS

Because human enhancement is still largely an issue for the future, it has not yet attracted a lot of attention in American religious communities.There is, for instance, no official teaching or statement on human enhancement or transhumanism that has come directly from any of the major churches or religious groups in the United States.