Thursday, January 6, 2011

Secular Humanism

I've recently have come to to learn about Secular Humanism and agree with many of it's points. I'm not into labeling myself as this or that but I must admit if one would ask I'd say I am a Secular Humanist. If you don't know what it is here is a quick synopsis.  

Secular Humanism is a term which has come into use in the last thirty years to describe a world view with the following elements and principles:
  • A conviction that dogmas, ideologies and traditions, whether religious, political or social, must be weighed and tested by each individual and not simply accepted on faith.
  • Commitment to the use of critical reason, factual evidence, and scientific methods of inquiry, rather than faith and mysticism, in seeking solutions to human problems and answers to important human questions.
  • A primary concern with fulfillment, growth, and creativity for both the individual and humankind in general.
  • A constant search for objective truth, with the understanding that new knowledge and experience constantly alter our imperfect perception of it.
  • A concern for this life and a commitment to making it meaningful through better understanding of ourselves, our history, our intellectual and artistic achievements, and the outlooks of those who differ from us.
  • A search for viable individual, social and political principles of ethical conduct, judging them on their ability to enhance human well-being and individual responsibility.
  • A conviction that with reason, an open marketplace of ideas, good will, and tolerance, progress can be made in building a better world for ourselves and our children.
Secular humanism, then, is a philosophy and world view which centers upon human concerns and employs rational and scientific methods to address the wide range of issues important to us all. While secular humanism is at odds with faith-based religious systems on many issues, it is dedicated to the fulfillment of the individual and humankind in general. To accomplish this end, secular humanism encourages a commitment to a set of principles which promote the development of tolerance and compassion and an understanding of the methods of science, critical analysis, and philosophical reflection.

3 comments:

  1. My own views are both fairly similar and fairly different at the same time as I myself am a Christian although more in the relational sense then in the religious sense (I hope that makes sense :S ) I think that there needs to be both faith and reason, and that without both together it is very hard to maintain a balanced perspective as if you have faith alone then it is easy to get caught up in any number of things just because they sound nice and we want them to be true, however if you have reason alone then you are cutting yourself off from a lot of the world and experiences of life many of which defy pure reason alone. That in a nutshell is what I belief and is just my opinion. I enjoyed your post and hope you are doing well

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  2. Great blog. I like how you stuck with the facts instead of fluffing it up. Without really being exposed to the use of "Secular Humanist" very much (I know only one other), I never took the time to really learn about it. Being an atheist is something that has always seemed right with me since I see all of the old stories and mystical things to just be silly outside of recreational books/movies- interesting at points, but nothing to actually take seriously. We don't need any faith-based belief system to function properly or to experience a wonderful life. All we need is respect for one another and ourselves and that's basically what I see with the Secular Humanist outlook. We don't need silliness or "faith" to live respectfully. I'm in agreement with all the things you posted about it and it was nicely said. I hope that in the near future we can see a big change and more people leaning towards this.

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  3. Not a fan of labels myself, but all those points would apply to me as well =)

    Is it hard living in a very religious country? I'm under the impression that the term "atheist" is practically a curse word over there. And not as common as it is in western Europe / Scandinavia.

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