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Humanism

A Resource Pack for RE Teachersby David Warden

Humanist Association Dorset New 2006 edition

© David Warden, 2006This edition printed Thursday, 18 May 2023

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Contents

Page1. About the author.................................................22. Introduction........................................................33. Some useful word groups...................................44. What is Humanism?............................................55. The Religious Roots of Humanism .....................76. The Philosophical Roots of Humanism..............107. Humanism in the Social Sciences.....................178. Websites...........................................................189. Books................................................................1910. Humanism Around the World..........................2011. Celebrations and ceremonies..........................2112. Dorset Humanist Association .........................2213. Questions and Answers...................................23


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About the author

David Warden is a member of Dorset Humanist Association and the British Humanist Association and is a co-opted member of the Bournemouth SACRE. He has lectured on Humanism in Bournemouth, Dorchester, London and India. David went to Portchester School and Bournemouth School. He has a Bachelor’s degree in theology from the University of Kent at Canterbury and a Master’s degree in human resource management from Bournemouth University. David works for Dorset County Council in employee learning and development.

David can be contacted on [email protected]


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Introduction

his booklet is addressed to RE teachers and is intended to provide an introduction to aspects of Humanism and to serve as a gateway to the wealth of additional resources in print and on the

internet. The British Humanist Association website is probably the best source of practical materials to support classroom teaching about Humanism (see website section).

TDorset Humanist Association, now in its tenth year, is keen to ensure that pupils in the Bournemouth, Poole and Dorset area have an opportunity to learn about Humanism in Religious Education. We are represented on the three main local SACREs. We would like to ensure that children grow up with a positive image of Humanists and non-believers. Many of the words associated with Humanism and non-belief have negative connotations. ‘Heretic’, ‘atheist’, ‘apostate’, ‘infidel’, are words that have been used to vilify and even to incite violence against people who do not hold conventional religious beliefs. Prejudice or discrimination against Humanists and non-believers is no less unacceptable than prejudice and discrimination against believers. The British Humanist Association’s definition of Humanism is “the belief that people can lead good lives without religious beliefs”. This should hardly need saying but there are still people today who equate lack of belief in God with lack of morality. Humanists do not pretend that there are any ‘objective’ grounds for morality other than the objective human need to create and sustain rules and conventions which allow every individual to flourish in society. Creating and sustaining an ethical framework is hard work and Humanists believe that this work is part of the task and responsibility of being human. According to research conducted by the DfES in 2003, 65% of 12-19 year olds are not religious. 1 If this is the case, then it does call into question the current balance of RE teaching. However, we are broadly supportive of the National Framework which provides for the inclusion of Humanist and secular worldviews. We are aware of the difficulties RE teachers face in covering everything adequately but we do hope that opportunities to present Humanist or secular views will be grasped. This booklet is our modest attempt to help local teachers do just that.

1 Park, A., Phillips, M. and Johnson, M. (2004) Young People in Britain: The Attitudes and Experiences of 12 to 19 year olds. Research report RR564. Published by the Department for Education and Skills.


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Humanists may be available to visit your school but we have a small local team who are very stretched! Please call Jane on 01202 428506 for more information.


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Some useful word groups

theos the Greek word for Godtheology the study of religious doctrine

theist a person who believes in Godatheist a person who doesn’t believe in God

non-theist a person who lives their life without Godatheophob

iairrational fear or hatred of non-believers

gnosis a Greek word meaning ‘knowledge’Gnostic an early Christian movement based on ‘secret

knowledge’agnostic someone who believes there is no way of knowing

whether God exists or not

humanus a Latin word meaning ‘the earth’. This is where we get our word ‘human’ – meaning ‘earth-being’.

humanist ancient meaning: a scholar of the humanitiesmodern meaning: someone who tries to understand the world from a purely human perspective

humanitarian

a person who does a lot of charitable work

seculum a Latin word meaning ‘the world’ secular concerned with the world

secularist someone who thinks that religion should be removed from public affairs

sceptikos a Greek word meaning inquiry or doubtsceptical a questioning approach

dogmatos a Greek word meaning ‘opinion’dogma a fixed belief

dogmatic unwilling to consider other points of view

heresy a Greek word meaning ‘choice’ heretic a person who believes something different to the

majority

autonomy govern yourselftheonomy governed by God


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What is Humanism?

here are many different and complementary definitions of Humanism. Some Humanist writers have argued that Humanism is a non-theistic religion. Others have argued that it is a

philosophy. Yet others have described it as a way of life, an approach to life, a lifestance or a tradition of thought. Some Humanists use a capital ‘H’ and others use a small ‘h’. Humanism is very diverse, as are most religions. A good exercise might be to ask students to find some definitions on the many Humanist websites and then to come up with their own definition. That would be a very Humanist exercise!

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Perhaps the most useful way to look at Humanism is to see it as belonging to the same category as religion – the category of ‘worldviews’. From this perspective, Humanism can be understood as alternative to religion and in some way analogous to religion. If we accept that Humanism is a worldview, it’s a worldview that tries to understand the world from a purely human perspective. So whereas a religious person might think in binary terms eg, ‘natural and supernatural’, ‘sacred and secular’, ‘infinite and finite’, for the Humanist there is only one world, the human world. For the Humanist, this means that there can be no such thing as certainty, because we can’t get a supernatural view on things. The French philosopher Michel Montaigne expressed this well when he declared: ‘All that is certain is that nothing is certain’. The English philosopher Bertrand Russell was expressing a similar point when he said: ‘Remember your humanity, and forget the rest’. Humanists believe that certainty, or the belief in certainty, causes a lot of violent conflict between opposing groups. We should all accept that, as humans, nothing is certain!Humanists are therefore committed to dialogue, debate, diversity, democracy, and the search for consensus and compromise. We are opposed to all authoritarian or dogmatic ways of thinking. We don’t have any sacred books or revered gurus. We learn from each other and from many different philosophers. Humanists are also committed to ‘responsible freedom’. We believe that human beings should be free, but they should also respect social


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Religions Humanism

Worldviews

norms such as honesty, integrity and compassion. For the humanist, these values do not require any divine sanction. They are fundamental values which enable us to live together.

The Three Elements of Humanism Many religions express their main beliefs in numerical terms: the “Ten Commandments”, the “Eightfold Path”, the “Five Pillars” etc. Humanism does not have an official equivalent, but an important British Humanist, Harold Blackham, wrote that the three essential elements of Humanism are:

1. Freedom of Enquiry2. Political Freedom3. Personal Independence

From this triad, it is possible to derive almost all of the various topics that Humanists are interested in, as in the table below.

Some people object to grounding the whole of Humanism in the concept of freedom, but this diagram shows that freedom is not an absolute value. For the Humanist, freedom and moral responsibility are locked together. Of course, traditional religions are also interested in freedom, human rights, democracy etc. Humanism does not have a monopoly on these ideas. But traditional religions often preach theonomy (rule by God) whereas the Humanist’s starting point is autonomy (self-government). This is not because Humanists have ‘rebelled’ against God; it is


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Freedom

Freedom of inquiry

Political freedom

Personal independence

ScepticismScientific way of thinkingCritical thinkingAgainst dogma and orthodoxyEducation

Human rightsFreedom of conscience, free speech etcDemocracyLiberalismPluralismAnti-discriminationAnti-oppressionLiberation movementsCitizenship

Be true to yourselfSelf-determinationSelf-realisationMoral responsibilityIn charge of our own destiny (individually and collectively) within constraints of nature

because they believe that personal independence is a fundamental pre-requisite of being human.


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The Religious Roots of Humanism

umanism has both religious and philosophical roots. This section summarises the religious roots of organisational Humanism. We would not expect RE teachers to try and teach

this history in its entirety because it is quite complex. It is provided as important background information to enable teachers to understand where modern Humanism has come from.

HThe nineteenth century: ‘religion of humanity’ and the Ethical Movement Although the word ‘humanist’ can be traced back to 15th century Renaissance scholars, the cognate word ‘humanism’ is surprisingly recent in origin. It first appeared in 1808 in German educational thought and referred to an education in the humanities. It gradually became associated with various attempts to create a ‘religion of humanity’. The impetus to create such a religion came from growing scepticism about religion and the belief that a moral void would be created if religious belief collapsed. The most famous, and most elaborate ‘religion of humanity’ was created by the French philosopher Auguste Comte. A more sensible version was created by the American philosopher Felix Adler. Adler had intended to become a rabbi in Reform Judaism but he came to believe that the true foundation for religion was ethics. He founded the New York Society for Ethical Culture in 1876 which still exists to this day and is part of the American Ethical Union (see websites section). Adler’s Ethical Culture movement spread to Europe and in 1896 the British Ethical Union was formed. By 1906 there were 42 Ethical Societies in Britain and at one stage the movement had 20,000 members. The Ethical Movement gradually became part of the Humanist movement which sprang to life in the early twentieth century.

The twentieth century: the emergence of modern Humanism The birth of the modern Humanist movement can be traced back to a number of developments in America in the early decades of the twentieth century:

1. In 1899, the American writer Edward Howard Griggs published a book called The New Humanism. In a chapter entitled ‘The Religion of Humanity’ he called for a ‘gospel of positive culture, progress, self-realisation and social unity’.


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2. In 1909, Frank Carlton Doan published a book on religious psychology entitled Religion and the Modern Mind which promoted the word ‘humanism’.

3. In 1918, Roy Wood Sellars, Professor of Philosophy at the University of Michigan, published The Next Step in Religion which, according to the author, would be something called ‘religious humanism’.

4. In the same year, Unitarian 2 ministers John Dietrich and Curtis Reese agreed on a new development within Unitarianism which they called ‘humanism’. Dietrich and Reese preached ‘humanist sermons’, collecting them into The Humanist Pulpit (Dietrich, 1925) and Humanist Sermons (Reese, 1927).

5. In 1928, a journal called The New Humanist was launched by the Humanist Fellowship in the University of Chicago. The Humanist Fellowship disappeared without trace but The New Humanist became a printed journal in 1930 under the editorship of Edwin Wilson, a young Unitarian minister, and its successor, The Humanist, is still published today.

6. In 1933, thirty-four Unitarians and intellectuals, including the philosopher John Dewey, published a Humanist Manifesto which promoted the idea of ‘religious humanism’. (This document can be found on the American Humanist Association website, along with more up-to-date manifestos.)

7. In 1935, the Humanist Press Association assumed ownership of The New Humanist and the copyright of the Humanist Manifesto.

8. In 1941, the Humanist Press Association became the American Humanist Association.

Humanism flourished in 1930s America, and after the Second World War Humanist organisations were set up in other countries including the Netherlands (the Dutch Humanist League, 1946), India (the Indian Radical Humanist Movement, 1948) and Belgium (the Belgian Humanist League, 1951). In 1967 the British Ethical Union changed its name to the British Humanist Association.

Other points of interest The International Humanist and Ethical Union (IHEU) was set up in 1952 in Amsterdam by British scientist Julian Huxley and Harold Blackham. IHEU is now based in London and is the main umbrella organisation for Humanist and Ethical organisations across the world. There are other international Humanist bodies such as the

2 Unitarianism is a very liberal Christian denomination with 16th century roots in Poland and Transylvania.


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International League of Humanists (set up in 1974) and the European Humanist Federation (set up in 1991). The National Secular Society has a separate history from the British Humanist Association. It was set up in 1866 by Charles Bradlaugh, a prominent MP. South Place Ethical Society in London is a fascinating time-capsule. It started life in 1793 as a Universalist 3, then a Unitarian congregation. It became an Ethical Society in 1888 and is today integrated into the British Humanist movement. It is based at Conway Hall in Red Lion Square, London. Conway Hall is a national and international meeting place for humanists. There are humanistic movements inside other religions such as Society for Humanistic Judaism and the Institute for the Secularisation of Islamic Society. There is also a Christian humanist network called ‘Sea of Faith’. Modern day Christian humanists have very radical ideas about God and Jesus. They tend to think of God as a useful symbol rather than a real being, and they think that Jesus was a human sage, not the Son of God.

The Happy Human symbol (left) was designed by Denis Barrington and adopted by the British Humanist Association in 1965. It has since become the international humanist symbol.

3 Universalism is the belief that everyone will be saved. In America, the Unitarians and the Universalists merged into one denomination in 1961.


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The Philosophical Roots of Humanism Modern organisational Humanism can, arguably, be dated from the Humanist Manifesto of 1933 (see previous section). It would be anachronistic, therefore, to say that ‘Humanism’ goes all the way back to ancient Greece or China, but Humanists can trace their intellectual ancestry back to ancient times, through the Renaissance and Enlightenment periods, and onwards to sceptical scientists and philosophers of the present day. The Renaissance humanists are so-called because they were scholars of the humanities, not because of any philosophical scepticism. This section does not tell a ‘story’ – it merely attempts to present some of our principal philosophical ancestors and inspirers. The dates provided indicate the historical period or refer to key events or publications.

Confucius500BCE

Chinese philosopher and moral teacher who tried to replace religious observance with moral values. Emphasized benevolence, reciprocity, respect and personal effort. Confucianism was the state religion of China until recently.

Xenophanes500BCE

A “semi-sceptical” Greek philosopher, Xenophanes was critical of prevailing religious ideas.

Protagoras 450BCE

Early agnostic and Sophist. Friend of Pericles. Declared that “Man is the measure of all things” which may strike some modern humanists as unduly arrogant. Wrote On the Gods. Charged with blasphemy and fled Athens.

Anaxagoras450BCE

The first philosopher to teach in Athens. A thoroughgoing unbeliever, he was indicted on charges of impiety.

Democritus420BCE

A thoroughgoing materialist who believed that everything, even the soul, is composed of atoms. He disbelieved in popular religion and considered there was no purpose in the universe. He also disapproved of sex.

Socrates Socrates subordinated all other concerns to a life spent


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399 BCE inquiring after wisdom. Responsible for the decisive shift from cosmological speculation to ethics and analysis. Questioned conventional moral attitudes and assumptions. Believed in the supremacy of the individual conscience and the value of free discussion. Convicted for “impiety” and “corrupting youth” at the age of 70 and was sentenced to die by drinking hemlock.

Epicurus 300BCE

Epicurus taught that, although the gods existed, they were indifferent to mankind. For him, life was the supreme good.

Lucretius 75 BCE

Lucretius’s poem On The Nature of Things preserved Epicureanism. He denounced religion with the fervour of a religious enthusiast. “Death is nothing to us…there is no murky pit of Hell awaiting anyone”.

Seneca 50CE

Roman Stoic philosopher wrote, “Religion is recognised by the common people as true, by the wise as false, and by the rulers as useful,” and said, “The time to live is now,” something believed by all modern day humanists.

Celsus178CE

Roman philosopher. Published an anti-Christian polemic True Discourse which was opposed by Origen in his Contra Celsum.

Sextus Empiricus200CE

Recorded many anti-theistic arguments in Concerning the Gods. Admired by Montaigne, Raleigh and Hume.

Desiderius Erasmus1523

Dutch Christian humanist. Strongly critical of the Catholic Church and opposed to the dogmatic theology of the Reformers. Attacked Luther in De Libero Arbitrio (1523).

Nicolas Copernicus1543

Polish founder of modern astronomy. Wrote De Revolutionibus (published 1543) which proved that the sun was the centre of the solar system.

Michael Servetus

Spanish theologian, burnt by Calvin for denying the doctrine of the Trinity and the divinity of Jesus.


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1553

Lelio Socinus1574

Italian Protestant Reformer. Developed an anti-Trinitarian doctrine that tried to reconcile Christianity and Humanism.

Giordano Bruno1600

Italian philosopher, scientist and pantheist. Travelled widely as a lecturer and teacher. Freethought martyr. A Dominican friar who entertained doubts as a young man. Criticized Christian ethics and promoted toleration. He was reported to the Inquisition for championing Copernican astronomy and spent seven years in prison in Rome. He refused to recant and was burnt at the stake for heresy in the Campo di Fiori in Rome on 17 Feb 1600.

Michel de Montaigne1603

Father-figure of scepticism in France and modern Europe and author of Essays (1603). An Enlightenment figure before his time, he declared that “All that is certain is that nothing is certain.” Believed, along with Kant, that reason and faith were incompatible and should be kept in separate compartments. Observed that “it is setting a high value on one’s opinions to roast men on account of them”.

Lucilio Vanini 1619

Although he was a priest, in 1619 Vanini was burned in the town square in Toulouse for sceptical writings.

Galileo Galilei1638

Italian scientist and astronomer. Wrote Dialogues (1638). Believed that science is the true source of knowledge of the physical world as opposed to traditional authority and philosophical speculation.

Benedict Spinoza1656

Dutch Jewish rationalist, born in Amsterdam. In 1656 he was cursed as a heretic and cast out of the synagogue. Wrote Tractatus Theologico-Politicus, advocating tolerance and peace, which was condemned by the Reformed Church and then banned. His masterpiece Ethics attempted to work out an ethical system which does not derive directly from religion. Spinoza was obliged to live frugally and is remembered for his simplicity, virtue, charm and courage. He declared: “I have striven not to laugh at human actions, not to weep at them, nor to hate them, but to


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understand them.”Pierre Bayle 1682

Pioneer of religious toleration. Professor of philosophy at a protestant academy in Rotterdam, Bayle had converted from Protestantism to Catholicism and (ostensibly) back again. Wrote Thoughts on the Comet of 1680 (1682) in which he ridiculed belief in signs and portents and defended atheism. He was eventually deprived of his professorship.

John Locke1689

English philosopher, Father of British rationalism. Published Letter Concerning Toleration but unfortunately Locke’s toleration did not extend to Catholics or atheists. Locke was an Anglican, but in his influential Essay on Human Understanding (1690), he subordinated faith completely to reason, and knowledge to experience.

Thomas Woolston1729

English deist and Fellow of Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge. Wrote Discourses on the Miracles of our Saviour in which he maintained the gospel narratives were a tissue of absurdities. He was convicted of blasphemy and died in prison.

Denis Diderot1759

Principal editor of the Encyclopedie, a summary of human knowledge and bible of the Enlightenment which was banned in 1759 for its anti-clerical, humanist tone. Famous for the quip “A deist is someone who has not lived long enough to become an atheist”.

Paul d’Holbach1760

German-born French philosopher and close friend of Diderot. Contributed 376 articles to the Encyclopedie (see Diderot). Probably the first avowedly atheist writer. Wrote 20-30 pamphlets between 1760 and 1770, among which was Christianity Unveiled. Also wrote Good Sense, a favourite with 19th century freethinkers.

Voltaire1764

A man of letters, poet and playwright. Wrote Philosophical Dictionary in 1764. As a man of his time, Voltaire believed in the halfway house of deism but was a vociferous opponent of organised religion, believing that “those who believe absurdities will commit atrocities”.

David Hume

Wrote Dialogues Concerning Natural Religion, a sustained attack on the idea that God designed the


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1776 world, which was published posthumously. Hume considered that ethics were the expression of ‘co-operative sentiments’.

Immanuel Kant1781

Wrote Critique of Pure Reason in 1781, a destruction of philosophical theology more thorough than Hume’s. Kant considered himself a Christian but his aspects of his thought point forward to a thoroughgoing atheist Humanism. In particular, he believed that a morality imposed upon me by someone else is not morality but tyranny. In his 1785 essay What is Enlightenment? Kant commanded “Dare to use your own intelligence! This is the battle-cry of the Enlightenment”. “Dare to be free, and respect the freedom and the autonomy of others; for the dignity of man lies in his freedom, and in his respect for other people’s autonomous and responsible beliefs,especially if these differ widely from his own.”

Mary Wollstonecraft1792

Anglo-Irish feminist and writer. Wrote Vindication of the Rights of Woman (1792) which advocated equality of the sexes and equal opportunities in education.

Thomas Paine1794

English-born American revolutionary philosopher and writer. Wrote The Age of Reason in 1794/6, a powerful attack on accepted religion. Also wrote The Rights of Man (1791/2) which argued for democracy and liberty. Paine’s publishers were frequently imprisoned.

Percy Shelley1811

English poet. At the age of 19, he was expelled from University College Oxford for his co-authorship of a pamphlet entitled The Necessity of Atheism (1811).

Jeremy Bentham1822

English philosopher. Went to Queen’s College Oxford at the age of 12. Best known as the proponent of utilitarianism (“the greatest happiness of the greatest number”). With James Mill, founded University College London in 1825. His clothed skeleton is still on display there in a glass case. Wrote Analysis of the Influence of Natural Religion (1822) in which he launched an assault on religion which he thought created “the greatest unhappiness for the greatest number”.

James Mill1825

Scottish philosopher, father of J S Mill. Ordained in 1798 but came to think of religion as “the greatest enemy of


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morality”. Disciple and friend of Bentham. Thought that morality is undermined if it consists in mere obedience.

Ralph Waldo Emerson1838

American poet and essayist. Ordained as a pastor in the Unitarian Church (so called because they disbelieve in the Trinity) he eventually resigned for his unorthodox beliefs. His ‘Address before the Divinity Class, Cambridge’ (1838) caused a great sensation for its plea for individual conscience as against creeds, bibles and churches. Considered creeds to be “a disease of the intellect.”

Francis Newman1853

Professor of Latin at University College London and younger brother of Cardinal Newman, wrote Phases of Faith (1853) in which he described the mental processes by which he came to abandon the beliefs he once held. In religion he took a position directly opposite to his brother’s.

George Eliot1857

English novelist. Scenes from Clerical Life (1857) reflected her rejection of evangelical Christianity. She translated Strauss’s radical Life of Jesus and Feuerbach’s The Essence of Christianity. She was attracted to the idea of an ethical “religion of humanity”.

Charles Darwin1859

Darwin’s Origin of Species (1859) is a landmark in the war between science and theology. It was condemned famously by Bishop Wilberforce. Darwin gradually lost his faith but was nevertheless buried in Westminster Abbey.

John Stuart Mill1859

English philosopher and MP. Mill did not throw off religious belief; he had never had it. Wrote On Liberty (1859). Called “the saint of rationalism” by Gladstone. “Secular godfather” to Bertrand Russell. Like George Eliot, he was sympathetic to attempts to create a “social religion of humanity”.

Charles Bradlaugh1866

Orator and Member of Parliament. Founded the National Secular Society. Secured the right of non-believers to sit in Parliament. Advocate of birth control.

Bertrand Russell1932

3rd Earl Russell, grandson of prime minister John Russell. Philosopher and mathematician, fellow of Trinity College Cambridge. His pacifism led to the loss


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of his fellowship in 1916 and imprisonment in 1918. Wrote Marriage and Morals (1932) which led to the termination of a lectureship at City College, New York, after complaints that he was an “enemy of religion and morality”. His fellowship at Trinity was restored in 1944. Published History of Western Philosophy in 1945 and won the Nobel Prize for literature in 1950. His collection of essays on religion, Why I am Not a Christian, was published in 1957.

Sir A J Ayer 1936

Professor of philosophy at University College London. Wrote Language Truth and Logic (1936), in which he advanced his controversial thesis that moral and religious discourses are meaningless.

Other 20th century humanists include Thomas Hardy, E M Forster, Julian Huxley, Jacob Bronowski, Harold Blackham, Michael Tippett, Stephen Spender, Aldous Huxley, Margaret Knight, Anthony Flew, Brigid Brophy, H J Eysenk, Karl Popper, Andrei Sakharov, Betty Freidan, Jacques Monod, Francis Crick, Erich Fromm, Richard Dawkins, Clare Rayner, Hermann Bondi and Philip Pullman.


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Humanism in the Social Sciences

The word ‘humanistic’ often crops up in social science texts and broadly refers to an emphasis on liberation or emancipation from external forces, be it capitalism or social convention or oppressive relationships of any sort. Humanistic thinking in social science adds variety and depth to what may be referred to as the broad family of Humanism.

Humanism in economic philosophyKarl Marx is considered to be a humanist because he thought of capitalism to be a destructive, dehumanizing force. Marx wanted to preserve the human dignity and creativity of work. The psychologist and philosopher Erich Fromm described himself as a ‘radical humanist’, drawing much inspiration from Marx. Humanists are very much concerned with the negative aspects of capitalism and addictive consumerism.

Humanistic psychologyHumanistic psychology is concerned with the Jungian notion of ‘individuation’ which means developing your own unique identity as opposed to sterile conformity with social expectations. Two of the most prominent thinkers in this tradition are the American psychologists Abraham Maslow and Carl Rogers. Humanists are very interested in the idea of personal development and ‘becoming who you are’, as opposed to sterile conformity to the world.

Humanistic sociologyArguably, sociology is inherently humanistic in the sense that it tries to unmask the ‘hidden machinery’ of society. Peter Berger is a prominent exponent of humanistic sociology. Humanists are very interested in the idea of behaving authentically and autonomously rather than being a mere puppet on a string.

Anti-humanism and the ‘death of man’ French postmodernists from the 1960s onwards rejected what they saw as the main beliefs of humanism: the primacy of ‘man’, the idea of an ‘essential’ human nature, the belief in human progress, etc. Later authors 4 have argued that humanism can survive as long as it is able to be critical of its own beliefs and shibboleths.

4 See 2003 Halliwell and Mousley in the Books section


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Websites

British Humanist Association www.humanism.org.ukInternational Humanist and Ethical Union

www.iheu.org

American Humanist Association www.americanhumanists.orgAmerican Ethical Union www.aeu.orgInternational Humanist and Ethical Youth Organisation

www.iheyo.org

International League of Humanists

http://www.intlh.net

The European Humanist Federation

www.humanism.be/

Institute for Humanist Studies (IHS)

http://humaniststudies.org/

Interactive courses in humanist thought (linked to IHS above)

http://humanisteducation.com/

Humanist Peace Forum www.humanistpeaceforum.org.ukUnitarian Universalist Association

www.uua.org

Society for Humanistic Judaism www.shj.orgInstitute for the Secularisation of Islamic Society

www.secularislam.org

Progressive Muslim Union www.pmuna.orgSea of Faith www.sofn.org.ukCatholics for Free Choice www.cath4choice.orgSecular Celebrations www.secularseasons.org


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Books

There are few, if any, good books on Humanism which are accessible to children. This is a small selection of the many books on Humanism that have been published in the twentieth century. Jim Herrick’s 2003 book Humanism is probably the best currently available general introduction. Jeaneane Fowler’s 1999 volume Humanism: Beliefs and Practices is thorough but pitched at FE level.

2004 On Humanism Richard Norman 2003 Critical Humanisms: Humanist /Anti-Humanist Dialogues Martin

Halliwell and Andy Mousley, Edinburgh University Press*2003 Humanism Jim Herrick 2003 The Case for Humanism Lewis Vaughan & Austin Dacey *1999 Humanism Jeaneane Fowler 1998 Humanism: Finding Meaning in the Word Nicolas Walter 1997 The Philosophy of Humanism Corliss Lamont1988 The Humanist Way : An Introduction to Ethical Humanist Religion

Edward Ericson 1986 Humanism and Anti-Humanism Kate Soper 1983 In Defense of Secular Humanism Paul Kurtz1982 Foundations of Humanism J.P. van Praag 1978 The Arrogance of Humanism David Ehrenfeld 1976 Ecological Humanism Henryk Skolimowski1973 The Humanist Alternative Paul Kurtz1973 Humanism Barbara Smoker 1968 Humanism Harold Blackham1965 Socialist Humanism Erich Fromm (Editor)1964 Essays of a Humanist Julian Huxley 1963 Objections to Humanism Ronald Hepburn and others 1963 What Humanism Is About Kit Mouat (Jean Mackay) 1955 Morals Without Religion Margaret Knight 1945 The Meaning of Humanism Curtis W. Reese1940 The Promise of Scientific Humanism Oliver R. Reiser1932 Humanism as a Way of Life Joseph Walker1931 Humanist Religion Curtis W. Reese1930 Humanism: A New Religion Charles F. Potter


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Humanism Around the World

There are Humanist organisations on every Continent. These are just a few of the international Humanist websites.

Canada http://hac.humanists.net/Europe www.humanism.beHawaii http://hawaii.humanists.net/

Holland www.humanitas.nl (English page)Ireland http://www.irish-humanists.org/

India www.positiveatheism.org/tocindia.htmIndia http://humanists.net/india/India http://bihar.humanists.net/

International www.iheu.org

International www.iheyo.org (youth organisation)

Korea http://korea.humanists.net/hak/main.htmNepal http://nepal.humanists.net/

New Zealand www.humanist.org.nz/Nigeria http://unibadan.humanists.net/articles.htm

Northern Ireland http://nireland.humanists.net/

Pakistan www.sapihrsd.tkPoland http://free.ngo.pl/humanizmRussia http://www.humanism.al.ru/en/

Scotland www.humanism-scotland.org.uk/ Slovakia http://slovakia.humanists.net/angl-texty.htm (English

page)Trinidad and

Tobago www.humanist.org.tt/Uganda http://uganda.humanists.net/

UK www.humanism.org.ukUSA www.americanhumanists.org

More sites http://humanists.net/


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Celebrations and Ceremonies

Our main celebration is Darwin Day on 12th February each year. Hundreds of humanist and freethought organisations around the world celebrate Darwin Day with talks on science, evolution, Darwin’s voyage on the Beagle and even birthday cakes for Darwin. We are fast approaching the bicentennial celebrations on 12th February 2009 – Darwin’s 200th birthday. Evolution is a slow process – part of what made it so hard for Darwin to prove. But is it possible to observe evolution in action? Join Oxford professor Ben Sherman to glimpse an instant in evolutionary time. Watch live online at www.nhm.ac.uk/darwincentre/live. Humanists also conduct non-religious ceremonies. Funerals, weddings and naming ceremonies are the three most common rites of passage but humanist celebrants also offer ceremonies for many other occasions such as adoption, divorce, coming of age or reaffirmation. For many people traditional religious ceremonies no longer hold any meaning. Humanist celebrants are able to offer a range of ceremonies that are more appropriate for those without a particular faith, offering both warmth and an understanding of what the occasion means. Friends and relatives can contribute as much or as little to the content and structure of the ceremony as they wish.

Websiteswww.darwinday.org www.nhm.ac.uk/darwincentre/livewww.secularseasons.orgwww.humanism.org.uk

BooksSharing The Future by Jane Wynne WillsonThe BHA wedding guide, including readings, music and advice on practical arrangements.New Arrivals by Jane Wynne Willson & Robert AshbyThe practical guide to non-religious baby-naming ceremonies, including an anthology of prose and poetry.Funerals Without God by Jane Wynne WillsonThe popular guide to non-religious funerals, with practical examples of ceremonies and a selection of readings.


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Dorset Humanist Association

Dorset Humanist Association is a local humanist group affiliated to the British Humanist Association. Currently, we have around one hundred members. All of our funding comes from annual subscriptions and donations and any profit is ploughed back into publicity and other activities. Aspects of our work are briefly outlined below.Our principle activity is delivering a lively programme of talks, lectures and discussions on a range of topics including religion, philosophy, psychology and global problems. Our aims are to promote Humanism, to support non-believers and doubters of every shade and description. Our governing principles are free speech and lively debate within an overall framework of tolerance and respect. Our lecture programme is well-attended – about 30-40 on average come along to the Moordown Community Centre once a month on Saturday afternoon. This is a chance to hear stimulating talks and meet up with other Humanists. In the Summer months we try to arrange social get-togethers such as pub lunches and walks, sometimes with South Hampshire Humanists. We celebrate Darwin Day every February with a buffet lunch and a topical talk. We extend a warm welcome to everyone, regardless of race, age, sex, sexual orientation, ability, belief, background, hairstyle or dress sense. We are informally twinned with the International School of Humanitarian Thoughts and Practice in Kurukshetra, India. Kurukshetra is a Hindu pilgrim town 100 miles of Delhi in Northern India. The School is a small, secular institution which provides basic education for about 45 street children aged 5-15. The School also organises conferences and seminars on social problems such as casteism, child labour and human rights. It’s run by Swamiji Manavatavadi, his assistant Sadhvi Asha Manav, and a group of volunteers. We gave £1,000 to the School in 2004, some of which was spent on school bags, notebooks, pens, geometry sets and sweaters for the children and some of which was donated to the School’s building fund. In 2006, we are paying another visit to the School.

For more information about Dorset Humanist Association, call Jane on 01202 428506.


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Questions and Answers

What do Humanists think about truth?Humanists do not believe in absolute truth or certainty. The belief in certainty causes a lot of violent conflict between opposing groups of people. Humanists think that uncertainty is a much better principle to live by. In practice, this means accepting that your beliefs may be wrong and that the other person may be right.

What do Humanists think about good and evil?Humanists think it is superstitious to believe in good and evil, as if they are things in themselves. We believe in evaluating our actions on the basis of reason and conscience.

What do Humanists think about suffering?Humanists accept the facts of life as they are. Pain is necessary to stop us from harming ourselves but there is no ‘explanation’ for disease and disaster except that these are part of the conditions of life on planet Earth. All we can do is try to prevent or alleviate suffering.

What do Humanists think about meaning and purpose?Humanists think it is superstitious to believe in an ‘ultimate meaning’. We believe that your life has meaning if you commit yourself wholeheartedly to work, interests, family and friends – and trying to make the world a better place. Humanists accept that one day your life will end and that one day the human story will end. So live well, now!

What do Humanists think about life after death?Humanists think that your conscious mind is dependent on your physical brain. Otherwise, why have a brain?! Humanists do not believe in life after death. So live well, now!

Where do Humanists get their beliefs from? Humanists do not believe in any ultimate authorities. We do not have any gods or gurus to guide us. We learn from each other and from many different philosophers. We may even learn from sages like Jesus and Buddha, but we do not worship them.

What do Humanists think about wealth and social justice?Humanists can tolerate a certain amount of inequality. It doesn’t matter if someone else has a bigger home or a better car. Let them enjoy it. But we do object to extreme inequality because this damages society. So the government should try to get the right balance.


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What do Humanists think about materialism and consumerism?Humanists are very concerned about addictive consumerism which seems to have enslaved us into a vicious cycle of working too hard and spending too much. Humanists are interested in Erich Fromm’s idea of ‘sane consumption’.

What do Humanists think about animal rights?Humanists are against cruelty so we support any initiative that gives animals a better life. Sometimes, however, there are difficult choices to be made so we must discuss each case carefully and weigh all the arguments.

Are Humanists vegetarians?Not necessarily, but at the very least we support better conditions for farm animals.

What do Humanists think about the environment?Humanists are as concerned as everyone else about the environment and believe that we need to think very seriously about the impact we are making on the planet and take whatever action we can. American biologist and Humanist, Professor E O Wilson has written: “Humanity did not descend as angelic beings into this world. Nor are we aliens who colonized Earth. We evolved here, one among many species, across millions of years, and exist as one organic miracle linked to others. The natural environment we treat with such unnecessary ignorance and recklessness was our cradle and nursery and remains our one and only home.”, The Future of Life (2002: p40).

What do Humanists think about creation? Humanists believe in evolution, not creation. American biologist and humanist, Professor E O Wilson has written: “Homo sapiens is 500,000 years old, give or take a hundred thousand years. That’s a long time. That’s virtual immortality as far as human beings are concerned. If we last another half-million years, then that’s almost time out of mind, time beyond our personal imagining. However, that notion of immortality is still part of a [humanist] world view. That’s what humanism really is, you know, concentration on the continuity of the human spirit.” (www.nyu.edu/classes/neimark/eow.html Accessed 12/06/05).

What do Humanists think about war?Humanists think war is a terrible thing but we are not all pacifists. Sometimes it is necessary to go to war. Visit www.humanistpeaceforum.org.uk© David Warden, 2006This edition printed Thursday, 18 May 2023

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What do Humanists think about spirituality?Humanists do not believe in body/spirit dualism. We cherish every good aspect of our humanity including emotion, intuition, joy, sadness, elation, compassion, peacefulness, contentment, etc.

Do Humanists worship ‘Man’?Certainly not! We value human beings and human life, but we don’t worship them.

Do Humanists worship ‘Progress’? It’s probably impossible to say for sure whether the world is progressing or regressing – there isn’t a big enough computer to do all the calculations. Humanists are content to try and make the world a better place.

Any more questions? Email [email protected]


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