ON HUMANISM - ADDRESSED TO THE SCHOOL PUPILS
15th APRIL 2003
Very few of the many people who profess religious beliefs of one kind or another have ever actually considered faiths, or semi-faiths, other than their own. Religion is acquired by habituation. Religion acquired by considered conversion is relatively rare and converts are often given scant respect by 'cradle believers'.
Sometimes - and mostly in free societies - the habituatation process is gentle and non-intmidatory ; one family of my acquaintance of five mature siblings of two religious parents has yielded only two explicit believers while the other three have effectively distanced themselves from active religion. They all remain a basically happy family collective.
Sometimes - and in the backwoods of thought - the habituation to religion is accomplished by crude indoctrination and intimidation and, hitherto, this sort of brain washing approach has been part of public education. But thanks to the tendency of religion to 'shoot itself in the foot' and also thanks to the emergence of a coherent form of secular humanism ..... our schools are increasingly abandoning a prescriptive form of religious education and are turning towards a descriptive view of the matter.
We secular humanists recognise that religion - albeit vestigial - has been a major cultural and historical phenomenon about which our children should be taught. We welcome modern RE as surely as we loathe past practices in this regard. (In fairness I owe my own secularist motivations to the ham handedness of some of my childhood mentors of many decades ago).
An old friend of mine (in both senses of the term) is a biologist of some distinction, an experienced teacher and a retired senior administrator in public education. His name is Ralph Ison and he has established a reputation as a discussion leader in several secondary schools with the explicit, and accepted, remit to introduce pupils to secular humanism. Ralph speaks briefly and spends a lot of time - from which he claims to himself benefit - in answering questions and sharing discussion. The rest of this AT is a direct quotation from a recent talk he gave to a grammar school audience.
Talk given to 6th Form
of Dr Challoner's Grammar School for Boys
What is humanism and who are Humanists?
You have been hearing in the past weeks from others who believe in a supernatural being they call God. As you have listened to their accounts of Him it will have become obvious to you that while much they have had to say about him appears to be similar they have each portrayed Him in a different light. There are over a thousand different varieties of the Christian religion and this multiplicity of form is true of other religions also. You may have been left wondering which of them is "true" because it has undoubtedly become apparent to you that only one can be. I have been invited to speak to you this morning about a view of the world, which, if it were universally adopted would simplify this situation. However, my limited understanding of mankind leads me to suspect that it would not be long before the belief system I am about to put before you would itself become torn into dissenting subgroups each claiming that their particular view was the only true one.
Like everyone else who has been born alive and survived I entered a world of prejudice. As I grew up I was not only influenced by my parents, and others but also by the society and environment around me. As I listened to the views expressed by others I learned, matured and increasingly made up my own mind about things. I eventually chose to be a Freethinker and Humanist.
"Tis with our judgments as our watches, none go just alike yet each believes his own." From "An Essay on Criticism" Alexander Pope
So what is Humanism and who is a Humanist?
Humanism, in its modern definition, is exclusively concerned with human welfare and human responsibility for this, the only world we know.
1. Humanists, therefore, live their lives without any reference to or expectation of help from a God or gods.
That is they are a-theists, although some prefer to call themselves agnostic. I have to stress that Humanists are not against God and that it is quite incorrect to define the word atheist in this way. Unfortunately many opponents of our view, who are ignorant of the correct definition of atheism, irrationally and derogatively accuse us of holding this position.
2. It follows that Humanists do not recognise the concept of a Miracle.
The term 'miracle' originated in a religious context and is defined as an event that is a means of strengthening faith by manifesting divine power through the suspension of the 'scientific laws of nature.' However, to accept that miracles happen is to make the assumption that absolutely all the laws of nature are known and this is simply unknowable. In fact, from experience, we know that new laws are being discovered all the time and that, therefore, the allege miracle may simply be indicating our human ignorance. There are many things humans do not know and, no doubt, vastly many more that they do not even know that they do not know!
3. Again, it follows that Humanists do not recognise Heaven, Purgatory or Hell, nor in the associated beings that are alleged, by theists, to inhabit these supernatural places.
4. Humanists do not rely on Second-hand Revelation.
Humanists are wary of all second-hand revelation, either by the spoken or written word, which means that:
5. Humanists have no sacred books such as the Bible or the Koran. We feel we are free to read critically any literature, including the religious books, in our pursuit of information with which to make sense of the world in which we live. By the same token we are equally free to reject anything which cannot stand up to rigorous investigation and enquiry by every means at our disposal.
As a corollary to this many Humanists, of which I am one, do not regulate their lives by adherence to statements like those listed in the decalogue (ten commandments). All categorical statements we feel should be questioned and tested by argument. We believe that the best way to resolve problems and come to solutions which are just to all parties is by understanding and discussion which with goodwill on all sides should lead to an agreed outcome.
From this it follows that:
6. Humanists have no need of Popes Priests or Mullahs to tell us how we should think or behave. We will, of course, take note of what they may have to say, as we would equally, courteously listen to anyone else, but we do not hold them in any particular awe, nor do we consider them infallible and would challenge them as we would anyone else with whom we disagreed.
7. Humanists hold that our concepts of morality arise from our biological inheritance, our social environment and our understanding of human behaviour and that it is not necessary to believe in a God to be good. It follows that:
8. Humanists do not subscribed to the concept of Original Sin
We do not hold the opinion that little children are born into sin of any kind although they may, depending upon their individual circumstance, be born to good or wicked people. Humanists, general speaking, are not people who have an abstract concept of evil or wickedness but recognise that human individuals may behave well or badly and that those who behave antisocially must be treated with justice and mercy.
9. Humanists do not consider there is an ultimate purpose to any life form.
This does not mean that human beings cannot have purposes for their own lives, which is an entirely different and much more important concept.
Having listed some of the major concepts opposed by humanists I think it only right to draw your attention to some of those which humanist hold:
1. That this life is all that we have.
Holding this view, according to the religious, leaves us without hope, lonely and unhappy about our future. Humanists deny this and point to our positive position of being released from the fear of eternal punishment and the horrors of hell as portrayed by the religious while directing our attention to living our lives as well as possible, both for our own happiness and the happiness of others.
This positive view leads us to respect the world in which we live and to take responsibility for its welfare and continuance so that it may be enjoyed by those that come after us. It also leads many of us to develop a useful purpose for our life in caring for, or being of service to, others and/or aspects of our environment while not denying the right of anyone to be equally socially minded. This despite the fact that there is and probably always will be, a large minority who do not feel this way.
2. That we are animals that have evolved from other animals belonging to the Primate Order according to laws laid down by Darwin in his book The Origin of Species.
We further take the view:
3. That we create our own human conditions.
The religious stress what miserable sinners we are and that, but for God's intervention, we are all destined for Hell. Humanists, however, direct their attention to the arts, music, sciences and literature as examples of what human beings have achieved and ask us to consider the question - "Isn't that a great achievement for a creature that has evolved from a slime mould?" Humanists, in fact, take a positive view of life even if at times we consider it to be a macabre joke.
We believe:
4. That when problems arise they can only be resolved, if at all, by the use of human brains in peaceful, thoughtful, cooperation, drawing upon all the sciences and arts of human knowledge in our search for guidance
And finally we are of the opinion:
5. That our morality comes partly from our biological inheritance of cooperation and social living and partly from human intercourse and the understanding of human behaviour.