Thomas Paine, Deism & Rationalism

David Warden will give a talk on "Thomas Paine: Rationalist Hero" on 10th March 2007 at the Dorset Humanist Association.

Rationalism

In epistemology and in its broadest sense, rationalism is "any view appealing to reason as a source of knowledge or justification" (Lacey, 286). In more technical terms it is a method or a theory "in which the criterion of truth is not sensory but intellectual and deductive" (Bourke, 263). Different degrees of emphasis on this method or theory lead to a range of rationalist standpoints, from the moderate position "that reason has precedence over other ways of acquiring knowledge" to the radical position that reason is "the unique path to knowledge" (Audi, 771).

In various contexts, the appeal to reason is contrasted with revelation, as in religion, or with emotion and feeling, as in ethics. In philosophy, however, reason is more often contrasted with the senses, including introspection but not intuition (Lacey, 286).

Within the Western philosophical tradition, "rationalism begins with the Eleatics, Pythagoreans, and Plato, whose theory of the self-sufficiency of reason became the leitmotif of Neoplatonism and idealism" (Runes, 263). Since the Enlightenment, rationalism is usually associated with the introduction of mathematical methods into philosophy, as in Descartes, Leibniz, and Spinoza (Bourke, 263). This is commonly called continental rationalism, because it was predominant in the continental schools of Europe, whereas in Britain empiricism dominated.

Rationalism is often contrasted with empiricism. Taken very broadly these views are not mutually exclusive, since a philosopher can be both rationalist and empiricist (Lacey, 286–287). Taken to extremes the empiricist view holds that all ideas come to us through experience, either through the five external senses or through such inner sensations as pain and pleasure, and thus that knowledge is essentially based on or derived from experience. At issue is the fundamental source of human knowledge, and the proper techniques for verifying what we think we know (see Epistemology).

Proponents of some varieties of rationalism argue that, starting with foundational basic principles, like the axioms of geometry, one could deductively derive the rest of all possible knowledge. The philosophers who held this view most clearly were Baruch Spinoza and Gottfried Leibniz, whose attempts to grapple with the epistemological and metaphysical problems raised by Descartes led to a development of the fundamental approach of rationalism. Both Spinoza and Leibniz asserted that, in principle, all knowledge, including scientific knowledge, could be gained through the use of reason alone, though they both observed that this was not possible in practice for human beings except in specific areas such as mathematics.

source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rationalist

Thomas Paine (source: Wikipedia) was a Deist.

Deism is a religious philosophy and movement that became prominent in England, France, and the United States in the 17th and 18th centuries. Deists typically reject supernatural events (prophecy, miracles) and divine revelation prominent in organized religion, along with holy books and revealed religions that assert the existence of such things. Instead, deists hold that religious beliefs must be founded on human reason and observed features of the natural world, and that these sources reveal the existence of one God or supreme being.

Beliefs about immortality of the soul

Deists held a variety of beliefs about the soul. Some, such as Lord Herbert of Cherbury and William Wollastson,^[14] held that souls exist, survive death, and in the afterlife are rewarded or punished by God for their behavior in life. Others such as Thomas Paine were agnostic about the immortality of the soul:

I trouble not myself about the manner of future existence. I content myself with believing, even to positive conviction, that the power that gave me existence is able to continue it, in any form and manner he pleases, either with or without this body; and it appears more probable to me that I shall continue to exist hereafter than that I should have had existence, as I now have, before that existence began. – Thomas Paine, The Age of Reason, Part I, Recapitulation

Still others such as Anthony Collins,^[15] Bolingbroke, Thomas Chubb, and Peter Annet were materialists and either denied or doubted the immortality of the soul.

Critical elements of deist thought included:

• Rejection of all religions based on books that claim to contain the revealed word of God.
• Rejection of reports of miracles, prophecies and religious "mysteries".
• Rejection of the Genesis story of creation and the doctrine of original sin, along with all similar stories.
• Rejection of Christianity, Islam and other religious beliefs.

Constructive elements of deist thought included:

• God exists and created the universe.
• God wants human beings to behave morally.
• Human beings have souls that survive death; that is, there is an afterlife.
• In the afterlife, God will reward moral behavior and punish immoral behavior.

Concepts of "reason"

"Reason" was the ultimate court of appeal for deists. Tindal's Lockean definitions of reason, self-evident truth, and the light of nature are especially lucid.

By the rational faculties, then, we mean the natural ability a man has to apprehend, judge, and infer: The immediate objects of which faculties are not the things themselves, but the ideas the mind conceives of them.... Knowledge [is]... nothing but the perception of the agreement or disagreement of our ideas. And any two of these, when joined together so as to be affirmed or denied of each other, make what we call a proposition... Knowledge accrues either immediately on the bare intuition of these two ideas or terms so joined, and is therefore styled intuitive knowledge or self-evident truth, or by the intervention of some other idea or ideas .... this is called demonstrative knowledge...

If there were not some propositions which need not to be proved, it would be in vain for men to argue with one another [because there would be no basis for demonstrative reasoning] ... Those propositions which need no proof, we call self-evident; because by comparing the ideas signified by the terms of such propositions, we immediately discern their agreement, or disagreement: This is, as I said before, what we call intuitive knowledge.... [Intuitive knowledge] may, I think, be called divine inspiration as being immediately from God, and not acquired by any human deduction or drawing of consequences: This, certainly, is that divine, that uniform light, which shines in the minds of all men...

– Matthew Tindal, Christianity as Old as the Creation (II)^[7]

Deists did appeal to "the light of nature" to support the self-evident nature of their positive religious claims.

By natural religion, I understand the belief of the existence of a God, and the sense and practice of those duties which result from the knowledge we, by our reason, have of him and his perfections; and of ourselves, and our own imperfections, and of the relationship we stand in to him, and to our fellow-creatures; so that the religion of nature takes in everything that is founded on the reason and nature of things.

I suppose you will allow that it is evident by the light of nature that there is a God, or in other words, a being absolutely perfect, and infinitely happy in himself, who is the source of all other beings....

– Matthew Tindal, Christianity as Old as the Creation (II)

Arguments for the existence of God

Thomas Hobbes— an early deist and important influence on subsequent deists— used the cosmological argument for the existence of God at several places in his writings.

The effects we acknowledge naturally, do include a power of their producing, before they were produced; and that power presupposeth something existent that hath such power; and the thing so existing with power to produce, if it were not eternal, must needs have been produced by somewhat before it, and that again by something else before that, till we come to an eternal, that is to say, the first power of all powers and first cause of all causes; and this is it which all men conceive by the name of God, implying eternity, incomprehensibility, and omnipotence.

– Thomas Hobbes, Works, vol. 4, pp. 59-60; quoted in John Orr, English Deism, p. 76

Source: Wikipedia - Deist

The Age of Reason is a philosophical treatise critical of the Bible written by the 18th Century British intellectual and American Founding Father Thomas Paine.

Selected Quotes

On the Old Testament

"Whenever we read the obscene stories, the voluptuous debaucheries, the cruel and torturous executions, the unrelenting vindictiveness, with which more than half the Bible [NOTE: It must be borne in mind that by the "Bible" Paine always means the Old Testament alone. -- Editor.] is filled, it would be more consistent that we called it the word of a demon, than the Word of God. It is a history of wickedness, that has served to corrupt and brutalize mankind; and, for my own part, I sincerely detest it, as I detest everything that is cruel."

-Chapter 7

On divine revelation

"No one will deny or dispute the power of the Almighty to make such a communication if he pleases. But admitting, for the sake of a case, that something has been revealed to a certain person, and not revealed to any other person, it is revelation to that person alone. When he tells it to a second person, a second to a third, a third to a fourth, and so on, it ceases to be a revelation to all those persons. It is revelation to the first person only, and hearsay to every other, and, consequently, they are not obliged to believe it.

It is a contradiction in terms and ideas to call anything a revelation that comes to us at second hand, either verbally or in writing. Revelation is necessarily limited to the first communication. After this, it is only an account of something which that person says was a revelation made to him; and though he may find himself obliged to believe it, it cannot be incumbent on me to believe it in the same manner, for it was not a revelation made to me, and I have only his word for it that it was made to him."

-Chapter 2

On Paine's personal beliefs

"As several of my colleagues, and others of my fellow-citizens of France, have given me the example of making their voluntary and individual profession of faith, I also will make mine; and I do this with all that sincerity and frankness with which the mind of man communicates with itself.

I believe in one God, and no more; and I hope for happiness beyond this life.

I believe the equality of man, and I believe that religious duties consist in doing justice, loving mercy, and endeavoring to make our fellow-creatures happy.

But, lest it should be supposed that I believe many other things in addition to these, I shall, in the progress of this work, declare the things I do not believe, and my reasons for not believing them."

-Chapter 1

source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Age_of_Reason

Thomas Paine described himself as a "Deist" and commented:

How different is [Christianity] to the pure and simple profession of Deism! The true Deist has but one Deity, and his religion consists in contemplating the power, wisdom, and benignity of the Deity in his works, and in endeavoring to imitate him in everything moral, scientifical, and mechanical.

source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Paine

Dorset Humanists Constitution - aim to promote spread of Humanist ideas OR Secular Humanist ideas?

In the newsletter for March 2007: Annual General Meeting, Jane Bannister says "As the Dorset Humanist group increases its numbers, it is felt that formalizing it will bring advantages and enable to widen its scope. To this end, a draft copy of proposed constitution is enclosed. We hope that members will be happy to adopt this at the AGM."

The first two sections of the proposed constitution are:-

1) Aims
The aims of the Association shall be to promote the spread of Humanist ideas.
2) Membership
Membership shall be open to anyone supporting the aims of the Association and abiding by its constitution. The committee may suspend any member whose conduct is considered prejudicial to the aims of the Association, but the decision may be appealed at the next general meeting.

Humanism

Humanism^[1] is a broad category of ethical philosophies that affirm the dignity and worth of all people, based on the ability to determine right and wrong by appeal to universal human qualities—particularly rationalism. Humanism is a component of a variety of more specific philosophical systems, and is incorporated into several religious schools of thought. Humanism entails a commitment to the search for truth and morality through human means in support of human interests. In focusing on the capacity for self-determination, humanism rejects the validity of transcendental justifications, such as a dependence on faith, the supernatural, or divinely revealed texts. Humanists endorse universal morality based on the commonality of human nature, suggesting that solutions to human social and cultural problems cannot be parochial.^[2]

Aspects of Humanism

Religion

Humanism clearly rejects deference to supernatural beliefs in resolving human affairs, not necessarily the beliefs themselves, indeed some strains of humanism are compatible with some religions. It is generally compatible with atheism and agnosticism but doesn't require either of these.

Agnosticism or atheism on their own do not necessarily entail humanism; many different and incompatible philosophies are atheistic in nature, and there is no one ideology or set of behaviors to which all atheists adhere.^[3][4]

As humanism encompasses intellectual currents running through a wide variety of philosophical and religious thought, several strains of humanism allow it to fulfill or supplement the role of religions, and in particular to be embraced as a complete life stance. For more on this, see Humanism (life stance). In a number of countries, rights given by laws to 'religions', have required a secular life stance to become legally recognized as a 'religion'.^[5]

Renaissance humanism, and its emphasis on returning to the sources, contributed to the Protestant reformation by helping to gain what they believe was a more accurate translation of Biblical texts.

Knowledge

According to humanism, it is up to humans to find the truth, not wait for it to be handed to them through revelation, mysticism, tradition, or anything else that is incompatible with the application of logic to the evidence. In demanding that humans avoid blindly accepting unsupported beliefs, it supports scientific skepticism and the scientific method, rejecting authoritarianism and extreme skepticism, and rendering faith an unacceptable basis for action. Likewise, humanism asserts that knowledge of right and wrong is based on one's best understanding of one's individual and joint interests, rather than stemming from a transcendental or arbitrarily local source.

Modern humanist philosophies

There are many people who consider themselves humanists, and much variety in the exact type of humanism to which they subscribe. There is some disagreement over terminology and definitions, with some people using narrower or broader interpretations. Not all people who call themselves humanists hold beliefs that are genuinely humanistic, and not all people who do hold humanistic beliefs apply the label of humanism to themselves.

All of this aside, humanism can be divided into secular and religious types.

Secular humanism

Secular humanism is the branch of humanism that rejects theistic religious belief, and the existence of a supernatural. It is often associated with scientists and academics, though it is not at all limited to these groups. Secular humanists generally believe that following humanist principles leads to secularism, on the basis that supernatural beliefs cannot be supported rationally and therefore all traditionally religiously associated activity must be rejected.

When people speak of humanism in general, they are usually referring to secular humanism, as a default meaning. Some of the secular humanists take this even further by denying that religious humanists qualify as genuine humanists. Others feel that the ethical side of humanism transcends the issue of religion, because being a good person is more important than supernatural beliefs.

Some secular humanists prefer the term Humanist (capital 'H', and no adjective), as unanimously endorsed by General Assembly of the International Humanist and Ethical Union (IHEU) following universal endorsement of the Amsterdam Declaration 2002.

Humanism (life stance) wikipedia

Humanism is a comprehensive life stance that upholds human reason, ethics, and justice, and rejects supernaturalism, pseudoscience and superstition. This article uses the words Humanism and Humanist (with a capital 'H' and no adjective such as "secular"[1]) to refer to the life stance and its adherents, and humanism (with a small 'h') to refer to other related movements or philosophies. While this convention is not universal among all Humanists, it is used by a significant number of them, and for purposes of this article, helps distinguish between Humanism as a life stance and other forms of humanism.

The International Humanist and Ethical Union (IHEU) is the world-wide umbrella organization for those adhering to the Humanist life stance. It represents the views of over three million Humanists organized in over 100 national organizations in 30 countries. [10] [11] There are also some more regional groups not belonging to the IHEU, such as the European Humanist Federation and the humanist subgroup of the Unitarian Universalist Association which adhere to variants of the Humanist life stance.

The Happy Human is the official symbol of IHEU as well as being regarded a universally recognised symbol for those that call themselves Humanists (as opposed to "humanists")

IHEU's Minimum Statement on Humanism

All member organisations of the IHEU are required by IHEU bylaw 5.1 to accept [12] the IHEU Minimum Statement on Humanism:

"Humanism is a democratic and ethical life stance, which affirms that human beings have the right and responsibility to give meaning and shape to their own lives. It stands for the building of a more humane society through an ethic based on human and other natural values in the spirit of reason and free inquiry through human capabilities. It is not theistic, and it does not accept supernatural views of reality."

Amsterdam Declaration 2002

In 2002 the International Humanist and Ethical Union (IHEU) General Assembly unanimously adopted the Amsterdam Declaration 2002 which represents the official defining statement of World Humanism for Humanists.

This declaration makes exclusive use of capitalized Humanist and Humanism, which is consistent with IHEU's general practice and recommendations for promoting a unified Humanist identity. ^[13] To further promote Humanist identity, these words are also free of any adjectives, as recommended by prominent members of IHEU. ^[14] Such usage is not universal among IHEU member organizations, though most of them do observe these conventions.

Apart from the need to ensure that member organisations are bona fide Humanist (or like-minded) organisations, Humanism rejects dogma, and imposes no creed upon its adherents [15].

Humanist identity

To promote and unify Humanist identity, prominent members of the IHEU have endorsed the following statements on Humanist identity^[16]:

• All Humanists, nationally and internationally, should always use the one word Humanism as the name of Humanism: no added adjective, and the initial letter capital;

• All Humanists, nationally and internationally, should use a clear, recognisable and uniform symbol on their publications and elsewhere: our Humanist symbol the "happy human";

• All Humanists, nationally and internationally, should seek to establish recognition of the fact that Humanism is a life stance.

Capitalization of Humanist is the normal usage within IHEU, and is recommended usage for member organisations, though some member organisations do not follow the IHEU recommendation. For example, the Council for Secular Humanism continues to use a lowercase h, and the adjective secular.

Other widely recognised documents

Two other widely accepted general doctrines of Humanism are set forth in the Humanist Manifesto [17] and A Secular Humanist Declaration [18].

Official days of celebration

Humanists do not celebrate official religiously-based public holidays such as Christmas, Ramadan or Easter.

Instead, the IHEU endorses World Humanist Day (June 21), Darwin Day (February 12), Human Rights Day (December 10) and HumanLight (December 23) as official days of Humanist celebration, though none are yet a public holiday.

Many Humanists also celebrate the winter and summer solstice.

source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Humanist_%28life_stance%29

Religious humanism

Religious humanism is the branch of humanism that considers itself religious (based on a functional definition of religion), or embraces some form of theism, deism, or supernaturalism, without necessarily being allied with organized religion; if allied, in the US it is often with Unitarian Universalism, frequently associated with artists, liberal Christians, and scholars in the liberal arts. Also subscribers to a religion who do not hold such a necessary source for their moral values, may be considered religious humanists. The central position of human beings in humanist philosophy goes with a humane morality; the latter alone does not constitute humanism. A humanitarian who derives morality from religious grounds does not make a religious humanist.

A number of religious humanists feel that secular humanism is too coldly logical and rejects the full emotional experience that makes humans human. From this comes the notion that secular humanism is inadequate in meeting the human need for a socially fulfilling philosophy of life. Disagreements over things of this nature have resulted in friction between secular and religious humanists, despite their similarities.

source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Humanism

Religious Humanism
Religious humanism is an integration of religious rituals and/or beliefs with humanistic philosophy that centers on human needs, interests, and abilities.

Origin: Humanism as it was conceived in the early 20th century rejected revealed knowledge, theism-based morality and the supernatural. Yet most of the founders of the humanist philosophical movement envisioned it as a religion, with the functions, ceremonies, and moral guidance that revealed religions traditionally provided. In the late 20th century the humanist movement came into conflict with conservative Christian groups in the United States and "Secular Humanism" became the most visible element of organized humanism.

Religious humanism is distinguished from Jewish humanism, Christian humanism, Muslim humanism, existentialist humanism, and secular humanism.^[6]

In the past, humanist versions of major religions, such as Christian humanism and Humanistic Judaism have arisen. In addition, many Dharmic religions like Hinduism, Buddhism and other Asian religions and belief systems like Confucianism, that focus on human nature and action more than theology, were always primarily humanistic. Currently, however, humanism is dominated almost exclusively by secular humanism. This has given rise to a newer version of humanist religions which are similar in philosophy to secular humanism. Secular humanists and revealed religious humanists primarily differ in their definition of religion and their positions on supernatural beliefs. They can also diverge in practice since religious humanists endorse religious ceremonies, rituals, and rites.

Another approach, Christian Existential Humanism, related to the work of the Danish philosopher Søren Kierkegaard, features a humanist perspective grounded in Christian religious belief; where humanity is something to be celebrated, but not as a replacement for the divine.

source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Religious_humanism

Christian Humanism: source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christian_humanism

Christian humanism is the belief that human freedom and individualism are compatible with the practice of Christianity. It is a philosophical union of Christian and humanist principles.^[1]

The broader tradition extends the zone of usage of the term "Christian humanism" and continues to be used widely to describe the vocations of Christians such as Dorothy Sayers, Charles Williams, C. S. Lewis, J. R. R. Tolkien, Flannery O'Connor, Henri-Irénée Marrou.

What is Christian Humanism?

Christian humanism is a faith-informed worldview that considers all things in the light of the redemption wrought by God in Jesus Christ. Like any humanism, it has the human person as its principle focus, the human person created in the image of God, wounded by sin, redeemed by Christ and called to eternal life in communion with God. Everything that exists has been created by God carries his blessing, for when God created everything he "saw that it was good." Christian humanism affirms the integrity or innate goodness of everything God has created.

Christian Humanism: source: http://christianhumanism.bravehost.com/ (external link at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christian_humanism)

No Christian Humanism? Big mistake by Peter Fleming

Christian humanism is the notion that humanity has inherent dignity because God values us and because His Son died to establish the veracity of a universal moral order for us.

Source: http://www.onlinecatholics.com.au/issue115/news1.php via external link at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christian_humanism

Secular Humanism

Secular humanism is a humanist philosophy that upholds reason, ethics, and justice, and specifically rejects the supernatural and the spiritual as warrants of moral reflection and decision-making. Like other types of humanism, secular humanism is a life stance or a praxis focusing on the way human beings can lead good and happy lives (eupraxsophy). The term was coined in the 20th century to make a clear distinction from "religious humanism". A related concept is scientific humanism, which the biologist Edward O. Wilson claimed to be "the only worldview compatible with science's growing knowledge of the real world and the laws of nature".^[1]

Relationship to other concepts

When humanists use the phrase secular humanism it is typically to emphasize differences relative to religion or religious humanism.

There are a number of ways in which secular and religious humanism can differ:^[3]

• Religious humanists may value rituals and ceremonies as means of affirming their life stance. Secular humanists are typically not interested in using rituals and ceremonies.^[4]
• Some religious humanists may seek profound "religious" experiences, such as those that others would associate with the presence of God, despite interpreting these experiences differently. Secular humanists would generally not pursue such experiences.
• Some varieties of nontheistic religious humanism may conceive of the word divine as more than metaphoric even in the absence of a belief in a traditional God; they may believe in ideals that transcend physical reality; or they may conceive of some experiences as "numinous" or uniquely religious. Secular humanism regards all such terms as, at best, metaphors for truths rooted in the material world.
• Some varieties of religious humanism, such as Christian humanism include belief in God, traditionally defined. Secular humanism is skeptical about God and the supernatural and believes that these are not useful concepts for addressing human problems.

While some humanists embrace calling themselves secular humanists, others prefer the term Humanist, capitalized and without any qualifying adjective. The terms secular humanism and Humanism overlap, but have different connotations. The term secular humanism emphasizes a non-religious focus, whereas the term Humanism deemphasizes this and may even encompass some nontheistic varieties of religious humanism. The term Humanism also emphasizes considering one's humanism to be a life stance.

Secular humanism advocates secularism but is a broader concept. Secularism has a number of usages but generally emphasize limits on the role of religious or supernatural considerations in the affairs of society or government. Secular humanism adds to these positions a comprehensive perspective on life, including affirmation of human dignity and the importance of ethics.

Secular humanism is a broad philosophic position and not simply a statement about belief or non-belief in God. As such, it is inaccurate to identify secular humanism as being the same thing as nontheism, atheism, or agnosticism. While secular humanists are generally nontheistic, atheist, or agnostic, the converse may not be true. Many nontheists, atheists, and agnostics adhere to the tenets of secular humanism, but this is not intrinsically the case.^[5]

Secular humanism has appeal to atheists, agnostics, freethinkers, empiricists, objectivists, rationalists, skeptics and materialists, as well as to some Buddhists, Hindus and Confucians.

Christian fundamentalist opponents of humanism typically use the term secular humanism pejoratively to mean atheism or secularism or to lump together all nontheistic varieties of humanism. Humanists object to such usage, finding it misleading or overly broad.

Is secular humanism a religion?

Because it adopts positions about the place of God and religion in well-ordered society, some Christians maintain that secular humanism is itself a religion. Humanists say that secular humanism is not a religion, while acknowledging that some varieties of humanism may be religious in some senses of the word. Disputes around this subject are largely semantic.

There is a continuum of humanist philosophies which may be divided into several categories:

• A. Nontheistic non-religious humanism
• B. Nontheistic religious humanism
• C. Theistic religious humanism

Adherents of the first category of humanism, A, emphatically do not regard their variety of humanism as a religion. Adherents of the last two categories of humanism, B and C, regard their variety of humanism as a religion.

Confusion arises because proponents and opponents of humanism tend to define the term secular humanism differently.

• Among proponents of humanism, secular humanism refers to category A. The current article relates primarily to secular humanism as defined in this fashion.
• Among Christians who oppose humanism, secular humanism is used to refer to categories A and B, or even A, B and C.

Fundamentalists use the descriptions of those in category B of their humanism as a religion to "prove" that "Secular Humanism is a religion." This angers those who actually call themselves secular humanists, those in category A, because their variety of humanism is "by definition not religious."

So, the question of whether secular humanism is or is not a religion devolves into a question of semantics, and a question of whether people are to be trusted to know whether their own beliefs are religious in nature:

• If one uses self-reporting of adherents to determine which beliefs are "religious" then:
  • Using the definition of those who self-identify as secular humanists, then secular humanism is emphatically not a religion. To these individuals, the word "secular" means "not religious" and is an assertion of their desire to be not associated with religion.
  • Using the fundamentalists' definition of secular humanism, the question of whether secular humanism is a religion or not is not coherent: secular humanism denotes a range of world views, some of which are religious and some of which are not.
• If one does not use self-reporting of adherents to determine which beliefs are "religious" then:
  • What definition of "religion" one adheres to will determine whether some varieties of nontheistic humanism should be regarded as religious or not.

Historical and modern references

The term secularism was created in 1846 by George Jacob Holyoake in order to describe "a form of opinion which concerns itself only with questions, the issues of which can be tested by the experience of this life."^[26]

Historical use of the term humanism (reflected in some current academic usage), is related to the writings of pre-Socratic philosophers. These writings were lost to European societies until Renaissance scholars rediscovered them through Muslim sources and translated them from Arabic into European languages."^[27] Thus the term humanist can mean a humanities scholar, as well as refer to The Enlightenment/ Renaissance intellectuals, and those who have agreement with the pre-Socratics, as distinct from secular humanists. See the article on humanism for additional history of this term.

The meaning of the phrase "secular humanism" has evolved over time. This phrase was first known to have been used in the 1950s. It was used, for example, by Leo Pfeffer and by Joseph Blau, later professor of religion at Columbia University. However, as used initially the phrase did not have the connotations it later assumed. In 1958 Pfeffer used the term to mean "Those unaffiliated with organized religion and concerned with human values."^[26]

As mentioned previously, "secular humanism" was a term used by Justice Black in 1961 to refer to a non-theistic variety of humanism that its adherents considered to be religious. The phrase was seized upon by religious fundamentalists, with the inclusion of the word "secular" often used to cast humanists as anti-religious.

By the 1970s the term was embraced by some humanists who, although critical of religion in its various guises, were deliberately non-religious, as opposed to anti-religious, which means that their humanism has nothing to do with spiritual, religious, or ecclesiastical doctrines, beliefs, or power structures. This is how "secular humanism" is most commonly understood by humanists today.^[2]

source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Secular_humanism

Humanist Manifesto

A Secular Humanist Declaration

Main article: A Secular Humanist Declaration

In 1980, the Council for Secular Humanism, founded by Paul Kurtz, which is typically more secular in its outlook than the AHA published what is in effect its manifesto, entitled A Secular Humanist Declaration. It has as its main points:

1. Free Inquiry
2. Separation Of Church And State
3. The Ideal Of Freedom
4. Ethics Based On Critical Intelligence
5. Moral Education
6. Religious Skepticism
7. Reason
8. Science And Technology
9. Evolution
10. Education

Humanist Manifesto 2000

Humanist Manifesto 2000: A Call for New Planetary Humanism is a book by Paul Kurtz published in 2000. It differs from the other three in that it is a full-length book rather than essay-length, and was published not by the AHA but by the Council for Secular Humanism which is typically more secular in its outlook.

• ISBN 1-57392-783-X

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Humanist_Manifesto

The British Humanist Association is an organisation of the United Kingdom which promotes Humanism. The BHA is committed to secularism, human rights, democracy, equality and mutual respect. It works for an open and inclusive society with freedom of belief and speech, and for an end to the privileged position of religion in law, education, broadcasting and wherever else it occurs.

The BHA is the foremost provider of humanist and non-religious ceremonies in England & Wales, maintaining a national network of accredited officiants. This network offer humanist wedding/civil partnership celebration, humanist baby naming and humanist funeral ceremonies, linked to the rites of passage.

The BHA is a member organisation of the International Humanist and Ethical Union. The official symbol of the BHA is the Happy Human.

The British Humanist Association was founded in 1896 by American Stanton Coit as the Union of Ethical Societies, which brought together existing ethical societies in Britain.

IHEU's Minimum statement on Humanism

All member organisations of the IHEU are required by IHEU bylaw 5.1 to accept [1] the IHEU Minimum statement on Humanism:

"Humanism is a democratic and ethical life stance, which affirms that human beings have the right and responsibility to give meaning and shape to their own lives. It stands for the building of a more humane society through an ethic based on human and other natural values in the spirit of reason and free inquiry through human capabilities. It is not theistic, and it does not accept supernatural views of reality."

source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_Humanist_Association