HUMANISM

Secularism in the schools.
Ethics without a God.
Is Humanism a religion?

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Conflicts over Secularism in public Schools:

Conservative Christians sometimes complain that Humanism is really the official religion of the public educational system. They feel that the traditional wall of separation between church and state has been breached, and that Humanism has taken over the public schools. This is not an accurate view. The percentage of adults in North America that consider themselves Christian is about 73% in the year 2005. ₁ This is probably reflected in the religious beliefs of the teachers and other officials in the school system.

The public school systems base their teaching on a secular or non-religious foundation. In most subjects, like mathematics, reading, writing, physics, chemistry etc., this does not present a problem. In human sexuality education, biology, geology, sociology, history, etc. the secular approach often conflicts intensely with some religious traditions Christian theology. For example:

US Public Schools are required to base their curriculum on secularism because of the principle of separation of church and state which the U.S. Supreme Court has said is implicit in the 1st Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. Humanism is also based on a secular view of the universe for philosophical reasons. Many mainline and liberal religious groups take secular views in many areas, ranging from human sexuality to geology. Thus public schools do not teach Humanist beliefs any more than they teach the beliefs of the United Churches. The schools are simply secular, neither promoting nor demeaning religion.

Ethical Behavior Without a Belief in God

Many people feel that ethical and moral behavior must be based on the absolute teachings found with the Christian Bible. Without a belief in the Christian God, the hope of Heaven and the threat of Hell, they believe that an individual will not be motivated to behave decently. This belief was seen in a US military policy in past decades which only allowed persons who believed in a God to achieve conscientious objector status. 

Humanists have successfully developed moral and ethical systems which are independent of divine revelation from a deity. They are based upon such foundational beliefs as:

Is Humanism a Religion?

To most North Americans, "religion" probably means the belief that a God or Gods exist who created the world, who is/are to be worshipped, and who is/are responsible for creating ethical and behavioral codes. In that context, Humanism is definitely not a religion, and would not be perceived as one by its followers. Humanists do not generally believe in a supreme deity or deities, demons, ghosts, angels, or in a supernatural world, or in heaven and hell, or in a divinely ordained ethical code for humans to follow. Most would regard the Gods and Goddesses as a creation of mankind rather than the reverse.

Religious Humanism has been loosely defined as religion without deity worship and traditional theological beliefs. Replacing these factors is a belief in humanity as the highest known form of intelligent life, and a belief in the scientific method as the best way to determine truth.

Many Secular Humanists feel that the role of religion throughout history has been so profoundly negative, that the word "religion" should not be connected to their philosophy.

During 2000-JUN, a federal court of appeals ruled that Humanism is a religion. Federal prisoner Ben Kalka attempted to form a humanism group as part of the Religious Services Department at a federal prison in Jesup, GA. He was refused when the prison's Religious Issues Committee determined that Humanism was not a religion; it was "more philosophical and educational in nature." They decided that he could freely practice his humanism and could organize a group within the prison's Education Department. In 1998-SEP, a federal district court ruled that Humanism is a religion. But they decided that denying Kalka access to the prison chapel did not prevent him from practicing his humanist beliefs. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia agreed with the lower court and ruled that Humanism is a religion. However, they decided that "A reasonable official would not have believed that excluding Kalka's humanism from the prison's Religious Services Program was unlawful. There was neither precedent declaring humanism in general to be a religion nor any prior ruling on the religious nature of Kalka's beliefs." Thus, the prison officials were entitled to qualified immunity, and are not liable for penalties related to the violation of Kalka's civil. ₂

References used:

1. The ARIS study of 2001 showed that 76.5% of American adults consider themselves to be Christian. The Canadian Census of the same year showed that 76.6% of Canadian adults consider themselves to be Christian. Since these percentages are dropping about 0.8 percentage points per year, the 2005 figures would probably be about 73.3%.
2. David Hudson, "Federal appeals panel: Prison officials not liable for rejecting Humanism group," at: http://www.freedomforum.org/

Copyright © 1996 to 2005 incl., by Ontario Consultants on Religious Tolerance
Originally written: 1996-SEP-2
Latest update: 2005-DEC-13
Author: B.A. Robinson