The first post in this series introduced my upcoming book, a small set of questions and answers explaining Humanism to curious non-Humanists. After years of growing and directing organizations, I believe this sort of tool is indispensable for spreading the word and getting new people involved in our community.
Below is the next section of the book draft. Please comment with your feedback!
The Issues: What does a humanist believe about….?
Abortion
A woman has the right to choose. Neither society, government nor religion should have a role in the subject.
Afterlife
The only afterlife we humans experience is the way we affected individuals and institutions while we were alive.
A better world.
Being optimists, they have hope for a better world, but believe that this better world will come about through the efforts of humans and not through praying to a supernatural being.
Evolution
The earth is five billion years old, not 10,000. Plants, animals and humans have evolved and changed over millions of years. They were not created during one week several thousand years ago.
Gay marriage
Being inclusive, they support it.
Heaven and Hell
That there is neither heaven nor hell.
Minorities
They are an accepting people. They welcome people of all races, skin colors, religions and national origins.
Miracles
They believe that the laws of nature govern this world. And that “miracles” are events that really did not happen or they are events for which mankind will have an explanation in the future.
Myths
Myths are stories. While they most often are not true, they seldom do harm.
Noah’s Ark is a typical myth. It is physically impossible to place two of each insect, animal etc. in one boat. For instance, there are 124,000 species of beetles. However preposterous, this is an example of a harmless myth. (But they wonder what type of god would be so angry that he drowned almost every adult and child on earth.)
Praying
Because they lack belief in the existence of a supernatural being, they do not attempt to pray or make requests to a supernatural being.
What do most humanists believe is the “purpose of life”?
For each individual to reach his potential and to help others do the same. And when choosing a purpose of life your choice should be based on how you, as a human being, should relate to other human beings. Humanists think that almost everyone is capable of choosing purposes and goals that will help guide their life.
Salvation
They do not believe that anyone is born sinful or guilty. Threfore, they do not believe anyone needs to be “saved.”
School prayer
They support the current national legislation that prayer should not be part of a public school experience.
Sociability
Humans are social beings. We all need friends and we need institutions through which we can develop our potential and help build a better world. Organized religion and the local church can play a leading role.
Virgin birth
This is physically impossible. It is an example of a harmless myth.
Women’s rights
Being inclusive, they support the efforts to achieve equality.
I really like the way it’s laid out like a dictionary. Do you think you’ll poll people on words or phrases from A-Z that the’d be willing to “define” from a Humanist perspective. On something like an iPad (an interactive e-book) you could have them as 99 things that are organized thematically, or alphabetically, and it would be super-cool.
This is following my comment on your first post.
There is a shift in person from the first section where you referred to “humanist” to using “they” that just doesn’t flow well. I see the heading, “What does a humanist believe about….?” but the use of “they” seems to separate the reader from the content, and sets up an opposition.
> Under “A better world” — are all humanist optimists? I guess I’m not sure I agree.
I think there is optimism about the capacity of people but your statement may be oversimplifying things.
> Under “Salvation” there is a typo, it should read “therefore.”
Should original sin be addressed? What about proselytism?
Just my thoughts. Please feel free to ignore my ramblings.
Best of luck!
Hey John,
I saw Greg’s link to this on Twitter a couple of days ago & thought I’d respond!
First, great outline of topics. I agree with the comment above that laying this out in an A-Z fashion is interesting.
I took some time to think about this, and here is a collection of comments in no particular order of importance:
1. I’m wondering if it is safe to say that all Humanists believe there should be absolutely no government involvement with abortion. I can recall quite a few conversations with people who consider themselves Humanists in which varying opinions were expressed. I consider myself quite scientifically minded woman; however, translating the basic science on developing human life into general life guidelines / beliefs (e.g. there should be no government involvement in abortion) is quite tricky business. Perhaps it would be helpful to acknowledge this?
While it has been my experience that opinions on government involvement in abortion vary among Humanists, opinions on stem cell research seem much more homogeneous. The stance, of course, being that it is totally permissible.
2. Regarding evolution – while I certainly ascribe the development of life to evolution, there may be some holes in the theory that could potentially be addressed / acknowledged. Functionally, perhaps people who are curious about Humanism may find it more palatable this way.
3. Since the origin of the universe and the beginning/development of life are two separate issues, perhaps addressing that Humanists typically ascribe the existence of the universe to theories in physics (i.e. the big bang) could be a nice addition?
4. In Greg’s book, he talks about Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy and Meditation as tools used by Humanists that serve a similar function to prayer. Although use of these techniques is not universal among Humanists, perhaps acknowledging that some do actively pursue self-growth might be helpful. [On the other hand, perhaps it is too specific to mention these methods here.]
5. Regarding the “Purpose of Life” section – I just thought I’d share some ways I personally like to phrase these concepts to people that I know. I practice a form of therapy rooted in Eastern meditation practices called Acceptance and Commitment Therapy. The scientists who created this form of therapy typically use the phrasing that to “live life in accordance with one’s values” is the purpose of the treatment. Just thought I’d share!
6. Lastly, regarding the section called “Heaven or Hell” – perhaps it would be helpful to have information not only about what Humanists don’t believe, but what they do. For instance, when describing my beliefs about life & death to my devout Roman Catholic family, I tell them “I think death will be exactly the same for me as before I was born.” While this is typically met with a degree of shock, perhaps expressing a concept like this – but more eloquently – may be useful?
Really great initiative with this! I hope you found some of these comments helpful. I’m really looking forward to reading the book. Please feel free to contact me if you’d like.
Best,
TD
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