.:Albino.Blackbird:. wrote:Username- .:Albino.Blackbird:.
Religion- Atheist and Humanist mix. I agree highly with Humanist beleifs, but I'm more of an Athiest due to my more scientific mindset. ^^''' And I don't actually know much about Humanism to begin with :S
Secular humanism (from my knowledge of it) is sort of a moral and ethical code for non-religious types. In a way it's a package deal with atheism and agnosticism. Define your theistic beliefs as atheistic or agnostic today, and we throw in this humanistic set of morality, ABSOLUTELY FREE. And it's very scientific.
Wiki [which will totally do as a source for this, yo] wrote:Secular Humanism describes a world view with the following elements and principles:
* Need to test beliefs – A conviction that dogmas, ideologies and traditions, whether religious, political or social, must be weighed and tested by each individual and not simply accepted by faith.
* Reason, evidence, scientific method – A commitment to the use of critical reason, factual evidence and scientific methods of inquiry in seeking solutions to human problems and answers to important human questions.
* Fulfillment, growth, creativity – A primary concern with fulfillment, growth and creativity for both the individual and humankind in general.
* Search for truth – A constant search for objective truth, with the understanding that new knowledge and experience constantly alter our imperfect perception of it.
* This life – A concern for this life (as opposed to an afterlife) and a commitment to making it meaningful through better understanding of ourselves, our history, our intellectual and artistic achievements, and the outlooks of those who differ from us.
* Ethics – A search for viable individual, social and political principles of ethical conduct, judging them on their ability to enhance human well-being and individual responsibility.
* Building a better world – A conviction that with reason, an open exchange of ideas, good will, and tolerance, progress can be made in building a better world for ourselves and our children.
A Secular Humanist Declaration was issued in 1980 by The Council for Democratic and Secular Humanism (CODESH), now the Council for Secular Humanism (CSH). It lays out ten ideals: Free inquiry as opposed to censorship and imposition of belief; separation of church and state; the ideal of freedom from religious control and from jingoistic government control; ethics based on critical intelligence rather than that deduced from religious belief; moral education; religious skepticism; reason; a belief in science and technology as the best way of understanding the world; evolution; and education as the essential method of building humane, free, and democratic societies.
Even if they don't define themselves as humanists I'd be willing to bet that most areligious people define their morality in a way that would easily fit in with secular humanism. I don't tend to think about it very often or label myself as a secular humanist, but just going on Wiki for five seconds lets me find that bit up there, which is essentially all of my [convergently evolved] values summed up really nicely.
