The Affirmations
of Humanism:
A Statement of Principles
- We are
committed to the application of reason and science to the understanding of
the universe and to the solving of human problems.
- We deplore efforts
to denigrate human intelligence, to seek to explain the world in supernatural
terms, and to look outside nature for salvation.
- We believe that
scientific discovery and technology can contribute to the betterment of human
life.
- We believe in
an open and pluralistic society and that democracy is the best guarantee of
protecting human rights from authoritarian elites and repressive majorities.
- We are committed
to the principle of the separation of church and state.
- We cultivate
the arts of negotiation and compromise as a means of resolving differences
and achieving mutual understanding.
- We are concerned
with securing justice and fairness in society and with eliminating discrimination
and intolerance.
- We believe in
supporting the disadvantaged and the handicapped so that they will be able
to help themselves.
- We attempt to
transcend divisive parochial loyalties based on race, religion, gender, nationality,
creed, class, sexual orientation, or ethnicity, and strive to work together
for the common good of humanity.
- We want to protect
and enhance the earth, to preserve it for future generations, and to avoid
inflicting needless suffering on other species.
- We believe in
enjoying life here and now and in developing our creative talents to their
fullest.
- We believe in
the cultivation of moral excellence.
- We respect the
right to privacy. Mature adults should be allowed to fulfill their aspirations,
to express their sexual preferences, to exercise reproductive freedom, to
have access to comprehensive and informed health-care, and to die with dignity.
- We believe in
the common moral decencies: altruism, integrity, honesty, truthfulness, responsibility.
Humanist ethics is amenable to critical, rational guidance. There are normative
standards that we discover together. Moral principles are tested by their
consequences.
- We are deeply
concerned with the moral education of our children. We want to nourish reason
and compassion.
- We are engaged
by the arts no less than by the sciences.
- We are citizens
of the universe and are excited by discoveries still to be made in the cosmos.
- We are skeptical
of untested claims to knowledge, and we are open to novel ideas and seek new
departures in our thinking.
- We affirm humanism
as a realistic alternative to theologies of despair and ideologies of violence
and as a source of rich personal significance and genuine satisfaction in
the service to others.
- We believe in
optimism rather than pessimism, hope rather than despair, learning in the
place of dogma, truth instead of ignorance, joy rather than guilt or sin,
tolerance in the place of fear, love instead of hatred, compassion over selfishness,
beauty instead of ugliness, and reason rather than blind faith or irrationality.
- We believe in
the fullest realization of the best and noblest that we are capable of as
human beings.
***
For more information
about Secular Humanism, please see the following:
A Secular Humanist
Declaration Issued In 1980 By The Council for Democratic and Secular Humanism
(now the
Council for Secular Humanism)
http://www.secularhumanism.org/intro/declaration.html