Secular Humanism....Philosophy or Religion?

According to the Supreme Court...Its a Religion without a God!

quote:Among religions in this country which do not teach what would generally be considered a belief in the existence of God are Buddhism, Taoism, Ethical Culture, Secular Humanism, and others. See Washington Ethical Society v. District of Columbia, 101 U.S. App. D.C. 371, 249 F.2d 127

Alot of the Christian Bashers here on Totse, think that theyre "Opened Minded"....truth be known....theyre Religious Fanatics themselves

Heres what Secular Humanist believe....Humanist Manifesto I

The Unproven, built on assumptions Theory of Evolution is part of this religion...notice point #2...

[sp0rkius]

quote:Alot of the Christian Bashers here on Totse, think that theyre "Opened Minded"....truth be known....theyre Religious Fanatics themselves

1. You're putting words in their mouths.

2. How many humanists are there on totse anyway?

3. Calling it a religion doesn't suddenly make it as stupid as you. It's just a label. If I called this pot noodle I'm eating "Hannibal Lectar" would it suddenly try to eat me? No. So shut up.

[---Beany---]

quote:Originally posted by Sniper Piper:

Heres what Secular Humanist believe

As soon as someone associates themselves with a religeon, they lose the freedom to explore their own true feelings and thoughts. It annoys me.

You believe what you believe.

I believe that balls are spherical, and no matter how much I respect a religeon, it won't change that unless the change of belief comes from me.

[AngryFemme]

I believe it's a philosophy, as opposed to a religion. It lacks three qualifying agents that makes it NOT a religion:

1) There's no guilt factors involved

2) Virtually no finger-pointing or headshaking or the "holier than thou" attitude

3) Zero consequences, whether you participate or not

No churches, mosques, or "holy" places of "worship", unless you've perused the Church of the Virus website and take it with anything more than a grain of salt:

http:../../www.lucifer.com/virus/lb_index.html

(which I cannot take seriously, for the life of me, due in part to the lucifer reference)

The American Humanist association just reeks of political tampering and organized coercion - I much prefer The Brights. If I had to jump on a quasi-"religious" bandwagon, it would be this one:

http:../../the-brights.net/default.htm

Who hear has ever claimed to be a secular humanist.

I have seen alot of people say that they are agnostic or athiest but I think only one or two secular humanists.

The beliefs systems of athiests/agnostics may be similar to that of secular humanist but the belief of Catholics are alot like that of Lutherans. No one will deny that they are diferent things.

[This message has been edited by MasterPython (edited 08-16-2004).]

[sp0rkius]

Atheism is the lack of religion. A-theism. Get it? Yes?

Humanism is organised atheism, but it couldn't be described as theism, so I'm inclined not to agree with it's classification as a religion. But on the other hand it takes the place of religion in people's lives, so for government-related things (censuses (censi?)) I'd say it's sensible to class it as a religion.

But that doesn't mean it involved mythology or anything requiring any significant degree of faith.

[woodlander]

A good test is whether it is necessary to suspend rational thought. If yes, it is a religion.

[sp0rkius]

quote:Originally posted by woodlander:

A good test is whether it is necessary to suspend rational thought. If yes, it is a religion.

Heh heh, well said.

quote:Originally posted by sp0rkius:

Humanism is organised atheism,

Exactly!!

quote:Main Entry: re·li·gion

Pronunciation: ri-'li-j&n

Function: noun

Etymology: Middle English religioun, from Latin religion-, religio supernatural constraint, sanction, religious practice, perhaps from religare to restrain, tie back -- more at RELY

1 a : the state of a religious <a nun in her 20th year of religion> b (1) : the service and worship of God or the supernatural (2) : commitment or devotion to religious faith or observance

2 : a personal set or institutionalized system of religious attitudes, beliefs, and practices

3 archaic : scrupulous conformity : CONSCIENTIOUSNESS

4 : a cause, principle, or system of beliefs held to with ardor and faith

- re·li·gion·less adjective

Im broadening your definition of "Religion"

[AngryFemme]

I would (and have) claimed to be a secular humanist, but I'd still opt to check the N/A box on any religion question on a census form or necessary gov't paperwork rather than check "other" and fill in a blank this big: ______________ with an attempt at explaining my beliefs.

N/A is a better choice for me just because I don't think a person's belief system should even be relevant on issues that would require the above said forms, or census questions.

[This message has been edited by AngryFemme (edited 08-17-2004).]

quote:Originally posted by Sniper Piper:

According to the Supreme Court...Its a Religion without a God!

Alot of the Christian Bashers here on Totse, think that theyre "Opened Minded"....truth be known....theyre Religious Fanatics themselves

Heres what Secular Humanist believe....Humanist Manifesto I

The Unproven, built on assumptions Theory of Evolution is part of this religion...notice point #2...

stupid stupid stupid.

The fact that you think all humanists adhere to someone elses Manifesto makes your argument moot. Humanists don't follow a standardized set of rules, unlike christians. That is the real difference.

But Sniper Piper, Where is the faith in secular humanism?

[Spirit of '22]

Well, for one, there is no foundation for any absolute morality or ethical standpoint or belief system, but, they proceed as though there is one anyway. Certain foreign cultural practices, like female circumcision, or jihad, or concubinage, or slavery, or the caste system, they condemn from their own perspective, as though their own perspective is the only viable and right one. They make claims about something being right or wrong and claim to have some kind of support for this.

[AngryFemme]

quote:Originally posted by aTribeCalledSean:



stupid stupid stupid.

The fact that you think all humanists adhere to someone elses Manifesto makes your argument moot. Humanists don't follow a standardized set of rules, unlike christians. That is the real difference.

Right on. The real difference, indeed.

[Spirit of '22]

The fact that there is an ideology called Humanism proves differently...



That and the existence of "The Humanist Manifesto."

[AngryFemme]

The first line of The Humanist Manifesto states the following disclaimer:

quote: The Manifesto is a product of many minds. It was designed to represent a developing point of view, not a new creed. The individuals whose signatures appear would, had they been writing individual statements, have stated the propositions in differing terms. The importance of the document is that more than thirty men have come to general agreement on matters of final concern and that these men are undoubtedly representative of a large number who are forging a new philosophy out of the materials of the modern world.

The Humanist Manifesto is not the "gospel", so to speak, on a Humanist perspective. One does not have to adhere to this Manifesto in order to claim that they are a Humanist. It's just a piece of literature, after all. Some might need it to help define their beliefs to themselves or others, or might well appreciate the fact that it is condensed into such well-articulated examples that sum up what they feel is pertinent. Christianity cannot survive without the Bible. Humanism will go on (and has existed) long before the Humanist Manifesto was ever put into print and circulated.





[This message has been edited by AngryFemme (edited 08-26-2004).]

Is Black a color? Science says "no", Crayola says "yes"