What are the generally accepted beliefs and values put forth by SECULAR HUMANISM?

Answer 1

There is no set "belief system. That defeats the purpose of humanism. Here is a rough list of some ideas that many humanists would support :

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.

Answer 2

What do you think 'prove a theory' means? Honestly, I'm curious. Anyway, in your daily life how do you determine whether something you hear is believable? Presumably you consider things like whether the information is consistent with what you may have observed yourself, what kind of evidence is cited in support of the information, whether the source of the information would have anything to gain by lying, or anything to lose if the information turned out to be false, etc. And that is why science is more believable than religious texts. Scientific theories are written exclusively by experts. If the theory is found to be inconsistent with observations then it is revised or abandoned. Scientific theories are firmly based on objective evidence. And if a theory is flawed in any way, a scientist has far more to gain from exposing the flaw than from concealing it. If someone disproved evolution, they would certainly win a Nobel Prize. p1k4blu, the Earth being flat was never a 'scientific fact'. The fact that the Earth is round was actually discovered before the development of the scientific method. There was never a scientifically developed theory suggesting that the Earth is flat.

Answer 3

Our public education system would be a prime example. Horace Mann. The thing that has always intrigued me as well about this however is usually the best and brightest teachers in any one group are shunned by the rest (or majority)of their"collective brethren and sisters" . I personally think its advantageous for our children to learn from these individuals. They're different, yes. but most undoubtedly in a good way. You'll know which ones they are. Those are the teachers that if they ask for something for their classroom(most of them don't however, because they generally get it themselves), will be the very first ones i would indeed help any way i can. Sorry i got off your topic a little but i just thought i would touch on this very relevant issue. Don't change guys. The majority needs to learn from you, not the other way around. People see you.

Answer 4

I can't wait to see how the religionists answer this one.

At any rate, a secular humanist is not religious, considers little sacred other than his belief in the rights and individual dignity of all people, regardless of their ethnicity, race, or beliefs.

In other words, the exact opposite of most religionists.

*edit* irishumanist said it much better.

Answer 5

They believe everything the deists believe except for the deity part.

Answer 6

You must be NH Baritone in disguise if not sorry.........I live not too far from you in the spooning state of VT..........treat someone else the way you would like to be treated would be my best guess.........Namaste