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72-526: Its logo references the Happy Human symbol, in common with other humanist organisations. UAAR was founded in 1986 to promote the diffusion of atheist and agnostic ideas, campaign for a thoroughly secular state, and struggle against any privilege granted to the Roman Catholic religion and against any discrimination of nonbelievers. Between December 1996 and July 2019, UAAR regularly published

144-662: A "purely human basis" for morality. The first ethical society along these lines in Britain was founded in 1886. By 1896 the four London societies formed the Union of Ethical Societies, and between 1905 and 1910 there were over fifty societies in Great Britain, seventeen of which were affiliated with the Union. The Union of Ethical Societies would later incorporate as the Ethical Union, a registered charity, in 1928. Under

216-764: A Jewish identity will often celebrate most Jewish holidays in a secular manner. Humanists International endorses World Humanist Day (21 June), Darwin Day (12 February), Human Rights Day (10 December) and HumanLight (23 December) as official days of humanist celebration, though none are yet a public holiday. Humanist organisations typically organise events around these dates which draw attention to their programmes of activities. In many countries, humanist celebrants (officiants) perform celebrancy services for weddings, funerals, child namings , coming of age ceremonies , and other rituals. In countries like Scotland and Norway, these are extremely popular. In Scotland, more people have

288-564: 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. A general outline of Humanism is also set out in the Humanist Manifesto prepared by the American Humanist Association . In the 20th and 21st centuries, members of Humanist organizations have disagreed as to whether Humanism

360-581: A bi-monthly magazine , L'Ateo ( The Atheist ). In January 2020 it started publishing a new bi-monthly magazine, Nessun Dogma . Besides seeking contacts with government representatives, UAAR is prepared to initiate legal actions to obtain the full acknowledgement for atheism and atheists' rights. They have, for instance, obtained recognition of the right for those baptised as infants to be considered no longer Catholic if they wish. The UAAR has held Debaptism Day and Darwin Day annually. The UAAR has pushed for

432-523: A further sub-category of the sub-category "No Religion", which typically includes atheist, rationalist and agnostic thought. In England, Wales 25% of people specify that they have 'No religion' up from 15% in 2001 and in Australia, around 30% of the population specifies "No Religion" in the national census. In the US, the decennial census does not inquire about religious affiliation or its lack; surveys report

504-440: A humanist wedding than are married by any religious denomination, including Scotland's largest churches; over 20% of Scottish weddings are humanist. In Norway, over 20% of young people choose humanist coming-of-age ceremonies every year. The issue of whether and in what sense secular humanism might be considered a religion, and what the implications of this would be, has become the subject of legal maneuvering and political debate in

576-414: A logo should look like. After some time without progress, radio presenter Margaret Knight backed a popular movement among Humanists UK's membership to commission such a logo, triggering publicity officer Tom Vernon to announce the competition. Of the several hundred designs from a number of countries that were considered, Dennis Barrington's simple design was favoured for its perceived universalism. Within

648-484: A necessity to establish a religion that was a dynamic force to meet the needs of the day. However, this "religion" did not profess a belief in any god. Since then two additional Manifestos were written to replace the first. In the Preface of Humanist Manifesto II, in 1973, the authors Paul Kurtz and Edwin H. Wilson assert that faith and knowledge are required for a hopeful vision for the future. Manifesto II references

720-429: A non-religious philosophy or approach to life. Generally speaking, all humanists, including religious humanists, reject deference to supernatural beliefs; promote the practical, methodological naturalism of science; and largely endorse the stance of metaphysical naturalism . The result is an approach to issues in a secular way. Humanism addresses ethics without reference to the supernatural as well, attesting that ethics

792-501: A person's non-religious views, comes with no obligation to celebrate or revere specific days in the year as a religion would. As a result, individual humanists choose of their own accord whether to take part in prevailing national holidays where they live. For example, humanists in Europe and North America typically celebrate holidays, such as Christmas , but as secular holidays rather than Christian festivals. Other humanists choose to mark

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864-414: A philosophy of utilitarianism , ethical naturalism , or evolutionary ethics , and some advocate a science of morality . Humanists International , founded by Julian Huxley and Jaap van Praag , is the world union of more than one hundred humanist, rationalist , irreligious, atheist , Bright , secular , Ethical Culture , and freethought organizations in more than 40 countries. The " Happy Human "

936-468: A rival centre, Newton Hall, in a courtyard off Fleet Street. The New York City version of the church was established by English immigrant Henry Edger . The American version of the "Church of Humanity" was largely modeled on the English church. Like the English version, it was not atheistic and had sermons and sacramental rites. At times the services included readings from conventional religious works like

1008-593: A section on religion and states traditional religion renders a disservice to humanity. Manifesto II recognizes the following groups to be part of their naturalistic philosophy: "scientific", "ethical", "democratic", "religious", and "Marxist" humanism. In 2002, the IHEU General Assembly unanimously adopted the Amsterdam Declaration 2002 which represents the official defining statement of World Humanism. All member organisations of

1080-432: A threat to the values set out in their sacred texts. In recent years, humanists such as Dwight Gilbert Jones and R. Joseph Hoffmann have decried the over-association of Humanism with affirmations of non-belief and atheism. Jones cites a lack of new ideas being presented or debated outside of secularism, while Hoffmann is unequivocal: "I regard the use of the term 'humanism' to mean secular humanism or atheism to be one of

1152-429: Is Secular Humanism". So, this determination was left up to local school boards. The provision provoked a storm of controversy which within a year led Senator Hatch to propose, and Congress to pass, an amendment to delete from the statute all reference to secular humanism. While this episode did not dissuade fundamentalists from continuing to object to what they regarded as the "teaching of Secular Humanism", it did point out

1224-546: Is a philosophy , belief system, or life stance that embraces human reason , logic , secular ethics , and philosophical naturalism , while specifically rejecting religious dogma , supernaturalism , and superstition as the basis of morality and decision-making. Secular humanism posits that human beings are capable of being ethical and moral without religion or belief in a deity . It does not, however, assume that humans are either inherently good or evil , nor does it present humans as being superior to nature. Rather,

1296-471: Is a human enterprise (see naturalistic ethics ). Accounts of humanism are also careful not to treat secular humanism analogously with religions, which implies a community who strictly attempt to adhere to the same obligations or beliefs. Holding a secular humanist philosophy does not prescribe a specific theory of morality or code of ethics. As stated by the Council for Secular Humanism, Secular Humanism

1368-544: Is a religion. They categorize themselves in one of three ways. Religious (or ethical) humanism , in the tradition of the earliest humanist organizations in the UK and US, attempts to fulfil the traditional social role of religion. Contemporary use of the word "religious" did not have the same connotations as its today. Secular humanism considers all forms of religion, including religious humanism, to be superseded. However, distinctions between "ethical" and "secular" humanists are for

1440-431: Is consistent with IHEU's general practice and recommendations for promoting a unified Humanist identity. To further promote Humanist identity, these words are also free of any adjectives, as recommended by prominent members of IHEU. Such usage is not universal among IHEU member organizations, though most of them do observe these conventions. Historical use of the term humanism (reflected in some current academic usage),

1512-530: Is not theistic , and it does not accept supernatural views of reality. To promote and unify "Humanist" identity, prominent members of the IHEU have endorsed the following statements on Humanist identity: According to the Council for Secular Humanism, within the United States, the term "secular humanism" describes a world view with the following elements and principles: A Secular Humanist Declaration

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1584-476: Is not more religion but a richer notion of the nature of morality. Humanists Andrew Copson and Alice Roberts , in their casual introduction to humanism The Little Book of Humanism , propose that a distinctive aspect of humanist morality is its recognition that every moral situation is in some sense unique, and so potentially calls for different approach than the last (i.e. the ability to vacillate situationally between consequentialism and virtue ethics ). In

1656-588: Is not so much a specific morality as it is a method for the explanation and discovery of rational moral principles. Secular humanists affirm that with the present state of scientific knowledge, dogmatic belief in an absolutist moral or ethical system (e.g. Kantian, Islamic, Christian) is unreasonable. However, it affirms that individuals engaging in rational moral/ethical deliberations can discover some universal "objective standards". We are opposed to absolutist morality, yet we maintain that objective standards emerge, and ethical values and principles may be discovered, in

1728-481: Is recognized as the official symbol of humanism internationally, used by secular humanist organizations in every part of the world. The term itself is not uncontested. "Secular humanism" is not a universally used phrase, and is most prevalent in the United States. Most member organisations of Humanists International, for example, use simply the term " humanism " to refer to this concept, with some commentators remarking that "'hyphenated humanism' easily becomes more about

1800-479: Is related to the writings of pre-Socratic philosophers . These writings were lost to European societies until Renaissance scholars rediscovered them through Muslim sources and translated them from Arabic into European languages. Thus the term humanist can mean a humanities scholar, as well as refer to The Enlightenment / Renaissance intellectuals, and those who have agreement with the pre-Socratics, as distinct from secular humanists. In 1851 George Holyoake coined

1872-580: Is they believe in freedom of speech". Subsequently, the UAAR also ran newspaper ads containing the original slogan. Happy Human The Happy Human is an icon that has been adopted as an international symbol of secular humanism . Created by Dennis Barrington, the figure was the winning design in a competition arranged by Humanists UK (formerly the British Humanist Association) in 1965. Various forms of it are now used across

1944-458: Is typically portrayed as a vast evil conspiracy, deceitful and immoral, responsible for feminism, pornography, abortion, homosexuality, and New Age spirituality. In certain areas of the world, Humanism finds itself in conflict with religious fundamentalism, especially over the issue of the separation of church and state . Many Humanists see religions as superstitious, repressive and closed-minded, while religious fundamentalists may see Humanists as

2016-499: Is uncertainty because of the lack of universal definition throughout censuses. Humanism is a non-theistic belief system and, as such, it could be a sub-category of "Religion" only if that term is defined to mean "Religion and (any) belief system ". This is the case in the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights on freedom of religion and beliefs . Many national censuses contentiously define Humanism as

2088-655: The Book of Isaiah . It was not as significant as the church in England, but did include several educated people. Another important precursor was the ethical movement of the 19th century. The South Place Ethical Society was founded in 1793 as the South Place Chapel on Finsbury Square , on the edge of the City of London , and in the early nineteenth century was known as "a radical gathering-place". At that point it

2160-486: The Center for Inquiry and in 2015 both ceased separate operations, becoming CFI programs) gave secular humanism an organisational identity within the United States; but no overall organisation involved currently uses a name featuring "secular humanism". However, many adherents of the approach reject the use of the word secular as obfuscating and confusing, and consider that the term secular humanism has been "demonized by

2232-482: The Conway Hall Ethical Society . Today Conway Hall explicitly identifies itself as a humanist organisation, albeit one primarily focused on concerts, events, and the maintenance of its humanist library and archives. It bills itself as "The landmark of London's independent intellectual, political and cultural life." In America, the ethical movement was propounded by Felix Adler , who established

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2304-874: The European Humanist Federation . In 2017, the British Humanist Association, which originated the Happy Human, debuted a new, single line-drawing style Happy Human when it renamed as Humanists UK. The Humanist Emblem of Spirit is an authorized inscription on Government headstones and markers in cemeteries of the National Cemetery Administration of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and in Arlington National Cemetery. Secular humanism Secular humanism

2376-606: The International Humanist and Ethical Union are required by bylaw 5.1 to accept the Minimum Statement on Humanism : Humanism is a democratic and ethical life stance, which affirms that human beings have the right and responsibility to give meaning and shape to their own lives. It stands for the building of a more humane society through an ethic based on human and other natural values in the spirit of reason and free inquiry through human capabilities. It

2448-752: The Italian Constitution , which recognises the Lateran Treaties between Italy and Vatican City . The UAAR has also challenged the Catholic Church on issues such as abortion . In January 2009, the organisation promoted an atheist bus campaign inspired by the similar initiative of the British Humanist Association . The campaign, due to start on 4 February 2009, was symbolically launched in Genoa , on

2520-730: The Italian National Authority for Fair Trading and Competition , announced that the Authority filed a case against the Atheist Bus initiative because of the potentially "dangerous and mendacious nature" of the ads. As a reaction, the UAAR launched a new campaign in Genoa with a different slogan to comply with the advertising authority's rules: "The good news is that there are millions of atheists in Italy. The excellent news

2592-646: The New York Society for Ethical Culture in 1877. By 1886, similar societies had sprouted up in Philadelphia, Chicago and St. Louis. These societies all adopted the same statement of principles: In effect, the movement responded to the religious crisis of the time by replacing theology with unadulterated morality. It aimed to "disentangle moral ideas from religious doctrines , metaphysical systems, and ethical theories, and to make them an independent force in personal life and social relations." Adler

2664-571: The functional , cohesive role that supernatural religion once served. Although Comte's religious movement was unsuccessful in France, the positivist philosophy of science itself played a major role in the proliferation of secular organizations in the 19th century in England. Richard Congreve visited Paris shortly after the French Revolution of 1848 where he met Auguste Comte and was heavily influenced by his positivist system. He founded

2736-479: The winter and summer solstices and the equinoxes . European humanists may often emphasise the fact that human beings have found reasons to celebrate at these times in the Northern Hemisphere for thousands of years before the arrival of Christianity. Humanists may also identify culturally with religious traditions and holidays celebrated in their family in the community. For example, humanists with

2808-488: The 1960s and 1970s the term was embraced by some humanists who considered themselves anti-religious, as well as those who, although not critical of religion in its various guises, preferred a non-religious approach. The release in 1980 of A Secular Humanist Declaration by the newly formed Council for Democratic and Secular Humanism (CODESH, later the Council for Secular Humanism , which with CSICOP in 1991 jointly formed

2880-708: The Humanist life stance, such as the humanist subgroup of the Unitarian Universalist Association , do not belong to the IHEU. Although the European Humanist Federation is also separate from the IHEU, the two organisations work together and share an agreed protocol. Starting in the mid-20th century, religious fundamentalists and the religious right began using the term "secular humanism" in hostile fashion. Francis A. Schaeffer , an American theologian based in Switzerland, seizing upon

2952-686: The International Humanist and Ethical Union (IHEU) of the capitalization of the word Humanism , and the dropping of any adjective such as secular , is quite recent. The American Humanist Association began to adopt this view in 1973, and the IHEU formally endorsed the position in 1989. In 2002 the IHEU General Assembly unanimously adopted the Amsterdam Declaration , which represents the official defining statement of World Humanism for Humanists. This declaration makes exclusive use of capitalized Humanist and Humanism , which

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3024-798: The London Positivist Society in 1867, which attracted Frederic Harrison , Edward Spencer Beesly , Vernon Lushington , and James Cotter Morison amongst others. In 1878, the Society established the Church of Humanity under Congreve's direction. There they introduced sacraments of the Religion of Humanity and published a co-operative translation of Comte's Positive Polity. When Congreve repudiated their Paris co-religionists in 1878, Beesly, Harrison, Bridges, and others formed their own positivist society, with Beesly as president, and opened

3096-478: The UAAR condemned a ruling which charged an Italian photographer with blasphemy for comparing the Catholic Church to a masochist club during a radio interview. UAAR is a member of the Humanists International (HI) and European Humanist Federation (EHF), and collaborates with other humanist organisations on international issues. Among UAAR's main goals is the abrogation of article 7 of

3168-424: The Union of Ethical Societies which had been founded by Stanton Coit in 1896. Humanists have put together various Humanist Manifestos , in attempts to unify the Humanist identity. The original signers of the first Humanist Manifesto of 1933, declared themselves to be religious humanists . Because, in their view, traditional religions were failing to meet the needs of their day, the signers of 1933 declared it

3240-679: The United States. The first reference to "secular humanism" in a US legal context was in 1961 , although church-state separation lawyer Leo Pfeffer had referred to it in his 1958 book, Creeds in Competition . The Education for Economic Security Act of 1984 included a section, Section 20 U.S.C.A. 4059, which initially read: "Grants under this subchapter ['Magnet School Assistance'] may not be used for consultants, for transportation or for any activity which does not augment academic improvement." With no public notice, Senator Orrin Hatch tacked onto

3312-490: The adjective than its referent". The meaning of the phrase secular humanism has evolved over time. The phrase has been used since at least the 1930s by Anglican priests , and in 1943, the then Archbishop of Canterbury , William Temple , was reported as warning that the "Christian tradition... was in danger of being undermined by a 'Secular Humanism' which hoped to retain Christian values without Christian faith." During

3384-454: The atheist bus campaign on the grounds that it may "offend the moral, civic and religious convictions of the public". The UAAR changed the slogan for the campaign to "The good news is that Zeus doesn’t exist. The bad news is that you can only say this about Zeus", but this slogan was also rejected due to the design including “UAAR, free not to believe in God”. Antonio Catricalà , the then head of

3456-507: The believers". Greg M. Epstein states that, "modern, organized Humanism began, in the minds of its founders, as nothing more nor less than a religion without a God". Many humanists address ethics from the point of view of ethical naturalism , and some support an actual science of morality . Secular humanist organizations are found in all parts of the world. Those who call themselves humanists are estimated to number between four and five million people worldwide in 31 countries, but there

3528-450: The book, they quote from Kristen Bell 's advocacy of moral particularism as developed by Jonathan Dancy . Humanism is compatible with atheism , and by definition usually entails at least a form of weak or agnostic atheism , and agnosticism, but being atheist or agnostic does not automatically make one a humanist. Nevertheless, humanism is diametrically opposed to state atheism . According to Paul Kurtz , considered by some to be

3600-562: The course of ethical deliberation. Many humanists adopt principles of the Golden Rule . Some believe that universal moral standards are required for the proper functioning of society. However, they believe such necessary universality can and should be achieved by developing a richer notion of morality through reason, experience and scientific inquiry rather than through faith in a supernatural realm or source. Fundamentalists correctly perceive that universal moral standards are required for

3672-645: The exclusion of the divine from most humanist writings, argued that rampant secular humanism would lead to moral relativism and ethical bankruptcy in his book How Should We Then Live: The Rise and Decline of Western Thought and Culture (1976). Schaeffer portrayed secular humanism as pernicious and diabolical, and warned it would undermine the moral and spiritual tablet of America. His themes have been very widely repeated in Fundamentalist preaching in North America. Toumey (1993) found that secular humanism

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3744-428: The figure at roughly 13%. In the 2001 Canadian census, 16.5% of the populace reported having no religious affiliation. In the 2011 Scottish census, 37% stated they had no religion up from 28% in 2001. One of the largest Humanist organizations in the world (relative to population) is Norway 's Human-Etisk Forbund , which had over 86,000 members out of a population of around 4.6 million in 2013 – approximately 2% of

3816-519: The founder of the American secular humanist movement, one of the differences between Marxist–Leninist atheists and humanists is the latter's commitment to "human freedom and democracy" while stating that the militant atheism of the Soviet Union consistently violated basic human rights. Kurtz also stated that the "defense of religious liberty is as precious to the humanist as are the rights of

3888-457: The greatest tragedies of twentieth century movementology, perpetrated by second-class minds and perpetuated by third-class polemicists and village atheists. The attempt to sever humanism from the religious and the spiritual was a flatfooted, largely American way of taking on the religious right. It lacked finesse, subtlety, and the European sense of history." Humanism, as a term which describes

3960-538: The humanist life stance emphasizes the unique responsibility facing humanity and the ethical consequences of human decisions. Fundamental to the concept of secular humanism is the strongly held viewpoint that ideology—be it religious or political—must be thoroughly examined by each individual and not simply accepted or rejected on faith. Along with this, an essential part of secular humanism is a continually adapting search for truth, primarily through science and philosophy . Many secular humanists derive their moral codes from

4032-513: The humanist movement by that name to the public in 1933, following work at the University of Chicago across the 1920s. The American Humanist Association was incorporated as an Illinois non-profit organization in 1943. The International Humanist and Ethical Union was founded in 1952, when a gathering of world Humanists met under the leadership of Sir Julian Huxley . The British Humanist Association took that name in 1967, but had developed from

4104-552: The leadership of Harold Blackham , it renamed itself the British Humanist Association in 1967. It became the Humanists UK in 2017. In the 1930s, "humanism" was generally used in a religious sense by the Ethical movement in the United States, and not much favoured among the non-religious in Britain. Yet "it was from the Ethical movement that the non-religious philosophical sense of Humanism gradually emerged in Britain, and it

4176-440: The most part historical, and practically meaningless in the present day or to contemporary individuals who identify with humanism. Since the mid-20th century, the development of new concepts such as the " life stance " (which encompasses both humanist views and religious outlooks) has defused this conflict. Most humanist organisations identify with "humanism" without a pre-modifier (such a "secular" or "ethical") and assert humanism as

4248-559: The occasion of the nomination of the city's archbishop , Cardinal Angelo Bagnasco , as president of the Italian Episcopal Conference (CEI). The original slogan chosen for the Italian campaign read: "The bad news is that God does not exist . The good news is that you don't need it". On 16 January 2009 IGPDecaux, the company holding licenses for ads on public transport in Genoa, refused to give authorization to

4320-458: The population. The International Humanist and Ethical Union (IHEU) is the worldwide umbrella organization for those adhering to the Humanist life stance. It represents the views of over three million Humanists organized in over 100 national organizations in 30 countries. Originally based in the Netherlands , the IHEU now operates from London. Some regional groups that adhere to variants of

4392-408: The proper functioning of society. But they erroneously believe that God is the only possible source of such standards. Philosophers as diverse as Plato , Immanuel Kant , John Stuart Mill , George Edward Moore , and John Rawls have demonstrated that it is possible to have a universal morality without God. Contrary to what the fundamentalists would have us believe, then, what our society really needs

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4464-580: The proposed exclusionary subsection the words "or for any course of instruction the substance of which is Secular Humanism". Implementation of this provision ran into practical problems because neither the Senator's staff, nor the Senate's Committee on Labor and Human Resources , nor the Department of Justice could propose a definition of what would constitute a "course of instruction the substance of which

4536-459: The religious right... All too often secular humanism is reduced to a sterile outlook consisting of little more than secularism slightly broadened by academic ethics. This kind of 'hyphenated humanism' easily becomes more about the adjective than its referent". Adherents of this view, including Humanists International and the American Humanist Association , consider that the unmodified but capitalized word Humanism should be used. The endorsement by

4608-836: The removal of crucifixes in the classrooms of state-run schools, a position which was upheld by the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg in November 2009. In 2014 and 2015 The UAAR condemned rulings against teachers who removed crucifixes. In 2009 the association funded research to see if the Shroud of Turin could be reproduced. In 2010 the association campaigned for stricter regulation of when church bells in Pisa were allowed to ring. The UAAR has been campaigning against Italy's blasphemy laws since at least 2017. In 2019

4680-423: The space of a few years, the logo had emerged as a symbol of Humanism, not just of Humanists UK and was adopted by humanist organisations around the world. Since the 1990s, humanist groups have taken on looser, more figurative versions of the Happy Human logo, such as the logos used by Humanisterna (Sweden), Humanistischer Verband Deutschlands (Germany), Union of Rationalist Atheists and Agnostics (Italy), and

4752-617: The term "secularism" to describe "a form of opinion which concerns itself only with questions, the issues of which can be tested by the experience of this life". The modern secular movement coalesced around Holyoake, Charles Bradlaugh and their intellectual circle. The first secular society, the Leicester Secular Society , dates from 1851. Similar regional societies came together to form the National Secular Society in 1866. Holyoake's secularism

4824-409: The world by humanist organisations of all sizes including Humanists UK, Humanists International and The American Humanist Association (AHA). The trademark is still held by Humanists UK, which freely licenses use of the symbol by bona fide Humanist organisations worldwide. The Happy Human was created in response to a Humanists UK competition in 1965, after many years of discussion as to what

4896-485: Was a Unitarian chapel, and that movement, like Quakers, supported female equality. Under the leadership of Reverend William Johnson Fox , it lent its pulpit to activists such as Anna Wheeler , one of the first women to campaign for feminism at public meetings in England, who spoke in 1829 on "rights of women". In later decades, the chapel changed its name to the South Place Ethical Society, now

4968-613: Was also particularly critical of the religious emphasis on creed, believing it to be the source of sectarian bigotry. He therefore attempted to provide a universal fellowship devoid of ritual and ceremony, for those who would otherwise be divided by creeds. Although the organisation was overwhelmingly made up of (and entirely led by) atheists, and were many of the same people as in the secular movement, Ethical organisations at that time publicly avoided debate about religious beliefs, publicly advocating neither atheism nor theism , agnosticism nor deism , instead stressing "deed without creed" and

5040-594: Was from the convergence of the Ethical and Rationalist movements that this sense of Humanism eventually prevailed throughout the Freethought movement". As an organised movement in its own right, humanism emerged from vibrant non-religious movements of the 18th and 19th centuries such as the Owenites, Ethical Culture, the freethinkers, secularists, and positivists, as well as a few non-religious radical Unitarian congregations. The first Humanist Manifesto announced

5112-414: Was issued in 1980 by the Council for Secular Humanism's predecessor, CODESH. 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;

5184-475: Was strongly influenced by Auguste Comte , the founder of positivism and of modern sociology . Comte believed human history would progress in a " law of three stages " from a theological phase, to the " metaphysical ", toward a fully rational "positivist" society. In later life, Comte had attempted to introduce a " religion of humanity " in light of growing anti-religious sentiment and social malaise in revolutionary France . This religion would necessarily fulfil

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