The necessity of secularism

Secularism has become a necessity in a world of such diverse beliefs as ours. These beliefs lead to irreconcilable political differences. The various sects of religion all have expressed a desire to legislate their oppressive doctrines. Secularism solves this by leaving room for all to participate, while preventing any from becoming oppressive. A truly free and open society will thrive only when all are represented, and none are privileged. The theocratic regimes in the world are being seen with a new clarity as the world is shifting toward global communities. People are communicating and connecting with people around the world in ways never before seen in all of human history. And from this global community we are slowly learning to accept people of various cultural backgrounds. In fact, a new culture is forming. An interconnected global culture shifting toward reason, acceptance, and above all equality. It is on the lips of all forward thinking humanists, who desire to make this life here and now the best life possible. After all is that not the true meaning of life, the life your lead, the decisions you make, and the people you help. These are the factors that give our lives purpose.


The laws for any society must be written with pure secularism, reason, and compassion. Any sectarian ideals that are not conducive to equality should be left off the table. Equally any anti-theistic ideals that would suppress the practice of religion should also be dismissed. Now I would like to make this point clear , there is a distinct difference from private citizens and government. Legislators and other government officials should absolutely be restricted from influencing laws on any religious or anti-religious grounds. I would also like to make clear what is meant here by anti-religious. By anti-religious, I mean against or oppressive to private citizens who wish to practice their faith traditions. Lawmakers, however, should be barred from using their faith or lack thereof as a political tool.

In America , people often fail to realize that although we hold democratic elections ,we are a republic. Public servants are chosen to represent everyone in their communities, not just the majority. The constitution outlines the protections that individuals and minority groups are given. Often miss-understood is the first amendment protections for religion. And it is important to understand, that without freedom from religion there is no freedom of religion. Many progressive Christian groups understand this. If one is to interpret it as a freedom to legislate dogma it will lead to oppression of minority religions. The atrocities of bloody Mary alone show the dangers of sectarian leaders. When they implement dogma as the law, reason goes out the window.

Love beats bigotry: supreme court rules marriage as a right

Love beats bigotry, at least according to the supreme court ruling today. The ruling was a historic moment in the gay rights movement. The divisive laws in states like Tennessee have been overruled by this decision. The evangelical Christian majority is already crying foul. It's this backwards narrative they have that by removing their ability to oppress people is somehow “oppressive”. However, let us not allow them to bring down the joy this ruling will bring to the people who want nothing more than the freedom to love. The union of two people in marriage is the ultimate expression of love they can share, and at least for now the evangelical bigotry can't stop them.   

"On This Day" Sir Julian Huxley..

     On this day in history, Sir Julian Sorell Huxley was born in 1887. He was a prominent evolutionary biologist and the premier President of the British Humanist Association. His works in biology included being a proponent for natural selection as the driving force behind evolution. Sir Huxley was among the few biologists of that time showing that evolution worked through small changes. The common belief was that evolution happened in large jumps.

He wrote many books on humanism, ethics, and evolutionary biology. Including,The Humanist Frame where he writes,

“The immediate task for a Humanist ethic is to rid the world of the now palpable irrationality of war. Once freed from the fear of war, the peoples of the world will be free to develop each in its own way, but in relation to the whole human community, and to deal with the problems that knowledge can deal with, the conquest of disease and poverty and the removal of the barriers that divide men.”

     During a time of great wars and turmoil, he was an advocate of peace and human dignity. He also played a major role in the development of a statement released by the United Nations Educational,Scientific, and Cultural Organization's (UNESCO) , The Race Question.

     The statement aimed at dispelling the myth of race,particularly concerning human racial divisions. In The Race Question UNESCO spoke about race as follows,

“A race, from the biological standpoint, may therefore be defined as one of the group of populations constituting the species Homo sapiens"… "National, religious, geographic, linguistic and cult groups do not necessary coincide with racial groups: the cultural traits of such groups have no demonstrated genetic [connection] with racial traits.”

     Huxley was among several scientist's enlisted by UNESCO to prepare their statement with all of the scientific facts regarding racial divisions. Their findings were that racial division in humans was no more than a “...social myth...”, with no biologically relevant basis. The myth of race is responsible for great wrongdoing on the behalf human societal development, and humanity must rid itself of these divisive ideologies. 

Theocratic Divisiveness in a Secular World

We live in an increasingly divided world, and the Secular Ethos strives to bring an end to that. Or to simply stop theocratic influences in governance. The justifications given for most of the discriminatory laws or practices are primarily doctrinal. Religious leaders persuade their congregations to fight against what their “holy books” call abominations. In turn, the congregates will go out and lobby for politicians and vote for discriminatory laws. The congregates and various religious organizations do these things believing they are doing “good works”. Overshadowing these good works, are the voices of the more extreme groups. Yet, the moderate stay in silence, and passively allow the division to continue. The moderates still support theocracy with their dollars through tithing's. Every time a check is written to a religious group or church their arguments receive political weight. The religious leaders then take these tithing's and finance campaigns to shift the blame.

The Pope shifts blame to Secularism

The Pope said in a bishops conference in Latvia,

“The Lord has chosen to work in a company that, after having long been oppressed by regimes founded on ideologies contrary to the dignity and human freedom, today is called to compete with other dangerous pitfalls, such as secularism and relativism.” Source: Vatican press office

He is stating that secularism is “dangerous” , and is placing it in-line with ideologies “contrary to dignity and human freedom” . Yet, the message from secular communities is in favor of freedom. The secular society, particularly in America, is fighting for equality and to remove discrimination. The secular communities have a dedication to equality and human well-being. Secular humanist and atheist organizations constantly support charity and campaigns for equal rights. One such organization is the Foundation Beyond Belief working toward helping those in need and improving communities. Secularism is not about division in any way. It is about helping others, giving a voice to the voiceless, and fighting for equality in a divided world.

Atheist Nones

     The “none's” are on the rise in the United States. The Pew Research Center shows that the religious non-affiliated has risen 6.7% since 2007. The data also shows that Christianity has dropped 7.8% . In the same time period the number of violent crimes dropped 18.26%, according to the F.B.I Crime Statistics report. The statistics here do not show a causal relationship, but it does show that religion is not necessary to be moral. This goes counter to what many religious leaders would lead their congregations to believe. Atheists aren't necessarily more moral than the religious, but many atheists also identify as Secular Humanists.

     Secular Humanism is a philosophy of consequential ethics relating to human action. Secular Humanism does have a broader definition, but within the confines of this post the one given is sufficient. Secular Humanists do not have any doctrinal or dogmatic beliefs in innate good or evil of any particular person or group.

     Another effect of the rise of secularism, is that more people become aware of the oppressive nature of many religious doctrines. It is important to note that just being secular does not automatically make you the most moral or rational. However, secularism does give people an identity to rally behind in the fight for equality and rational governance.

        The growing number of non-believers becoming more open and active is also giving the LGBT community an ally in the struggle for acceptance and equal rights. Religious doctrine is the

main, if not only, reason for discrimination against the LGBT community.

      The religious are now pushing for more laws to allow discrimination under the guise of religious freedom. Every step we take toward theocracy is a step away from freedom and rationality.