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The
following document is taken directly from one of the main Humanist's
websites by permission...
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.
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