Humanism: a transformative opportunity

By Colin Lewisohn 

In this article, Colin asks how can we inspire potential humanists to become part of an active and positive humanist community? He describes the future possibilities he sees for humanism and he presents a radical proposal. Colin currently chairs the independent York Humanists group.

Just imagine if science and rationality, combined with our capacity for kindness and generosity, had come first—before humanity latched onto the supernatural for explanation and guidance. I know this is an irrational thought, an impossibility. But it highlights the extraordinary opportunity that we humanists are presented with: to help guide humanity towards a future of decency, respect for our individuality, and recognition that we rely upon community in order to self-actualise and to achieve meaningful prosperity.

“I don’t think we’re getting anywhere near to filling the moral and intellectual vacuum that is growing all around us.”

The purpose of this article is to invite each one of us to reconsider our responsibilities as citizens of Planet Earth. It argues that, as religious hegemony continues to fade, humanists need to step forward boldly and offer an all-encompassing code for living and an overarching community of purpose that will serve our planet as we continue our amazing human journey. But so far, I don’t think that we’re getting anywhere near to filling the moral and intellectual vacuum that is growing all around us. And if we fail to do that, it will be chaos – not rationality or decency – that awaits us.

Before I suggest where humanism needs to go next, I want to make my position clear. It's my view that if we don’t develop a humanist approach to society from the widest possible range of perspectives – and very soon – our opportunity to influence will disappear, and that will set our planet and species back, possibly never to recover. But first, I want to consider our religious inheritance from the past, because within it are the clues for humanism’s future.

Belief in the supernatural has been with us for as long as we've had sentience. Before the development of the scientific method and critical reasoning, we could only wonder how and why we were here, and dream of answers shaped by our own sense of self: a god, or gods, in our own image. After all, what else did we know? There is no doubt that theism has made an extraordinary contribution to the entire history and development of human culture. Countries and landscapes have been shaped by belief in gods and religious writings that have wielded huge power and influence over swathes of humanity. Religion has also given us permission to love and behave with a generosity that gives us hope for our human journey. It has taught us the importance of belief, morality and our need to belong. It's not all bad. But it also has to be said that this has often been alongside acts of sheer hatred and prejudice, resulting in the suffering and death of millions, even the annihilation of entire cultures.

So, if we are to accept that our theist inheritance has shaped the way in which we make sense of ourselves, then we have to acknowledge that every individual person – and all that we have created – contains and showcases both the triumphs and disasters of our religiously-inspired endeavours. Such is the nature of faith. But faith, unless moderated by reason, has long been outdated. Indeed, it has become dangerous – even a threat to our civilised tradition. We may think our societies are secular, but nearly all national cultures are still influenced by religious ideas, some of which specifically undermine human rights, justice and freedom – for women, of course, but also for minorities – and in some cases, for those who identify as humanists.

Of course, there have always been agnostics and atheists who doubted supernatural explanations for the living world, but this has often put them in a precarious position. Maybe the need for cultural acceptance and belonging, or fear of persecution, scattered non-believers to the wind. Even in the 21st century, there may well be millions of potential humanists who are, at worst, driven underground or who simply do not have the foggiest idea what humanism actually means.

According to the 2021 Census for England and Wales, 46% of people identified as Christian, while 37% reported “No religion”. People in the “No religion” category may be agnostics who either don’t know what to believe or are just uninterested, or atheists who have no belief in the supernatural but with perhaps some trust in science, and humanists who believe that human beings have the capacity to understand natural phenomena with the aid of science and accept human responsibility for our behaviour towards others and ourselves, rather than looking to the divine.

Of course, humanists aim to respect other beliefs and cultures, but how far should we go in accommodating policies that do not respect others? How passive should humanists be when others openly and aggressively evangelise? Is it right simply to wait for the religious to find their own way to humanistic ideas before we try to present our own?

“a transformative opportunity to redirect the human journey”

We now have a transformative opportunity to redirect the human journey to a better destination. This road leads to a future guided by reason and humanitarian values such as equity of power and influence, of long and fulfilling lives, of freedom from poverty and curable disease, of kindness and community, and of respect for ourselves and each other. These are humanist values, which have been expressed by many people throughout the ages but which, sadly, have been corrupted by those who oppress in the name of a creator. Of course, there are many people of faith who would endorse humanist values but it has to be said that much of human history has been forged by individuals, cultures and nations who have subjected humanity to the antithesis of such values.

Humanism needs to be brave. It needs to accept the mantle of leadership in setting out the road ahead for decency and reason, and this greatly widens the scope of the questions that humanists need to consider, including these:

• What should be in our humanist “code for life”?

• How can we inspire potential humanists to become part of an active and positive humanist community?

• Over the coming generations, can humanism replace supernatural belief systems and the regressive values that many of them seem to celebrate with our creed of human respect and decency?

No doubt, there are many others. I’m not offering easy answers to such fundamental questions, because that is for all humanists to consider. But they should be considered, properly debated, and formulated into a moral code designed to provide the framework for a more fair-minded and tolerant world, based on verifiable knowledge tempered with human compassion. Of course, this moral code should be inclusive of those who are different, so long as those included are themselves inclusive – or at least tolerant of those who think differently.  

“Humanism has been over-centralised here in the UK, and although it has had small successes, on the largest, broadest scale it is failing.”

I believe that humanism should move beyond the status of being a mere pressure group, and that we should positively set out our stall for the purpose of actively promoting humanism. We should not be afraid to argue, to persuade, and even “evangelise”. Let’s hold out our hands to all who share humanitarian values and welcome them into a refreshed, vibrant humanist community. We owe it to both the present and the future to lay out our case more coherently and attractively. Of course, it is important that we should always look to further develop humanist ideas in the company of other humanists. But we are more than mere campaigners on specific issues with myopic ambition. Here in the UK, humanism has been over-centralised and, although it has had small successes, on the largest, broadest scale it is failing.

We must work hard to raise our profile throughout society and our communities. We need to promote an attractive vision for humanism. When it comes to furthering humanist values such as kindness and compassion, we need to be leading the discussion about the policies and behaviours required to make them a reality.

Here are four practical points to consider:

1. We need a vision that makes sense of the values that bind us together as humanists

2. We need policies that will achieve our humanist vision of a decent society, owned equally by all of us, and with respect for the flora and fauna that rely on us for their continued existence

3. We need policies that connect with our everyday lives and which combat everything that prevents so many of us from achieving fulfilling lives; and

4. We need policies that unite humanity into communities both large and small that are intolerant of all the barriers to fairness, kindness and self-fulfilment.

And here are some aspirations that I would deem humanist in character. They are, deliberately, big picture aspirations:

• A commitment to combatting the inequality of wealth and power that prevents the majority of the world from ever realising their potential

• Ensuring a decent living environment for all

• Rebalancing world economics to create equity and opportunity for all

• Making our planet sustainable for all of its inhabitants, human and otherwise

• Promoting rational thinking and decision making

• Teaching critical thinking and the scientific method as well as humanist values as the bedrock of education

• Encouraging creative thinking and artistic endeavour

• Ensuring that information and political decision-making is guided by fact rather than opinion and is motivated by the greater good

• Ensuring that all have affordable access, by whatever method, to the best of healthcare and for the prevention of disease and illness

• Seeking to prevent outbreaks of warfare and intercommunal tensions while ensuring natural and social justice

• Creating a humanist community whereby our force of numbers will influence others towards a humanist perspective.

There is so much more that could be added to this list and, I’m sure, arguments that could be made about the content. And that’s a good thing – let’s talk about it. The list above is very tough, representing a very big picture, but none of it is impossible. Each point needs breaking down into achievable policies that will differ, no doubt, wherever we are in the world.

So, what should happen next? We need people to contribute to the task of shaping humanism into an attractive vision that unites humanists of all democratic political hues. We need to design and adopt a vision that we can communicate, providing a basis for further consultation and influence, so that we can create a corresponding strategy for our movement. We need to work to fulfil our essential responsibility to transform our communities, societies and all peoples of goodwill, so as to embrace the liberation that humanism can bring.

In conclusion, I do hope this article has helped you to reflect on the wider issues that humanism has not, hitherto, been engaged with and I would like to set up an ongoing debate between us all that will lead to a firm and clear line of enquiry, policy and proposed action. If you share the views expressed here, or at least have some sympathy with where I’m trying to go, please send me an email with the words “please include me” to chair@yorkhumanists.org.uk and I will get back to you. I think it’s time for humanism to grow up and take its rightful place in human affairs on the largest scale, and I hope you agree.

David Brittain, founding editor of Humanistically Speaking, assisted with the drafting of this article.