Humanism in a time of crisis: responding boldly to our cultural moment

By Dr James Croft

James is University Chaplain and Lead Faith Advisor at the University of Sussex, and a former Leader at the Ethical Society of St Louis in Missouri. In this article, he argues that humanism is entering a period of profound challenge, as political polarisation, rising nationalism and cultural conflict put humanist values under pressure. He calls for a more confident, activist humanism that is willing to defend dignity, pluralism and secular democracy in an uncertain public sphere.

When I was invited to reflect on the future of Humanism, I was reminded of the first talk I ever gave to a local Humanist group. At the time, I was a graduate student at Harvard, and I was addressing the Concord Area Humanists in Concord, Massachusetts. It was a brisk, fresh New England evening – the sort of night when you want to breathe in deeply just to feel the crispness of the air as it fills your lungs – and I was excited, because there is nothing I love to do more than talk about Humanism. The talk had the title ‘Humanism, Creed of the 21st Century’ – I love pompous, overblown titles - and I gave my speech with great enthusiasm.

When I was done, and the rapturous applause died down, and people had taken their seats, and wiped their eyes, and composed themselves, a hand immediately shot up from the audience – not an ‘I would quite like to ask a question’ hand but an energetic, even forceful hand ‘I need to ask a question’. So I called on it. That was a mistake. A free tip from me to anyone who aspires to be a public speaker: never call on the first person who raises their hand to ask a question.

But back then I was not as experienced as I am today, and the person, with great intensity and some amount of agitation, asked: ‘I hear all this stuff you're saying about Humanism and how great it is, but what is the point of all this? Why are we even here?’ And I thought to myself – that is such a huge question, how am I supposed to answer that?

I feel similarly now, confronted with the question ‘Does Humanism have a future?’ And the editor gave me 1000 words!

Part of me wants to say ‘Of course.’ Of course Humanism has a future. There will, at least for the foreseeable future, be people committed to human dignity, equality and flourishing. Humanism is, to me, nothing more nor less than the expression of every human being’s deepest desires. Our desire to be respected. To be treated fairly. To have equal rights. To pursue the truth freely. To live in a world where we can thrive and raise our children to thrive. There will always be people who want that and who are willing to fight for it. In this sense, the future of Humanism is secure.

But then I look at this world in which we live: a world of profound, overlapping crises. We face a crisis of economic inequality, as the richest in our society hoard wealth like gluttonous dragons. We face a crisis of democratic stagnation, our political system stuck and unresponsive. A crisis of cultural discontent as people, blaming immigrants and refugees for their problems, turn to extremism. We live in an increasingly anti-Humanist world – the cultural currents are moving against us, and advances we have made – ones Humanists fought hard for – are being reversed.

The sense that we are living in anti-Humanist times is only reinforced when I consider the rise in the UK of a bizarre form of Christian nationalism, one which seeks to fuse a muscular evangelical Christianity imported from America with the British far right. Whether this project will prove successful is an open question, but watching far right agitators tear up flags bearing the words ‘Secular Humanism’ and ‘No Religion’ is disconcerting. Historically, the far right has always targeted humanistic and freethinking organisations, and Humanist organisations in the USA are already facing pressure and persecution from the Trump regime.

I can imagine a future, then, in which Humanism is much diminished. I think of these words from Carl Sagan from his book ‘The Demon-Haunted World’:

‘I have a foreboding of an America in my children's or grandchildren's time -- when the United States is a service and information economy; when nearly all the manufacturing industries have slipped away to other countries; when awesome technological powers are in the hands of a very few, and no one representing the public interest can even grasp the issues; when the people have lost the ability to set their own agendas or knowledgeably question those in authority; when, clutching our crystals and nervously consulting our horoscopes, our critical faculties in decline, unable to distinguish between what feels good and what's true, we slide, almost without noticing, back into superstition and darkness.’

Who says there are no Humanist prophets? Sagan’s words seem extraordinarily prescient today.

But there’s another way of looking at things: it is precisely when Humanist values are under attack that they are most clear and most important. When xenophobic fearmongering infects our cultural conversation, the Humanist insistence on diversity and pluralism seems more vital. When democratic institutions are under attack, the Humanist instinct that autonomy is central to our dignity comes into focus. When religions seek to force themselves upon a diverse populace, the Humanist defence of secularism takes on more weight. These times of trouble clarify Humanist values.

There are signs of hope. Major Humanist organisations are now taking a more activist stance, expressing their values more robustly and encouraging their members to defend them. Pivoting away from the anti-religious stance which defined too much of their work in the last 30 years, Humanist groups in the USA are focusing more on what they are for rather than what they are against – and are reaping rewards in terms of engagement both with online content and local groups. Here at home, Humanists UK continues to be one of the most effective and important organisations supporting any religious or belief group in the country, and last year mounted impressive defences of reproductive rights and our right to death with dignity. Ultimately, the world demanded by many of those opposed to right wing populism is fundamentally a humanist one, and those groups and organisations that respond boldly to our cultural moment stand to gain.

So, yes – Humanism has a future. But what future Humanism depends on what we choose to do now. We have less than four years until the next UK General Election, when we get to decide what vision of society will be successful. We could wake up, the morning after that election, in a country in which Humanists are an embattled minority, having to wage a rear-guard action against a profoundly anti-Humanist culture – like our friends in the United States. Or we could be at the vanguard of the regeneration of our society, confidently striding forward into a more equitable, prosperous, and free future informed by Humanist values. Which future we achieve is up to us – but we have to choose, and act, now.