Humanism does not meet the usual definition as set out in the Oxford English
AS SOMEONE who describes himself as a Humanist, I was interested in the quotes provided by “Name and address supplied” (Evolutionary thinking has taken on the role of a religion (Letters April 26) and the correspondent’s final words in describing Humanism as “a religion for everyone”.
I suggest that Humanism would not meet the usual definition of a religion as set out in the Oxford English Dictionary - “The belief in and worship of a superhuman controlling power, especially a personal God or gods”.
The British Humanist Association suggested “rough definition” of a Humanist is someone who: trusts to the scientific method when it comes to understanding how the universe works and rejects the idea of the supernatural (and is therefore an atheist or agnostic) makes their ethical decisions based on reason, empathy, and a concern for human beings and other sentient animals believes that, in the absence of an afterlife and any discernible purpose to the universe, human beings can act to give their own lives meaning by seeking happiness in this life and helping others to do the same.
Most religions believe in a controlling power; they lay down rules and regulations that their adherents are expected to follow and conform to.
Humanists do not conform to any particular rules but have to think for themselves and try to work out ethical solutions to life’s challenges, based on the “golden rule”, which has various iterations such as “do as you would be done by”. We have to be prepared to accept that we may be wrong, debating issues and questioning the evi- dence to test our conclusions. I suggest this could be better described as a “life stance” rather than a religion.
Some of the quotes provided by your correspondent seem to conflate secularism and atheism.
To quote the National Secular Society “Secularism is not atheism - Atheism is a lack of belief in gods. Secularism simply provides a framework for a democratic society. Atheists have an obvious interest in supporting secularism, but secularism itself does not seek to challenge the tenets of any particular religion or belief, neither does it seek to impose atheism on anyone.”
Unfortunately when secularists attack religious privilege, prejudice and/or discrimination, they are often perceived to be attacking the religion rather than the aspects of religion that have a deleterious effect on those outside of it.
If readers are interested in find out more about a Humanist approach to life they might like to visit www. humanism.org.uk
John Catt, Loughborough