Naming Secular Liberal Humanism

At our last meeting there seemed to be good acceptance that what I called Secular Liberal Humanism determines the moral framework of most countries in the West. We also agreed that this is not recognised and celebrated for the force it is. Part of the problem is that it has no recognised name.  I was tasked with suggesting some names.

I came across this definition of values on the Humanist UK website. Note there is no mention of atheism or supporting the non-religious and therefore could be used by religions as well, if they agreed with its premises

In all our work, we strive to embody our values by:

• engaging in dialogue and debate rationally, intelligently, and with evidence

• recognising the dignity of individuals and treating them with fairness and respect

• respecting and promoting freedom, democracy, human rights, and the rule of law

• taking opportunities to combat all forms of prejudice and unfair discrimination

• cooperating with others for the common good, including those of different beliefs

• celebrating human achievement, progress, and potential

• accepting that human beings are part of a wider natural world which must be treated sustainably for the sake of current and future generations.

My characterisation of Secular Liberal Humanism as rational, egalitarian, and empathetic while supporting individual freedoms, dovetails nicely into this definition of values.

The government has defined British Values as: democracy, the rule of law, individual liberty, mutual respect, and tolerance of those of different faiths and beliefs. This misses out rationality and empathy. So, I prefer the Humanist UK definition because British Values would not fit the bill.

So what to call Secular Liberal Humanism? I like the term values as the alternative is to use the term morality and I think religions would see morality as tied to their own faith. Also, the term humanism is too tied in with atheism for religions to accept it. So Humanistic values will not work.

Possible names could be universal values, western values, inter-faith values, common values, natural values or secular values.

I like the term secular values, because secular is a term already in use and accepted by religions. What do you think?

I have also invented my own word for Secular Liberal Humanism: Eco-humanity. The following is the page on values on my eco-humanity website. I can’t resist giving it a plug.

The values of eco-humanity should appeal to people of all nations, cultures and religions who care about the future of our children.  They are a combination of values that evolved in the West after the Second World War together with green ideas of preserving the natural world. They can be characterised by the principles of liberty, equality, rationality, empathy and sustainability.

The principles of liberty and equality were developed by the United Nations into an internationally agreed standard of human rights in 1948. It has since been amended and extended and consists of 30 articles.  It starts from the basis that we are all born free and equal. No one should be enslaved. No one should be discriminated against on the grounds of race, gender, sexual orientation, class or religion. We all have the right to express our opinions. In addition, all humans should be considered equal in the eyes of the law. No one has the right to detain us unfairly. We are innocent until proven guilty and if we are tried this should be in public. No-one should torture us. If there is an injustice, we should have the right to resolve it by legal means.

These rights go further than purely legal processes. They embrace the ideals of a caring, sharing society.  They define rights to democratic government, employment, education and social security. Article 21 defines our right to vote. Article 23 says we all have the right to do a job for a fair wage and to join a trade union. Articles 25 and 26 define our right to be educated; primary schooling should be free. Article 22 says we all have the right to affordable housing, medicine, education, and childcare, enough money to live on and medical help if we are ill or old. Article 24 says that if we are old, unemployed or disabled, we have the right to be cared for.

Belief in rationality entails that communal behaviour should be justified as far as possible by reason. It encourages a logical, scientific approach to decision making.  We humans are not rigorously rational beings. Our beliefs and behaviour are a mass of contradictions and, being animals, our behaviour is often governed by emotions. However, uniquely in the animal kingdom, we humans have the ability to influence our behaviour by reasoned argument. Our global world contains people of many cultures and religions. Common rules of behaviour cannot be agreed on the basis of just one cultural or religious view. As Barack Obama said:

Democracy demands that the religiously motivated translate their concerns into universal, rather than religion-specific, values. It requires that their proposals be subject to argument, and amenable to reason.

These universal values are based on an empathetic attitude towards others. They are characterised by the Golden Rule: ‘Treat others as you would want to be treated’. Variations of this simple mantra are common to all religions. Their de facto adoption by many ordinary citizens has been responsible for creating the kinder, more caring society that has developed since the Second World War.

Sustainability is the principle that we humans should preserve the planet’s resources for the use of future generations. Adopting a sustainable lifestyle means limiting the effects of pollution, particularly due to greenhouse gases, plastics and other chemicals. It also means recycling and not squandering mineral reserves, using our water resources judiciously, and developing farming strategies that preserve the soil. Living a sustainable way of life means ensuring our actions are sympathetic to nature by eliminating over-grazing, over-fishing, deforestation and the worst excesses of factory farming.

Globalisation is creating an increasingly divided world that is destroying and polluting nature and threatening our future. A materialist culture, combined with human arrogance and cultural division has encouraged states, religions and companies to compete with each other rather than cooperating for the good of all. If all the concerned people of the world unite behind the values of eco-humanity they have the power to defy local community self-interest and create a better world for us all.