Pretty Real Behind the Veil

At the risk of beating on this worn-out and well-intended (in its sharing) statement to death, consider that secular humanists articulate well (some would argue better) “the golden rule” as an ethical and moral guiding principle independent of organized or God-based religion, irrespective of cultural or ethnic differences, or rather equally accepting of all while subjecting all to scrutiny, without the need for imposition of particular cultural or belief systems as a yardstick for the world.

While I personally do embrace religious beliefs, for valid reasons (for me), I do not believe that the only way to arrive at a moral and ethical harmony/peaceful mutual coexistence with others requires either specific enculturation, nor a particular belief in God/deity/higher being. It’s universal inclusion in most organized religion rather reflects the universality of the principle itself, IMHO.

**Excerpted from A” Secular Humanist Declaration”, issued in 1980 by The Council for Democratic and Secular Humanism (now the Council for Secular Humanism:

“…for secular humanists, ethical conduct is, or should be, judged by critical reason, and their goal is to develop autonomous and responsible individuals, capable of making their own choices in life based upon an understanding of human behavior.
….Secular humanist ethics maintains that it is possible for human beings to lead meaningful and wholesome lives for themselves and in service to their fellow human beings
……secular humanists attempt to approach the human situation in realistic terms: human beings are responsible for their own destinies. We believe that it is possible to bring about a more humane world, one based upon the methods of reason and the principles of tolerance, compromise, and the negotiations of difference.”