What Unites and Divides Humanism

Started by GSOgymrat, October 05, 2016, 01:50:56 PM

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GSOgymrat

I thought this was an interesting article by Roy Speckhardt, Executive Director of the American Humanist Association. I think part of the reason humanists have such similar responses to social issues is simply the fact humanists are a much smaller group but it is worth mentioning there is such general agreement for a group that has no official dogma, no divine text, no commandments. Regarding divides, it seems when there is a divide it is often between humanists who focus on individual rights and liberties and humanists who focus on social groups and systemic oppression. For example, as Speckhardt points out regarding pornography, many see pornography as a free speech issue, that individuals should be able to express themselves sexually in writing, photography and video while some humanists argue that pornography should be banned or at least seriously restricted because it is detrimental to women and gives those who consume it unhealthy and unrealistic expectations. Thoughts?

What Unites and Divides Humanism

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/roy-speckhardt/what-unites-and-divides-h_b_12335544.html

Humanists have an extraordinary level of agreement with near unanimity on many current issues. This is in stark contrast to many Christian sects, which often disagree amongst and within themselves. For example, according to Pew Research Center, 20 percent of white Evangelical Christians support same-sex marriage (74 percent opposed), while 49 percent of white Mainline Protestants were in favor (38 opposed), and 46 percent of Catholics were in favor (42 percent opposed). Meanwhile, 93 percent of humanists were in favor of same-sex marriage, a nearly unanimous level of support according to a 2011 study. Humanists also find themselves in over 90 percent agreement according to a survey by the American Humanist Association about offering comprehensive sex education in public schools, teaching evolution in science classrooms, supporting a woman’s right to reproductive choice, supporting end-of-life choices, and more.

But that level of agreement found among members of the American Humanist Association via the organization’s online polling doesn’t represent all nontheists. While atheists and agnostics (and any others who identify with labels that are defined by their rejection of supernatural sources of knowledge) tend to trend in the same liberal direction as humanists, that absence of a theistic belief doesn’t automatically make them committed to the pillars of humanism, which, in addition to reason, include compassion born of empathy and egalitarianism. Adding those components isn’t a perfect defense against societal prejudices, but it does provide the grounding to support moving beyond them when one’s exposed to education and experience.

The humanist movement itself isn’t without disagreement either. Indeed, being active in local humanist communities is almost a lesson in arguing one’s position because friendly debate is so common. Online, this is seen in various surveys and opinion pieces, where humanists present dissenting views. When confronting issues like gun control, pornography, and veganism, humanists sometimes find themselves in opposition to each other. Often the salient factor in such divisions is the emphasis of different values. ...

Hydra009

#1
Yeah, despite near unanimous stances on some issues, there's a bunch of social and political issues where there isn't as much agreement.  That's good.  It shows there's not some sort enforced dogma like is often the case in more religious circles.

The pornography example is pretty surprising, although they didn't mention a number, it's presumably somewhere south of 50%, though it's apparently substantial enough to mention.  Attitudes towards victimless crimes (sodomy/homosexuality, recreational drug use, prostitution, euthanasia, etc) have steadily been softening over the years, and the most vocal critics have typically been religious nutcases.  So naturally, I didn't expect a whole lot of remaining opposition to porn (particularly among irreligious people and/or internet users).  Further, it seems strange to maintain puritanical attitudes towards "sinful" sex and "perverse" nakedness in the absence of the religious underpinnings of those attitudes.

That bizarreness aside, we're divided by a lot of the same social and political issues that divide the rest of the country and world.  A lot of these issues don't have clear-cut right or wrong answers, so one's stance can hinge entirely on very subjective principles or on differing perceptions of the situation.

GSOgymrat

If the statistic is accurate, ninety percent of humanists in agreement on a woman's right to choose an abortion is pretty remarkable compared to other groups. Abortion is typically a contentious issue.

Duncle

Some social/political issues are contentious because they relate to the religious beliefs of groups in the population. For example: If you believe in a soul (y'know the allegedly immaterial immortal thingie) then it makes sense to also believe that it is present from conception- otherwise when and how does it suddenly show up? And if you believe in that, then of course you're steadfastly anti-abortion. Conversely, if you don't believe in a soul, then the anti-abortion position is kind of nonsensical, at least for early abortions before the foetal neurons start to connect up to each other. So humanists being almost all pro-choice makes sense.

Then there are issues that relate to religious beliefs, but also relate to non-religious ideologies. For example, pornography is oppposed by many religious people and also by many (to my mind deeply misguided) feminists.

And then finally there are issues such as gun control that have little or no connection to religion.

Cavebear

Yeah, there are some things that some groups of people are in near unanimity on, and some not.  I've seen some places where atheists agreed completely on some subjects like individual thought, but completely disagreed like militarism, gay rights, and political ideas.
Atheist born, atheist bred.  And when I die, atheist dead!