We are committed to the application of reason and
science to the understanding of the universe and to the solving of
human problems.
We deplore efforts to denigrate human intelligence,
to seek to explain the world in supernatural terms, and to look outside
nature for salvation.
We believe that scientific discovery and technology
can contribute to the betterment of human life.
We believe in an open and pluralistic society and
that democracy is the best guarantee of protecting human rights from
authoritarian elites and repressive majorities.
We are committed to the principle of the separation
of church and state.
We cultivate the arts of negotiation and compromise
as a means of resolving differences and achieving mutual understanding.
We are concerned with securing justice and fairness
in society and eliminating discrimination and intolerance.
We believe in supporting the disadvantaged and the
handicapped so that they will be able to help themselves.
We attempt to transcend divisive parochial loyalties
based on race, religion, gender, nationality, creed, class, or ethnicity,
and strive to work together for the common good of humanity.
We want to protect and enhance the earth, to preserve
it for future generations, and to avoid inflicting needless suffering
on other species.
We believe in enjoying life here and now and in developing
our creative talents to their fullest.
We believe in the cultivation of moral excellence.
We respect the right to privacy. Mature adults should be allowed to
fulfill their aspirations, to express their sexual preferences, to
exercise reproductive freedom, to have access to comprehensive and
informed health-care, and to die with dignity.
We believe in the common moral decencies: altruism,
integrity, honesty, truthfulness, responsibility. Humanist ethics
is amenable to critical, rational guidance. There are normative standards
that we discover together. Moral principles are tested by their consequences.
We are deeply concerned with the moral education
of our children.
We want to nourish reason and compassion.
We are engaged by the arts no less than by the sciences.
We are citizens of the universe and are excited by
discoveries still to be made in the cosmos.
We are skeptical of untested claims to knowledge,
and we are open to novel ideas and seek new departures in our thinking.
We affirm humanism as a realistic alternative to
theologies of despair and ideologies of violence and as a source of
rich personal significance and genuine satisfaction in the service
of others.
We believe in optimism rather than pessimism, hope
rather than despair, learning in the place of dogma, truth instead
of ignorance, joy rather than guilt or sin, tolerance in the place
of fear, love instead of hatred, compassion over selfishness, beauty
instead of ugliness, and reason rather than blind faith or irrationality.
We believe in the fullest realization of the best
and noblest that we are capable of as human beings.
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