So What is a Humanist?
Having become comfortable with the label "humanist", we are often surprised when people ask us what humanism is. It is possible that no topic is discussed more in humanist circles than the meaning of that word! The term can be used in a narrow or a broad sense, has historical connotations, and can be linked to a number of contemporary labels that some people find preferable.
First, there is a fundamental belief about the world: a humanist holds that the universe and everything in it is, as far as we know, of the same basic stuff--let's call it nature--and there is nothing outside this, nothing supernatural. Hence, there are no spirits, gods, mystical powers, magical connections or the like. What you see is what you get, although upon closer inspection what we see may be much more complex and bizarre than it first appears.
Second, there is a belief about morality: humanists believe that some ways to live are morally better. Humanist see the possibility of improving ourselves, our social relations, and our relationship with the natural world. Perhaps you are a humanist and didn't know it!
Contemporary humanists typically look to the tools of empirical science to provide knowledge about the natural world. We consider strongly the outcomes of controlled and replicated experiments to provide us with knowledge about the world. Thus, humanists are often "scientific humanists" with much in common with skeptics who want to see knowledge subjected to scientific analysis. Where answers to our questions cannot be found using experimental methods, we still insist on weaving evidence into the argument before we accept (if only provisionally) the answers. We are sympathetic to unifying theories that consistently fit the data, like natural selection (evolution) that explains the growth and change in biological organisms. Of course, science doesn't always provide answers to every question about life, the universe, and everything, but it's the best tool we have.
The nature of the world revealed by science is both wonderous and complex. It's also consistent, fits the evidence, and has very practical implications -- it works.
Because some say the tools of science can neither prove nor disprove the existence of omniscient or omnipotent beings (ie. god), many humanists like to call themselves agnostics. On the other hand, other humanists feel that the burden of proof about the existence of god lies with those who claim he/she/it exists: this cannot be mustered, therefore the most sensible stand is to be an atheist and believe there is no god. But in practical life, agnostics and atheists live as though there were no god. Both can be happy with the label "humanist." Because humanists believe that there are no taboo subjects about which to inquire, some may like to use the label freethinker.
The moral position of humanists is simple yet complicated. If there is no revealed moral authority, humans must be responsible for it themselves. Morality could mean considering what is most pleasurable or painful for ourselves and others (the utilitarian position), uncovering our basic obligations to one another (deontological ethics), our responsibilities as defined by our social relations (the social contract), or promoting the character traits we admire best (virtue ethics). Or perhaps there are other ways to understand morality. Today, we are so aware of the environmental damage we have caused that our consideration of "living well" must extend to the natural world as well. Humanists are progressive in that we are willing to reconsider our prejudices and biases, and to endorse new ways of living and interacting that present no clear danger to oneself or others.
History if full of examples of religious people who have done good things and bad things; it is also full of secular people who have done good things and bad things. There is no reason to conclude that religion makes anyone more moral, or that being secular makes anyone less moral. Feminists, human rights activists, and environmentalists can all feel comfortable as a humanist.
The term "humanism" in the west has a long history. Five hundred years ago or so, creative people in Europe turned their attention from the glories of god to the glories of humanity. Thus Renaissance or religious humanism was born. Two hundred and fifty years ago, give or take, a handful of people in Europe decided they didn't need god in their lives at all, certainly not organized religion nor other forms of dogmatic authority, and launched the so-called age of enlightenment. Humanists in the BCHA, as secular humanists, are heirs to the enlightenment, although we hope that there have been improvements since then. (Women and peasants, for example, felt little immediate benefit from the enlightenment, but social reform was very much in the wind.)