The term humanist is a label that encompasses the expression of love for humanity and the support of equal rights. Humanism, as a movement, is a valuable entity in our community and to be a humanist is, in all sense of the term, to be a decent human being that wants to promote positive change. However, if I had to choose to be called a humanist or an atheist, I would choose the latter. Due to the negative stigma placed on atheism as a movement, I find that in order to promote change and awareness to a stigmatized label is to wear it with pride. Ashley F. Miller exemplifies this brilliantly by explaining the reasons why the Atheist movement is important: The desire to hold on to “atheism” rather than use the term “humanism” isnt from a fundamental difference of goals and beliefs, but from a difference of self-definition. I personally like “atheism+” because it’s more confrontational, embraces a minority position that is loathed by many, and it is more transparent about the belief that religion is one of the root causes of many social injustices. My humanism is more than just secular, it is anti-religion.
Posted on: Fri, 12 Sep 2014 20:22:51 +0000