Judge Rules 'Secular Humanism' Readings Be Banned From Schools

The age-old controversy of God versus man as the fountain of goodness has been reinvigorated by the recent ruling of Federal Judge W.  Brevard Hand that "secular humanism" is a religion which must be banned from Alabama school books.

His conclusion came in a case brought by parents and financed by Pat Robertson, TV evangelist and Republican candidate for president.

The parents contended that some 40 textbooks promote humanism, that humanism is a religion, and therefore humanist statements asserting God is unnecessary for a fulfilling life is a violation of church-state separation.  Judge Hand agreed, but his order will be appealed by the Alabama board of education.

Textbook opponents object to the teaching of value-free, value-neutral statements such as that contained in "Teen Guide."  One passage declares, "Nothing was 'meant to be.'  You are the designer of your life.  If you want something, you can plan and work for it.  Nothing is easy.  But nothing is impossible, either."

Critics of the ruling call it "a frightening form of censorship."  Fundamentalists reply with equal logic that the textbooks cited were already censored to eliminate information about biblical religion and its influence on history.

Three recent studies of textbooks bear out the latter response.  For example, many modern histories do not discuss the religious reasons colonists migrated to America.  Descriptions of the first Thanksgiving don't mention who was thanked.

Bruce Fein, a constitutional scholar at the Heritage Foundation, told the Washington Post: "I don't think any court will buy the notion that secular humanism is a religion."  As a scholar, Fein is a bit short of knowledge.

The U.S. Supreme Court specified 26 years ago that humanism was a religion.  The high court ruled that a Vietnam conscientious objector who refused to affirm belief in God, nevertheless had a religion which the court termed "secular humanism."

The phrase was used at the turn of the century by John Dewey, American educator and philosopher whose books strongly influenced the U.S. school system.  He believed traditional religion had lost its credibility and needed "faith in humanism" to replace it.

The Rev. Richard Neuhaus - a Lutheran theologian, church-state authority and director of the New York Center on Religion and Society - agrees that secular humanism is a religion.  "It is not just a scapegoat or bugaboo of the religious right but a comprehensive, self-identified view of life that functionally plays the role of religion."

Humanist Tenets

The principal, modern statements of humanism are the "Humanist Manifestos" drafted by Paul Kurtz and signed by 300 prominent professors, ministers and philosophers.  "Manifesto I" was published in 1933.  It was "updated" by "Manifesto II" in 1973 (Prometheus Books, Buffalo, N.Y.).

The opening sentence of "Manifesto I" says: "Humanism is a philosophical, religious and moral point of view.  It expresses a general religious outlook.  To establish such a religion is a major necessity of the present."

The "first" tenet of "Manifesto I" states: "Religious humanists regard the universe as self-existing and not created."  Tenets 8, 12 and 13 also use the phrase "religious humanism."

Fundamentalists are upset with the humanistic denial of God, as demonstrated by rejection of divine creation.  "Manifesto II" goes even further:

"As in 1933, humanists still believe that traditional theism, especially faith in the prayer-hearing God, assumed to love and care for persons, to hear and understand their prayers, and to be able to do something about them, is an unproved and out-moded faith.  Salvation based on mere affirmation still appears as harmful, diverting people with false hopes of heaven hereafter.  Reasonable minds look to other means for survival."

Humanism was not always "secular."  To the ancient Greeks and Romans, it was only a philosophy expressed in literature and art.  In the 14th to 16th century Renaissance, humanism was embraced by popes as an extension of Christianity in which God and man cooperated to establish earthly harmony and heavenly salvation.

God began to fade into the background in the 18th century Age of Enlightenment.  The idea of "deism" became popular in which God operated through "reason" and natural laws rather than through revelation and miracles.  The aim of life was to reform society and make better individuals.  Many framers of the U.S. Constitution were influenced by this concept.

Socialist Creed

Since then, humanism has become a creed of socialism, as expressed in tenet 14 of "Manifesto I:"  "Humanists are firmly convinced that existing acquisitive and profit-motivated society has shown itself to be inadequate and that a RADICAL (emphasis added ) change in methods, controls, and motives must be instituted."

"A socialized and cooperative economic order must be established to the end that the equitable distribution of the means of life be possible.  The goal of humanism is a free and universal society in which people voluntarily and intelligently cooperate for the common good.  Humanists DEMAND (my emphasis) a shared life in a shared world."

"Manifesto II" spells out some of the values humans are expected to share: "sexual exploration between consenting adults, birth control, abortion, divorce, suicide, a world community, limits to national sovereignty, world law, transnational federal government, world order, and maximum freedom for different moral, political, religious and social values in society."

The Rev.  James Nelson Lata, pastor of First Presbyterian Church of Punta Gorda, puts his finger on the theological weakness of secular humanism.  "Humanism ignores religious experience as a fact of human experience.  We may not be able to explain it, but we do experience it," he says.

He concludes that there is a manifest plan for, and purpose of, life which secular humanism denies.  Further, that the witnessed experience of Jesus indicates a perfectible spirit (soul) and ultimate return of that spirit to the presence of God.

The political implications of secular humanism need no theological explanation.  It clearly advocates a "world order" administered by self-appointed religious humanists.

We have lots of problems, one of which is radical solutions.  Humanism, we discover, is part of the problem.  Two thousand years of progressive humanism has degenerated into just another kooky cult.  Judge Hand is on solid ground in his ruling.

Stay tuned.

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