The Council for Secular Humanism

Originally publiched December 2007

I stumbled across a website called the Council for Secular Humanism. Whoa! I didn't know that secular humanism was a real body of knowledge. I always thought it was a slur, spit out of the mouths of uber religious folks. But there it is.

Here are the FAQ's about this organization:

About the Council for Secular Humanism

The Council for Secular Humanism cultivates rational inquiry, ethical values, and human development through the advancement of secular humanism. To carry out its mission the Council for Secular Humanism sponsors publications, programs, and organizes meetings and other group activities. The Council's specific objectives are:

• To promote secular humanist principles to the public, media, and policy-makers

• To provide secular humanist activities and communities to serve the needs of nonreligious

people and foster human enrichment

• To demonstrate the viability of the secular humanist eupraxophy as an alternative naturalistic life-stance

• To engage in research relating to the critical examination of religious and supernatural claims and the humanist outlook

• To conduct educational programs for all age levels

Wow! did you see the word eupraxophy? Never knew the word existed so I Googled it and Wikipedia gave this entry:

Eupraxsophy (previously "eupraxophy" but updated) [1] is a nonreligious life stance or worldview emphasizing the importance of living an ethical and exuberant life, and relying on rational methods such as logic, observation and science (rather than faith, mysticism or revelation) toward that end. The word "eupraxsophy" was coined by Paul Kurtz, and comes from the Greek words for "good practice and wisdom." Eupraxsophies, like religions, are cosmic in their outlook, but eschew the supernatural component of religion, avoiding the "transcendental temptation," as Kurtz puts it.

So now we know. Perhaps some folks, when asked, "What is your faith?" could respond, "I'm an Eupraxscophist!" Maybe I'm one of them and never knew it. Let's see: cosmic in my outlook [√] eschew the supernatural component of religion [√] avoiding transcendental temptation [√]

Well, that about does it: I'm an Eupraxsophist! Now I'll have to learn how to spell it.

[here is a link to Paul Kurtz's editorial on this topic]