Our Beliefs
After thousands of years of human history, religion has failed at solving any of the major problems humanity has faced over the centuries, and has little to offer for the series of serious problems we face today:
- More than half the world's population lacks access to essential healthcare services.
- More than a billion people:
- Don't have enough to eat on a daily basis.
- Lack access to clean water, basic sanitation facilities and electricity.
- Climate change poses a major threat to the health, well-being and happiness of hundreds of millions of people across the globe.
- The world economy has become extraordinarily unequal: The richest 1% own more wealth than the other 99% of the world's population combined.
The Secular Community believes that:
1. We are all members of just one race - the human race and we share one home - the planet Earth. We all have the same basic aspirations for life, liberty and happiness. We should not be separated by religion or discriminated against because of skin color, sexual orientation or other prejudices.
2. The universe is governed by one overarching set of laws, the laws of nature.
3. To lead a happy, productive, virtuous life does not require the belief in an all-powerful, supernatural being aware of our every thought and action and interceding in our daily lives. On the contrary, within the bounds of natural laws, we are masters of our own destinies and are responsible for actions we take and their consequences. There is no supernatural being or force that will come to our rescue if we as individuals or as a human community fail to make the right choices. We are capable of establishing, on our own, an effective set of guidelines that allow each individual to seek happiness and live harmoniously with each other and with nature.
4. The human community, who must exist within the laws of nature, needs to respect and preserve the environment. Humanity must take urgent action to reverse the course of climate change that is already affecting the biosphere and increasingly threatening the very existence of the planet's plant and animal populations.
5. Every human being is entitled to a basic set of rights as follows:
- The right to life and liberty, liberty being the freedom to do that which injures neither another person nor the environment.
- The right to be happy.
- Being free from discrimination based on a person's race, color, sex, sexual orientation, religious or other personal beliefs, nationality or social origin.
- Not being held in slavery or servitude.
- Being able to live in a free and open society with the right to vote, free speech, a basic education and an environment free of harmful pollution.
- Have an opportunity for honest employment that provides, at a minimum, a sufficient income to cover basic needs for themselves and their families.
- Have access to quality, affordable healthcare.
6. A democratic, secular society provides the best opportunity for communities to be happy, prosperous and peaceful. A democracy is generally defined as rule by the majority, usually indirectly through a system of freely elected representatives. As happiness is the most important aspect of the human condition, it is incumbent on government to provide an environment that is supportive of an individual's ability to seek and achieve happiness in their lives. Supporting Data
The essence of The Secular Community's beliefs is perhaps best expressed in a quote by the late Carl Sagan, world-renowned astronomer, from his book Pale Blue Dot:
Click here to listen to Dr. Sagan