Secular Humanists

QUESTION: Are secular humanists atheists?

ANSWER:

According to a pledge to Atheism and the secular humanists statement, Atheists are considered to be humanists and secular humanists are considered to be Atheists. The Humanist movement entertains many definitions to which their members choose to describe their set of values. They categorize each other into several sects; agnostics, Atheists, skeptics, secular humanists, rationalists, scientific naturalists, naturalists, brights, activists, freethinkers, and others. And there are lists of groups assigned to each of the names listed above. The central theme uniting all of them is the disbelief in God and Jesus Christ.

An Atheist Pledge states: “An Atheist loves himself and his fellow man instead of a god. An Atheist accepts that heaven is something for which we should work -- here on earth -- for all people together to enjoy. An Atheist accepts that he can get no help through prayer, but that he must find in himself the inner conviction and strength to meet life, to grapple with it, to subdue it, and to enjoy it. An Atheist accepts that only in a knowledge of himself and a knowledge of his fellow man can he find the understanding that will help to a life of fulfillment.”

We can conclude from the pledge of an Atheist and the Humanist Manifesto that secular humanists are Atheists because they do not believe in God. Their goals and mission statements adhere to the need to educate society and change governmental laws to support the fact that their belief in no God is the true reality of life.