All Topics  
Council for Secular Humanism

 

 
   Email Print
   Bookmark   Link
 

 

Council for Secular Humanism
 
 
  Topics Council for Secular Humanism Topic Home

The Council for Secular Humanism (originally the Council for Democratic and Secular Humanism, or CODESH) is a secular humanist
Secular humanism

Secular humanism is a Humanism philosophy that upholds reason, ethics, and justice, and specifically rejects the supernatural and the Spirituality as the basis of moral reflection and decision-making....
 organization headquartered in Amherst, New York
Amherst, New York

Amherst is a town in Erie County, New York, New York. As of the 2000 census, the town had a total population of 116,510. This represents an increase from the 1990 census figure of 111,711....
. In 1980 CODESH issued A Secular Humanist Declaration
A Secular Humanist Declaration

A Secular Humanist Declaration was an argument for and statement of belief in democracy secular Humanism. The document was issued in 1980 by The Council for Democratic and Secular Humanism , now the Council for Secular Humanism ....
, an argument for and statement of belief in Democratic Secular Humanism. The Council for Secular Humanism does not call itself religious and has never claimed tax-exemption as a religious organization; instead it has an educational exemption.






Discussion
Ask a question about 'Council for Secular Humanism'
Start a new discussion about 'Council for Secular Humanism'
Answer questions from other users
Full Discussion Forum



Encyclopedia


The Council for Secular Humanism (originally the Council for Democratic and Secular Humanism, or CODESH) is a secular humanist
Secular humanism

Secular humanism is a Humanism philosophy that upholds reason, ethics, and justice, and specifically rejects the supernatural and the Spirituality as the basis of moral reflection and decision-making....
 organization headquartered in Amherst, New York
Amherst, New York

Amherst is a town in Erie County, New York, New York. As of the 2000 census, the town had a total population of 116,510. This represents an increase from the 1990 census figure of 111,711....
. In 1980 CODESH issued A Secular Humanist Declaration
A Secular Humanist Declaration

A Secular Humanist Declaration was an argument for and statement of belief in democracy secular Humanism. The document was issued in 1980 by The Council for Democratic and Secular Humanism , now the Council for Secular Humanism ....
, an argument for and statement of belief in Democratic Secular Humanism. The Council for Secular Humanism does not call itself religious and has never claimed tax-exemption as a religious organization; instead it has an educational exemption. The official symbol for the Council for Secular Humanism is a version of the Happy Human
Happy Human

The trademark is still held by the British Humanist Association, which freely licenses use of the symbol by bona fide Humanist organisations worldwide....
.

Activities

The council acts as an umbrella organization for a number of other groups, such as the Committee for the Scientific Examination of Religion
Committee for the Scientific Examination of Religion

The Committee for the Scientific Examination of Religion, or CSER, is based at the Center for Inquiry in Amherst, New York, New York. According to its mission statement, CSER is a research consultation devoted "to the study of religion and ethics from the standpoint of philosophical naturalism and to the critical, nonparochial, and hum...
, Secular Organizations for Sobriety, African Americans for Humanism, and provides support for Center for Inquiry - On Campus. It also publishes several magazines and newsletters, including Free Inquiry
Free Inquiry

Free Inquiry is a bi-monthly journal of Secular humanism opinion and commentary published by the Council for Secular Humanism, which is part of the Center for Inquiry....
. The council was founded by Dr. Paul Kurtz
Paul Kurtz

Paul Kurtz is Professor Emeritus of Philosophy at the State University of New York at Buffalo, but is best known for his prominent role in the United States Scientific skepticism community....
, who also founded CSICOP and the Center for Inquiry
Center for Inquiry

The Center for Inquiry is a non-profit educational organization with headquarters in the United States whose primary mission is to encourage evidence-based inquiry into paranormal and fringe science claims, alternative medicine and mental health practices, religion, secular ethics, and society....
.

The council is a member organisation of the International Humanist and Ethical Union
International Humanist and Ethical Union

International Humanist and Ethical Union is the sole world umbrella organisation embracing Humanism , atheist, rationalist, secular, skeptic, Ethical Culture, freethought and similar organisations world-wide....
, and endorses both the IHEU minimum statement of Humanism (ref bylaw 5.1 ) and the Amsterdam Declaration 2002).

The Council for Secular Humanism with the Committee for the Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal
Committee for the Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal

The Committee for Skeptical Inquiry , formerly known as the Committee for the Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal is a United States nonprofit organization whose stated purpose is to "encourage the critical investigation of paranormal and fringe-science claims from a responsible, scientific point of view and disseminat...
 (CSICOP) and The Commission for Scientific Medicine and Mental Health are all headquartered at the Center for Inquiry, adjacent to the State University of New York.

The council made news in 2006 when Borders Group
Borders Group

Borders Group is an international bookseller based in Ann Arbor, Michigan, Michigan. Borders is the second-largest bookstore chain in the United States , selling a wide variety of books, Compact discs, DVDs, periodicals, as well as gifts and stationery....
 refused to carry the April-May issue of Free Inquiry in their Borders and Waldenbooks
Waldenbooks

Waldenbooks , operated by the Walden Book Company, Inc., is an American shopping mall-based bookstore chain. The Walden Book Company is a subsidiary of Borders Group....
 stores because of the magazine's publication of 4 cartoons that originally appeared in the Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten and sparked violent worldwide Muslim protests
Jyllands-Posten Muhammad cartoons controversy

The Jyllands-Posten Muhammad cartoons controversy began after twelve editorial cartoons, most of which depicted the Islamic prophet Muhammad, were published in the Denmark newspaper Jyllands-Posten on 30 September 2005....
. (The reason given by Borders for their decision was not sensitivity to religion but fear of illegal violence.) The Free Inquiry
Free Inquiry

Free Inquiry is a bi-monthly journal of Secular humanism opinion and commentary published by the Council for Secular Humanism, which is part of the Center for Inquiry....
 affair was reminiscent of a 1989 withdrawal of Salman Rushdie
Salman Rushdie

Sir Ahmed Salman Rushdie is a British Indian novelist and essayist. He first achieved fame with his second novel, Midnight's Children , which won the Booker Prize in 1981....
's novel The Satanic Verses by Waldenbooks and B. Dalton in the aftermath of a death sentence issued by Ayatollah Khomeini against the British author.

Programs

The Council for Secular Humanism runs the following programs:
  • The International Academy of Humanism
    International Academy of Humanism

    The International Academy of Humanism is a programme of the Council for Secular Humanism. It was established to recognize great humanists and disseminate humanist thinking....
     was established to recognize great humanists and disseminate humanist thinking. According to its declared mission, members of the academy are devoted to free inquiry, are committed to a scientific outlook, and uphold humanist ethical values.
  • The Society of Humanist Philosophers is a philosophical society that publishes Philo
    Philo (journal)

    Philo is a professional philosophy journal that is the official publication of the Society of Humanist Philosophers. Published biannually at the Center for Inquiry, the journal though primarily "devoted to criticisms of theism and defenses or developments of Naturalism ....
    , a journal focused on defending Naturalism
    Metaphysical naturalism

    Metaphysical naturalism, or ontological naturalism, characterizes any worldview in which reality is such that there is nothing but the natural things, forces, and causes of the kind that the natural sciences study, i.e....
    , especially in regards to ethics
    Ethical naturalism

    Ethical naturalism is the meta-ethics view which claims that:# Ethical Sentence s express propositions.# Some such propositions are true.# Those propositions are made true by objective features of the world, independent of human opinion....
    .
  • African Americans for Humanism is engaged in developing humanism in the African American
    African American

    African Americans or Black Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have origins in any of the Black people populations of Africa....
     community.
  • The Robert Green Ingersoll Memorial Committee is dedicated to preserving the memory of great 19th century agnostic philosopher Robert Green Ingersoll.


External links