Council of Australian Humanist Societies
Encyclopedia
The Council of Australian Humanist Societies (CAHS) is the national umbrella organisation for Australian humanists
. It is affiliated with the International Humanist and Ethical Union
(IHEU). The official symbol of CAHS (and all member organisations) is the Happy Human
.
Recent winners of the Australian Humanist of the Year include Gareth Evans
(1990), Robyn Williams
(1993), William Hayden (1996), Philip Nitschke
(1998), Peter Singer
(2004), Tim Flannery
(2005) and Peter Cundall
(2006), Lyn Alison
(2010) and Dr Leslie Cannold
(2011).
CAHS holds an annual CAHS convention, usually hosted by one of the member organisations.
CAHS hosts the Humanist Internet Discussion Group where Humanists can share their thoughts on issues of interest.
categorises Humanism as "No Religion". The 16% of Australians that fall within this category include other non-theistic life stance
s such as atheism
, agnosticism
and rationalism
.
In 1983, the High Court
defined religion
as a complex of beliefs and practices which point to a set of values and an understanding of the meaning of existence.
Humanism
Humanism is an approach in study, philosophy, world view or practice that focuses on human values and concerns. In philosophy and social science, humanism is a perspective which affirms some notion of human nature, and is contrasted with anti-humanism....
. It is affiliated with the International Humanist and Ethical Union
International Humanist and Ethical Union
The International Humanist and Ethical Union is an umbrella organisation embracing humanist, atheist, rationalist, secular, skeptic, freethought and Ethical Culture organisations worldwide. Founded in Amsterdam in 1952, the IHEU is a democratic union of more than 100 member organizations in 40...
(IHEU). The official symbol of CAHS (and all member organisations) is the Happy Human
Happy Human
The Happy Human is a secular icon and the official symbol of the International Humanist and Ethical Union , a world body for Humanism, and has been adopted by many Humanist organisations and individuals worldwide. Its origin was a competition organised in 1965 by the British Humanist Association...
.
Activities
CAHS publishes a quarterly journal, the Australian Humanist and awards the Australian Humanist of the Year (AHOY) annually and the Outstanding Humanist Achiever when warranted.Recent winners of the Australian Humanist of the Year include Gareth Evans
Gareth Evans (politician)
Gareth John Evans, AO, QC , is a former Australian politician from 1978 to 1999 representing the Australian Labor Party, serving in a number of ministries including Attorney-General and Foreign Minister from 1983 to 1996 in the Hawke and Keating governments. He was president and chief executive...
(1990), Robyn Williams
Robyn Williams
Robyn Williams AM is a science journalist and broadcaster resident in Australia who has hosted the Science Show on the Australian Broadcasting Corporation since 1975, Ockham's Razor and In Conversation .-Background:Robyn Williams was born in Buckinghamshire, England, and educated in Vienna and...
(1993), William Hayden (1996), Philip Nitschke
Philip Nitschke
Dr. Philip Nitschke is an Australian medical doctor, humanist, author and founder and director of the pro-euthanasia group Exit International. He campaigned successfully to have a legal euthanasia law passed in Australia's Northern Territory and assisted four people in ending their lives before...
(1998), Peter Singer
Peter Singer
Peter Albert David Singer is an Australian philosopher who is the Ira W. DeCamp Professor of Bioethics at Princeton University and Laureate Professor at the Centre for Applied Philosophy and Public Ethics at the University of Melbourne...
(2004), Tim Flannery
Tim Flannery
Timothy Fridtjof Flannery is an Australian mammalogist, palaeontologist, environmentalist and global warming activist....
(2005) and Peter Cundall
Peter Cundall
Peter Cundall, AM is a horticulturalist, conservationist, author, broadcaster and television personality in Australia. He currently lives in Tasmania's Tamar Valley, and until the age of 81 continued to be a presenter of the ABC TV program Gardening Australia. His last show aired on 26 July 2008...
(2006), Lyn Alison
Lyn Allison
Lynette Fay "Lyn" Allison is an Australian politician. She was a member of the Australian Senate from 1996 to 2008, representing the state of Victoria. She was the last federal parliamentary leader of the Australian Democrats....
(2010) and Dr Leslie Cannold
Leslie Cannold
Leslie Cannold, PhD, is an author, academic ethicist, columnist, activist, and high-profile Australian public intellectual....
(2011).
CAHS holds an annual CAHS convention, usually hosted by one of the member organisations.
CAHS hosts the Humanist Internet Discussion Group where Humanists can share their thoughts on issues of interest.
IHEU's Minimum statement on Humanism
All member organisations of the IHEU are required by IHEU bylaw 5.1 to accept http://www.iheu.org/bylaws the IHEU Minimum statement on Humanism:- Humanism is a democratic and ethical life stanceLife stanceA person's life stance, or lifestance, is their relation with what they accept as being of ultimate importance, the presuppositions and theory of this, and the commitments and practice of working it out in living....
, which affirms that human beings have the right and responsibility to give meaning and shape to their own lives. It stands for the building of a more humane society through an ethic based on human and other natural values in the spirit of reason and free inquiry through human capabilities. It is not theistic, and it does not accept supernatural views of reality.
Legal status
The Australian national censusCensus
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...
categorises Humanism as "No Religion". The 16% of Australians that fall within this category include other non-theistic life stance
Life stance
A person's life stance, or lifestance, is their relation with what they accept as being of ultimate importance, the presuppositions and theory of this, and the commitments and practice of working it out in living....
s such as atheism
Atheism
Atheism is, in a broad sense, the rejection of belief in the existence of deities. In a narrower sense, atheism is specifically the position that there are no deities...
, agnosticism
Agnosticism
Agnosticism is the view that the truth value of certain claims—especially claims about the existence or non-existence of any deity, but also other religious and metaphysical claims—is unknown or unknowable....
and rationalism
Rationalism
In epistemology and in its modern sense, rationalism is "any view appealing to reason as a source of knowledge or justification" . In more technical terms, it is a method or a theory "in which the criterion of the truth is not sensory but intellectual and deductive"...
.
In 1983, the High Court
High Court of Australia
The High Court of Australia is the supreme court in the Australian court hierarchy and the final court of appeal in Australia. It has both original and appellate jurisdiction, has the power of judicial review over laws passed by the Parliament of Australia and the parliaments of the States, and...
defined religion
Religion
Religion is a collection of cultural systems, belief systems, and worldviews that establishes symbols that relate humanity to spirituality and, sometimes, to moral values. Many religions have narratives, symbols, traditions and sacred histories that are intended to give meaning to life or to...
as a complex of beliefs and practices which point to a set of values and an understanding of the meaning of existence.
Related topics
- Atheist Foundation of AustraliaAtheist Foundation of AustraliaThe Atheist Foundation of Australia, Inc. was established in South Australia in 1970, when The Rationalist Association of South Australia decided upon a name change to better declare their basic philosophy, namely atheism....
- Human rights in AustraliaHuman rights in AustraliaHuman Rights in Australia have largely been developed under Australian Parliamentary democracy, and safeguarded by such institutions as the Australian Human Rights Commission and an independent judiciary and High Court who apply the Common Law, the Australian Constitution and various other laws...
- Rationalist Society of AustraliaRationalist Society of AustraliaThe Rationalist Society of Australia promotes the interests of rationalists nationally in Australia. It is the operational arm of the movement in Australia...
- Religion in AustraliaReligion in AustraliaIn the 21st century, religion in Australia is demographically dominated by Christianity, with 64% of the population claiming at least nominal adherence to the Christian faith as of 2007, although less than a quarter of those attend church weekly. 18.7% of Australians declared "no-religion" on the...
- includes Australian Bureau of StatisticsAustralian Bureau of StatisticsThe Australian Bureau of Statistics is Australia's national statistical agency. It was created as the Commonwealth Bureau of Census and Statistics on 8 December 1905, when the Census and Statistics Act 1905 was given Royal assent. It had its beginnings in section 51 of the Constitution of Australia...
census information relating to religion and belief. - States and territories of AustraliaStates and territories of AustraliaThe Commonwealth of Australia is a union of six states and various territories. The Australian mainland is made up of five states and three territories, with the sixth state of Tasmania being made up of islands. In addition there are six island territories, known as external territories, and a...
- The Secular Party of Australia
See also
- Major world religions
- HumanismHumanismHumanism is an approach in study, philosophy, world view or practice that focuses on human values and concerns. In philosophy and social science, humanism is a perspective which affirms some notion of human nature, and is contrasted with anti-humanism....
- RationalismRationalismIn epistemology and in its modern sense, rationalism is "any view appealing to reason as a source of knowledge or justification" . In more technical terms, it is a method or a theory "in which the criterion of the truth is not sensory but intellectual and deductive"...
- AtheismAtheismAtheism is, in a broad sense, the rejection of belief in the existence of deities. In a narrower sense, atheism is specifically the position that there are no deities...
- AgnosticismAgnosticismAgnosticism is the view that the truth value of certain claims—especially claims about the existence or non-existence of any deity, but also other religious and metaphysical claims—is unknown or unknowable....
- Amsterdam Declaration 2002
- Humanism and Its AspirationsHumanism and Its AspirationsHumanism and Its Aspirations subtitled Humanist Manifesto III, a successor to the Humanist Manifesto of 1933 is the most recent of the Humanist Manifestos published in 2003 by the American Humanist Association...
External links
- CAHS Website
- Human Rights Brief No. 3 Assessment of international law pertaining to freedom of religion and belief from Australian Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission.