Religion of Unbelief

That a federal judge just declared secular humanism a religion worthy of First Amendment protection shouldn’t surprise anyone.

Generally, secular humanism is a worldview that holds man can be moral and ethical without a belief in God or a religion. Why do people who don’t believe in God or a creator make this unbelief a part of their identity? The only way it comes close to making sense is atheism, and secular humanism, are religion-like systems of “worshipers” intent on spreading the faith. Man is made to worship, and if the object of that worship isn’t the God of the Bible, the Creator, it’s something else.

An atheist in prison wanted to form a secular humanism study group, and prison officials rejected the request. He sued, naturally. An excerpt:

[Judge] Haggerty ruled that Holden’s constitutional rights were violated under the First and Fifth Amendments. In his ruling, he moved to recognize secular humanism as a religion for “Establishment Clause” purposes. Under the Establishment Clause, Haggerty’s rationale is that secular humanism must be able to enjoy the same liberties as other religious organizations because it is a constitutional principle that no religion shall be established above others as a state religion.
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“As humanists, we believe in the ability of mankind to transcend their differences and to reach some common ground and make the world a better place,” Holden commented during an interview with Upton Radio. “We simply want the same thing other religious groups are provided,” he said.

“The court finds that Secular Humanism is a religion for Establishment Clause purposes,” Judge Haggerty wrote in his ruling last Thursday. “Allowing followers of other faiths to join religious group meetings while denying Holden the same privilege is discrimination on the basis of religion.”

The drawback of having secular humanism declared a religion is the “separation of church and state” secularists are fond of invoking. The U.S. Constitution contains no such thing, but secularists have successfully removed religion, particularly Christianity, from government schools. And lawsuits filed against the government for religious symbols on public property are in various stages of litigation.

Be careful what you wish for.

Photo credit: Marty Stone – Some Rights Reserved (Creative Commons)