Irreligion is on the rise in the United States.
Last year, the Pew Research Center reported 1 in 5 Americans doesn’t ascribe to any religion. Of the “nones,” 88 percent said they weren’t looking to adopt a faith either. With words like “atheist” and “agnostic” coming more and more into style, I wonder what kind of image people have when they hear or say those words. I’m sure many have an image of grumpy people who hate God. But most atheists I know and interact with are nothing like that. I find most are people who have a very strong sense of morality and social justice — they just happen to not believe in any gods.
Perhaps the perception of grumpiness stems from the fact that the word atheist is a negative description of belief. Many atheists, instead, prefer to label themselves as “secular humanists” — people who simply believe in the well-being of humanity without belief in any gods. According to the Humanist Manifesto III of the American Humanist Association, “Humanism is a progressive philosophy of life that, without supernaturalism, affirms our ability and responsibility to lead ethical lives of personal fulfillment that aspire to the greater good of humanity.”
With the number of people who identify as humanist always growing, it is a wonder to me there is no humanist organization at UF.
In the interest of promoting humanist values and advocating for secular humanists on campus, I propose one be established. This will require a core of students who want to see that sort of organization on campus.
A humanist organization on campus would mean the establishment of a place where people who want to see positive social change could meet up and discuss the problems that humanity faces and conceive solutions to those problems. A humanist organization on campus would mean the creation of a community of people who are excited by science and reason, who feel a tingle when they consider the stars.
Aside from that, a secular humanist organization on campus would mean the creation of a fixture — something that would influence the lives of others once we’ve left UF. Many humanists believe fulfilment comes from humane participation in society, so a secular humanist organization on campus would be engaged in charity and service.
I can recall the happiness I felt being surrounded by people who were as enthusiastic about science, reason and the well-being of humanity as I am at the Accent Speaker’s Bureau event featuring Neil deGrasse Tyson. I think it would be great if that feeling of community could be recreated on campus.
This coming academic year is the perfect year for a humanist organization to debut on campus. The longer we wait, the less time we spend pursuing human well-being and advocating for those who want it. In the words of Carl Sagan, “If we are not committed to our own survival, who will be?”
If you or any UF students you know would be interested in doing something, in creating an organization like that, please join the event or contact me at the email above.
Brandon Lee Gagne is an anthropology senior at UF. His column normally runs on Fridays. You can contact him via opinions@alligator.org.
