--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: In contemporary society secular humanism…" description: "\"In contemporary society secular humanism has been singled out by critics and proponents alike as a position sharply distinguishable from any religious ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cad/paul-kurtz-19129_atheism_in-contemporary-society-secular-humanism_2635871.png" --- # In contemporary society secular humanism has been singled… ![“In contemporary society secular humanism has been singled out by critics and proponents alike as a position sharply distinguishable from any religious formulation. Religious fundamentalists in the United States have waged a campaign against secular humanism, claiming that it is a rival "religion"…” quote by Paul Kurtz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cad/paul-kurtz-19129_atheism_in-contemporary-society-secular-humanism_2635871.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cad/paul-kurtz-19129_atheism_in-contemporary-society-secular-humanism_2635871.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cad/paul-kurtz-19129_atheism_in-contemporary-society-secular-humanism_2635871.png) > “In contemporary society secular humanism has been singled out by critics and proponents alike as a position sharply distinguishable from any religious formulation. Religious fundamentalists in the United States have waged a campaign against secular humanism, claiming that it is a rival "religion" and seeking to root it out from American public life. Secular humanism is avowedly non-religious. It is a eupraxsophy (good practical wisdom), which draws its basic principles and ethical values from science, ethics, and philosophy.” [Paul Kurtz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-kurtz/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Secular humanism is a non‑religious worldview based on science, ethics, and philosophy, often mischaracterized as a religion. **In simple terms:** It’s a practical, non‑religious philosophy. Key Takeaway Embrace reason and ethical living. Themes humanism secularism ethics Mood analytical hopeful Type academic political When to use this quote - education policy - community activism - public debates Key Concepts eupraxsophy rationalism public discourse Questions to Reflect On - How can secular humanism be communicated without religious framing? - What role should science play in public ethics? A Different Perspective Critics may conflate it with religious dogma, limiting acceptance. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Atheism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/atheism/) [Basic principles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/basic-principles/) [Campaigns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/campaigns/) [Contemporary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/contemporary/) [Contemporary society](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/contemporary-society/) [Critics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/critics/) [Draws](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/draws/) [Ethical](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ethical/) [Ethical values](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ethical-values/) [Ethics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ethics/) [Has beens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/has-beens/) [Humanism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humanism/) [Humanism Claiming](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humanism-claiming-2227087/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Non religious](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/non-religious/) [Philosophy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/philosophy/) [Position](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/position/) [Positive atheism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/positive-atheism/) [Practicals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/practicals/) [Principles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/principles/) [Public life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/public-life/) [Religion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religion/) [Religious](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religious/) [Religious Eupraxsophy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religious-eupraxsophy-2227086/) [Rivals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rivals/) [Roots](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/roots/) [Secular](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/secular/) [Secular humanism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/secular-humanism/) [Seeking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/seeking/) [Society Secular](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/society-secular-1022289/) [States](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/states/) [United](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/united/) [United states](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/united-states/) [Values](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/values/) ## Related quotes > [Secular humanism is avowedly non-religious. It is a eupraxsophy (good practical wisdom), which draws its basic principles and ethical values from science, ethics, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-kurtz/secular-humanism-is-avowedly-non-religious-it-is-a-eupraxsophy-good/) [Paul Kurtz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-kurtz/) > [With the time, yes we can be worried, because the secular state should reflect secular society, and this secular society, with the time, if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bashar-al-assad/with-the-time-yes-we-can-be-worried-because-the-secular-state-should/) [Bashar al-Assad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bashar-al-assad/) > [Humanists hold that ethical values are relative to human experience and need not be derived from theological or metaphysical foundations.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-kurtz/humanists-hold-that-ethical-values-are-relative-to-human-experience/) [Paul Kurtz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-kurtz/) > [My parents did great and provided well, and gave all their kids personal, moral, ethical values, not a belief that we were entitled to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bonnie-hammer/my-parents-did-great-and-provided-well-and-gave-all-their-kids/) [Bonnie Hammer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bonnie-hammer/) > [Experience was of no ethical value. It was merely the name men gave to their mistakes. Moralists had, as a rule, regarded it as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/experience-was-of-no-ethical-value-it-was-merely-the-name-men-gave-to/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [No man who believes that all is for the best in this suffering world can keep his ethical values unimpaired, since he is always…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertrand-russell/no-man-who-believes-that-all-is-for-the-best-in-this-suffering-world/) [Bertrand Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertrand-russell/) > [Ideally, peace means the absence of violence. It is an ethical value.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mikhail-gorbachev/ideally-peace-means-the-absence-of-violence-it-is-an-ethical-value/) [Mikhail Gorbachev](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mikhail-gorbachev/) > [As it was, we always misunderstood ourselves and rarely understood others. Experience was of no ethical value. It was merely the name men gave…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/as-it-was-we-always-misunderstood-ourselves-and-rarely-understood/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [Over the past two decades, we have clearly seen an erosion of ethical values.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/over-the-past-two-decades-we-have-clearly-seen-an-erosion-of-ethical/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Individual character involves honoring and embracing certain core ethical values; honesty, respect, responsibility . . . Parents must teach their children from the earliest…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-clinton/individual-character-involves-honoring-and-embracing-certain-core/) [Bill Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-clinton/) > [I have never obtained any ethical values from my scientific work.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/i-have-never-obtained-any-ethical-values-from-my-scientific-work/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [What the individual can do is to give a fine example, and to have the courage to uphold ethical values .. in a society…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/what-the-individual-can-do-is-to-give-a-fine-example-and-to-have-the/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [Today is the parent of tomorrow. The present casts its shadow far into the future. That is the law of life, individual and social.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emma-goldman/today-is-the-parent-of-tomorrow-the-present-casts-its-shadow-far-into/) [Emma Goldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emma-goldman/) > [Refined religion is aimed at realizing ethical values, including the fostering of human lives and human communities.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-kitcher/refined-religion-is-aimed-at-realizing-ethical-values-including-the/) [Philip Kitcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-kitcher/) > [Undeniably, character does count for our citizens, out communities, and our Nation, and this week we celebrate the importance of character in our individual…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-j-clinton/undeniably-character-does-count-for-our-citizens-out-communities-and/) [William J. Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-j-clinton/) ## More by Paul Kurtz > [Many humanists have argued that happiness involves a combination of hedonism and creative moral development; that an exuberant life fuses excellence and enjoyment, meaning…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-kurtz/many-humanists-have-argued-that-happiness-involves-a-combination-of/) [Paul Kurtz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-kurtz/) > [The government doesn't have to solve everyone's problem here.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-kurtz/the-government-doesn-t-have-to-solve-everyone-s-problem-here/) [Paul Kurtz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-kurtz/) > [The skeptic has no illusions about life, nor a vain belief in the promise of immortality. Since this life here and now is all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-kurtz/the-skeptic-has-no-illusions-about-life-nor-a-vain-belief-in-the/) [Paul Kurtz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-kurtz/) > [We need to be skeptical of utopianists who offer unreliable totalistic visions of other worlds and strive to take us there. We need some…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-kurtz/we-need-to-be-skeptical-of-utopianists-who-offer-unreliable/) [Paul Kurtz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-kurtz/) > [We cannot remain silent when someone of the Pope's stature and credibility confuses religious principles for science](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-kurtz/we-cannot-remain-silent-when-someone-of-the-pope-s-stature-and/) [Paul Kurtz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-kurtz/) > [UFO mythology is similar to the message of the classical religions where God sends his Angels as emissaries who offer salvation to those who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-kurtz/ufo-mythology-is-similar-to-the-message-of-the-classical-religions/) [Paul Kurtz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-kurtz/) > [I believe that a person should take an affirmative outlook. There are always problems in life, old and new, uncertainties, and unexpected contingencies. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-kurtz/i-believe-that-a-person-should-take-an-affirmative-outlook-there-are/) [Paul Kurtz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-kurtz/) > [Only a fool of a scientist would dismiss the evidence and reports in front of him and substitute his own beliefs in their place.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-kurtz/only-a-fool-of-a-scientist-would-dismiss-the-evidence-and-reports-in/) [Paul Kurtz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-kurtz/) > [Secular humanism does not have the essential attributes of a religion: belief in a deity, the wish for some sort of afterlife, sacred dogma…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-kurtz/secular-humanism-does-not-have-the-essential-attributes-of-a-religion/) [Paul Kurtz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-kurtz/) > [It is not the courage to be that we must develop as much as the courage to become. We are responsible for our destiny.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-kurtz/it-is-not-the-courage-to-be-that-we-must-develop-as-much-as-the/) [Paul Kurtz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-kurtz/) > [As I see it, creative achievement is the very heart of the human enterprise... The destiny of man, of all men and of each…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-kurtz/as-i-see-it-creative-achievement-is-the-very-heart-of-the-human/) [Paul Kurtz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-kurtz/) > [Secular humanism proposes ... the complete implementation of the agenda of modernism ... what is necessary for it to occur is a ... New Enlightenment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-kurtz/secular-humanism-proposes-the-complete-implementation-of-the-agenda/) [Paul Kurtz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-kurtz/) > [Three key humanist virtues are courage, cognition, and caring - not dependence, ignorance, or insensitivity to the needs of others.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-kurtz/three-key-humanist-virtues-are-courage-cognition-and-caring-not/) [Paul Kurtz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-kurtz/) > [We are not simply intellectual creatures. We wish to make love, to enjoy a gourmet dinner, to jog in the park, to cheer lustily…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-kurtz/we-are-not-simply-intellectual-creatures-we-wish-to-make-love-to/) [Paul Kurtz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-kurtz/) > [Humanists hold that ethical values are relative to human experience and need not be derived from theological or metaphysical foundations.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-kurtz/humanists-hold-that-ethical-values-are-relative-to-human-experience/) [Paul Kurtz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-kurtz/) [Explore all 33 Paul Kurtz quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-kurtz/) ## More Atheism quotes > [From Augustine down, theologians have tried to compel people to accept their special interpretation of the Scripture, and the tortures of the inquisition, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matilda-joslyn-gage/from-augustine-down-theologians-have-tried-to-compel-people-to-accept/) [Matilda Joslyn Gage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matilda-joslyn-gage/) > [“What I have a problem with is not so much religion or god, but faith. When you say you believe something in your heart…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/penn-jillette/what-i-have-a-problem-with-is-not-so-much-religion-or-god-but-faith/) [Penn Jillette](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/penn-jillette/) > [Philosopher is a dictator who modifies accepted standards with his thoughts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ilkin-santak/philosopher-is-a-dictator-who-modifies-accepted-standards-with-his/) [Ilkin Santak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ilkin-santak/) > [No philosophy, no religion, has ever brought so glad a message to the world as this good news of Atheism.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-besant/no-philosophy-no-religion-has-ever-brought-so-glad-a-message-to-the/) [Annie Besant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-besant/) > [Let me tell you that atheism has never painted a masterpiece. Atheism has never dispelled fear. Atheism has never healed a disease; faith in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-hagee/let-me-tell-you-that-atheism-has-never-painted-a-masterpiece-atheism/) [John Hagee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-hagee/) > [Believing with you that religion is a matter which lies solely between man and his God, that he owes account to none other for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/believing-with-you-that-religion-is-a-matter-which-lies-solely/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [The inner defenses are unconscious. They consist of a kind of magic aura which the mind builds around cherished belief. Arguments which penetrate into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-koestler/the-inner-defenses-are-unconscious-they-consist-of-a-kind-of-magic/) [Arthur Koestler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-koestler/) > [God speaks through me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-w-bush/god-speaks-through-me/) [George W. Bush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-w-bush/) > [A knowledge of the existence of something we cannot penetrate, of the manifestations of the profoundest reason and the most radiant beauty - it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/a-knowledge-of-the-existence-of-something-we-cannot-penetrate-of-the/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [You cannot ... transmute some incoherent mixture of words into sense merely by introducing the three-letter word "God" to be its grammatical subject.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antony-flew/you-cannot-transmute-some-incoherent-mixture-of-words-into-sense/) [Antony Flew](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antony-flew/) > [Many humanists have argued that happiness involves a combination of hedonism and creative moral development; that an exuberant life fuses excellence and enjoyment, meaning…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-kurtz/many-humanists-have-argued-that-happiness-involves-a-combination-of/) [Paul Kurtz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-kurtz/) > [If, with all the time at my disposal, with all the wealth of the resources of this vast universe, to do with as I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-green-ingersoll/if-with-all-the-time-at-my-disposal-with-all-the-wealth-of-the/) [Robert Green Ingersoll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-green-ingersoll/) > [Do you think that was kind? Do you think it was godlike? What would you think of a physician, if a woman came to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-h-gardener/do-you-think-that-was-kind-do-you-think-it-was-godlike-what-would-you/) [Helen H. Gardener](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-h-gardener/) > [Science can destroy religion by ignoring it as well as by disproving its tenets. No one ever demonstrated, so far as I am aware,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-c-clarke/science-can-destroy-religion-by-ignoring-it-as-well-as-by-disproving/) [Arthur C. Clarke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-c-clarke/) > [Honest investigation is utterly impossible within the pale of any church, for the reason, that if you think the church is right you will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-green-ingersoll/honest-investigation-is-utterly-impossible-within-the-pale-of-any/) [Robert Green Ingersoll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-green-ingersoll/) [Browse all 4,769 Atheism quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/atheism/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "In contemporary society secular humanism has been singled out by critics and proponents alike as a position sharply distinguishable from any religious formulation. Religious fundamentalists in the United States have waged a campaign against secular humanism, claiming that it is a rival \"religion\" and seeking to root it out from American public life. Secular humanism is avowedly non-religious. 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