What do the words "secular humanist" mean to you?

Someone who makes moral and ethical decisions based on reason and logic, as opposed to faith. A common misconception is that all secular humanists are atheists, which isn’t true.

Jesuit

i don’t like that definition, @crisw. it assumes that it is possible to make decisions based on anything BUT reason and logic.

retarded… as in slow

@ninjacolin While I can see why you don’t like the definition crisw gave, unfortunately it is entirely possible for people to make decisions not based in reason and logic.

no it’s not but that’s what religionists want you to believe.
i’d like to see you try to prove that. :)

No, it really is. I’m very anti organized religion, but I’m also fully aware that it is entirely possible for many, many people to make decisions based nothing on logic or reason. People choose to overlook logic all the time. Like I said before: Unfortunate, but entirely possible.

To actually answer the question, though: I think Secular Humanists have a lot of great ideas. I myself, according to the belief structure, come very close to being labeled one.

However, I don’t like the idea that people feel the need to be labeled as part of any kind of group. For myself, I’ll stick with “agnostic” – it sums up my beliefs.

no no, i assure you that’s never the case.
consider: if something is truly “overlooked,” then that thing is simply NOT factored in to the logical decision. Ignorance is ignorance. If you are ignoring something, then you are NOT considering it.

Meaning the person’s decision will be based ONLY on the logic that they do have access to. Meaning,.. the person’s logic and reasoning is fallacious.. but it’s still logic and reason just the same.

@ninjacolin—People consider things all the time and still choose to ignore them.

they never ignore them without a reason.

and no, i’m not saying that their reasons are always (or ever) justified. i think their reasoning is often faulty and fallacious and wrong..

it’s like a Jury wrongfully convicting (or releasing) someone. They can only do their best given the information they’ve received. mistakes happen though and sometimes good evidence is not fully appreciated.

What do they mean to me? They mean to me just what their definition says they mean. I believe it’s a rational and moral philosophical position to take; if just a little speciesist.

To me, it means an atheist who is against fixed religions, but may well embrace spiritual approaches.

The doctrine emphasizing a person’s capacity for self-realization through reason, rejects religion and the supernatural.

If I chose to be part of any group, it would be secular humanists. I basically live my life like that. Like @DrasticDreamer, I prefer not to to be a part of an organized movement.

@kelly100 I don’t reject religion, in fact I’m Jewish. But I do reject God and the supernatural.

@DrasticDreamer Are you using “agnostic” in the God sense? I know many theists who are also Secular Humanists. You can believe in God and still be a Secular Humanist (although I will admit you will be in a minority)

@crisw Exactly right. That said, may secular humanists are atheists.

@madcapper “retarded… as in slow” I don’t understand this answer. You think secular humanists are retarded and slow? If so, why?

@VzzBzz Jesuit? I don’t get it.

@Benny: It was the first thing that popped into my head because I can count 7 extraordinary humanitarian friends who are former Jesuits; they’ve not gone atheist but have gone beyond organized religious association. If secular humanist is a specific term, I’m unfamiliar.

@ninjacolin
I am presupposing that the logic actually is sound, and that the person involved is an appropriate judge of logical soundness.

Most people I know who base decisions on faith reject logic as a proper tool for their faith-based decisions; they stand by those decisions even while admitting that they are not logical.

@Benny Agnostic, to me, is believing that it is impossible to know either way, whether or not a god exists, until I die. Even when I die, I may not know – because everything could just end. I lean more toward the side that there is no biblical God… Simply because the Bible is beyond silly to me, but I still can’t say I know for sure.

@DrasticDreamer That’s a very Jewish point of view, believe it or not. My dad, also an atheist, when he was dying was being visited by his rabbi. We were talking about atheism and the rabbi said to him, “What does God care if you believe in him or not?” That’s why Judaism, atheism, and secular humanism are not mutually exclusive.

I can see that. It’s kind of bizarre to me that an agnostic person would proclaim to believe in god, though. It kind of goes against the original meaning of the word “agnostic”, as far as I know.