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“Humanism is a polite term for atheism,” admitted a former president of the American Humanist Association. Quite simply, humanism is man seeking to be God. The courts have clearly labeled it as a religion, yet its doctrines and practices are still permitted to pervade the public schools.

The proponents of the worldview known as humanism commonly promote their teachings within society at large, and in the government schools in particular, with genuine religious zeal. It was Gloria Steinem, militant feminist and editor of Ms Magazine, who once said: “By the year 2000 we will –I hope – raise our children to believe in human potential, not God.” [1]

“Any child who believes in God is mentally ill,” said social psychologist Paul Baldwin. This gentleman followed that remark by boasting that national “mental health programs” are being developed to help children who believe in God to have “healthier, more balanced” attitudes. [2]

“The Bible is not merely another book, an outmoded and archaic book … it has been and remains an incredibly dangerous book,” asserts educator John Dunphy. [3]

Gary Griswold, a twenty-five-year-old student who plans to seek a college- level teaching position upon graduation, writes, “I am concerned that a belief in God, particularly in the traditional Christian sense, is a subtle but very real obstacle to the survival of the human species.” He goes on to say that “the minds of young people in our schools and colleges today” should be “challenged and developed – not indoctrinated and molded.” [4]

Humanist leader Devin Carroll added, “The divorce from the more repressive moral strictures of traditional Christianity can never be complete as long as the Bible is regarded as the ultimate reference text.” [5]

As amazing as it may seem, these are but a few of the public statements made by humanists in recent years regarding the need to discard biblical Christianity in favor of secular humanism. These remarks reveal the true root and fruit of humanistic thought which, it should be noted, has been steadily gaining momentum in American society since the early twentieth century.

One of the “founding fathers” of modern secular public education, John Dewey, was also a signer of the first Humanist Manifesto (1933). As a committed humanist, Dewey wrote the following in 1930: “There is no God, and there is no soul. Hence, there are no needs for the props of traditional religion. With dogma and creed excluded then immutable truth is also dead and buried. There is no room for fixed natural law or permanent moral absolutes” (Living Philosophies, 1930).

Humanism, wrote John Dunphy in The Humanist, is “a new faith: a religion of humanity.” He argued that traditional theism is “an unproven and outmoded faith” and that “salvationism, based on mere affirmation, still appears as harmful, diverting people with false hopes of heaven hereafter.” [6]

At this point, some readers may well be asking themselves: “Is humanism really a religion?” Yes, it is, according to the United States Supreme Court in 1961 (Torcaso v. Watkins) and again in 1964 (U.S. v. Seeger). In the Torcaso decision, the High Court stated, “Among religions in this country which do not teach what would generally be considered a belief in God are Buddhism, Taoism, Ethical Cultural, secular humanism, and others.” The U.S. Supreme Court also issued the following remarks in the 1963 Schmepp case: “We agree of course, that the state may not establish ‘a religion of secularism’ in the sense of affirmatively opposing or showing hostility to religion, thus preferring those who believe in no religion over those who do believe.”

Some, including many Christians, discount the existence/influence of humanism. They insist it is simply a fantasy concocted by religious zealots, and treat it as if it is little more than a benign “philosophical” point of view. But humanism is real, indeed, and it has a specific dogma and definite goals.

Pastor Steve Hallman, a graduate of Asbury Seminary and Vice President of the National Federation for Decency, issues this warning: “The Church, the body of Christ, must begin to understand the nature of humanism, a system which has no place for a supernatural God or a Savior who died for sinners.” [7]

“At the present time,” warns writer and social commentator Laurain Mills, “Christians face a peril which could subvert the truth of their beliefs. This danger stems from the subtle, pervasive influence of humanism.” [8]

To accurately comprehend the basic tenets of humanism, we must weigh humanists by their own words. As the Scriptures teach, “For by your words you shall be justified, and by your words you shall be condemned” (Matthew 12:37). The most comprehensive summary of humanistic thought is set forth in the Humanist Manifesto I (1933) and Humanist Manifesto II (1973).

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6.

Humanism denies the existence of God. “As non-theists, we begin with humans not God, nature not deity….we can discover no divine purpose or providence for the human species. No deity will save us; we must save ourselves” (Humanist Manifesto II). Humanism holds that man creates his own god; gods, insist the humanists, are products of man’s imagination. “The cultivation of moral devotion and creative imagination is an expression of genuine ‘spiritual’ experience and aspiration. We believe, however, that traditional dogmatic or authoritarian religions that place revelation, God, ritual, or creed above human needs and experience do a disservice to the human species. Any account of nature should pass the tests of scientific evidence; in our judgment, the dogmas and myths of traditional religion do not do so” (Humanist Manifesto II). Humanism denies the Creator, and His creation. “Humanists regard the universe as self-existing and not created. Humanism believes that man is a part of nature and that he has emerged as the result of a continuous process” (Humanist Manifesto I). “Rather, science affirms that the human species is an emergence from natural evolutionary forces” (Humanist Manifesto II). Humanism denies the existence of man’s soul. “Modern science discredits such historic concepts as…the ‘separable soul’. . . As far as we know, the total personality is a function of the biological organism transacting in a social and cultural context…There is no credible evidence that life survives the death of the body” (Humanist Manifesto II). Humanism denies the hope of salvation and ridicules the fear of judgement. “Promises of immortal Salvation or fear of eternal damnation are both illusory and harmful” (Humanist Manifesto II). Humanism holds there are no absolutes, no set right or wrong. “We affirm that moral values derive their source from human experience. Ethics is autonomous and situational, needing no theological or ideological sanction. Ethics stems from human needs and interest” (Humanist Manifesto II).

In an interview with the Boston Herald in 1982, humanist Charles F. Potter commented that “education is thus a most powerful ally of humanism and every American public school is a school of humanism.” [9]

That, of course, is exactly what troubled a group of six hundred Christian parents in Mobile County, Alabama. They found that the religion of humanism was rampant in the textbooks used in the public schools and that the religion of humanism was being systematically taught in the schools of Mobile. [10] They took their case against the Board of School Commissioners to court. After a lengthy trial, and an examination of forty-nine textbooks, Judge William Brevard Hand, United States District Court in Mobile, Alabama, handed down his 111-page decision. He decreed that humanism is, indeed, a religion. His ruling stated, in part: “The most important belief of this religion is its denial of the transcendent and/or supernatural: there is no God, no creator, no divinity. Such a belief rests upon faith.”

Judge Hand concluded, therefore, that for First Amendment purposes, humanism is “a religious statement.” Further, determined Judge Hand, the textbooks he examined were so loaded with its doctrines that they violated the “establishment clause” of the First Amendment.

The Judge said he found the textbooks taught a “highly relativistic and individualistic approach which constitutes the promotion of a fundamental faith claim opposed to other religious faiths…[it] strikes at the heart of many theistic religions’ beliefs.” He ordered the books removed.

The American Civil Liberties Union and the People for the American Way rose to new heights of indignation. The two groups charged that the religious ‘far right’ was intent on forcing fundamentalist Christian ideas into the public schools. As far as they are concerned, the public schools are the private preserve of the humanists. As columnist James J. Kilpatrick wrote: “It is a curious thing. The ACLU and People for the American Way, in defending the humanists [right to promote their faith], make precisely the same arguments when they are attacking the Baptists [for seeking to defend their faith]. It does make a difference, as the Proverb tells us, to see whose ox is being gored.” [11] The ACLU and PAW appealed Judge Hand’s decision to a higher court, and it was overturned by the Appeals Court.

How deeply do the roots of secular humanism penetrate into the state-controlled, taxpayer-funded school systems of America? What is being propagated in those classrooms? Inspect a few of its evil fruits:

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7.

God is denied in the classroom for the express purpose of separating children, and the state, from any religious beliefs that run contrary to the tenants of the religion of secular humanism. God’s written Word has been barred from the government school curriculum, except as a “quaint historical manuscript”, or in reference to an ancient set of ethics or primitive literature. The increasingly discredited theory of evolution has been established as the only theory that public school children will be permitted to explore in their classrooms. Efforts to obtain “equal time” for alternate theories such as creationism or intelligent design have been consistently denied. Humanists challenge and protest against any initiative that would undermine their monopoly over what students may study in the realm of science. This is particularly the case when it comes to the theory of biblical creationism, which they insist is inherently un-scientific and nothing more than religious myth. Yet, as Christian leaders and scientists have often asserted, evolution is nothing more than a humanistic theory that ultimately requires even more faith to embrace than the so-called ‘religious’ theory of special creation. If faith-based theories about the origins of the universe are to be regarded as inappropriate for students in the government schools, then the only way to avoid an obvious double standard, is for the state to outlaw the humanistic theory of evolution as well as biblical creationism/intelligent design. The Ten Commandments have been removed from government school classrooms, and the public square. Not surprisingly, since God’s Law and moral absolutes have been removed, public school students have experienced numerous problems including increased violence and gang activity, drug/alcohol abuse, an epidemic of sexually transmitted diseases, and an alarming rise in the rate of teenage delinquency and suicide. In place of the time-tested standard of the Ten Commandments, humanistic educators have sought to utilize their code of situational ethics and so-called ‘flexible’ moral values. The Humanist Manifesto II, after all, clearly states: “We reject those features of traditional religious morality that deny humans a full appreciation of their own potentialities”. Within this type of humanistic moral framework, young minds are subject to an ever changing and overtly confusing standard for moral behavior known as pluralism. This teaching decrees that all viewpoints and modes of expression are equally valid or acceptable. Ethics, according to humanistic teachings, are situational and not subject to any objective or divine standard. As a result, no person has a right to assert that there is any absolute or meaningful difference between what is profane versus what is noble, or what is perverted versus what is pure. Is it any wonder why American society is crumbling from within? Humanism consistently teaches children that they are their own ultimate authority, and that people are autonomous (not accountable to anyone outside of themselves, including God). Young students who have embraced the humanistic teaching regarding the autonomy of man, now compose a new “ME” generation that celebrates juvenile anarchy, self-centeredness, self-indulgence, and self-gratification. “Nothing that is part of contemporary life is taboo” (The Humanist, 1976). Sexual permissiveness has not only been tolerated but promoted by humanistic state educators. The Humanist Manifesto II, declares: “In the area of sexuality, we believe that intolerant attitudes, often cultivated by orthodox religions and puritanical cultures, unduly repress sexual conduct…The many varieties of sexual exploration should not in themselves be considered ‘evil’.” The fruits of the ‘sexual revolution’ that was launched in the mid-nineteen sixties, is not what its humanistic promoters promised to a generation of American youth. According to figures released in the year 2008, one in four young people in the U.S. had a sexually transmitted disease. [12] A whole generation of American youngsters in the state schools have been taught to reject the traditional view of individual enterprise and capitalism, in favor of collectivism (socialism-communism). “The humanists are firmly convinced that an existing acquisitive and profit-motivated society has shown itself to be inadequate and that a radical change in methods, controls, and motives must be instituted…The goal of humanism is a free and universal society in which people voluntarily and intelligently cooperate…Humanists demand a shared life in a shared world” (Humanist Manifesto I). The government schools have consistently promoted a favorable view of one-world government and “global citizenship” in its curriculum, while presenting patriotism based upon the original vision of the founding fathers, and concerns for national sovereignty, in a negative light. As the Humanist Manifesto II asserts: “We deplore the division of humankind on nationalistic grounds. We have reached a turning point in human history where the best option is to transcend the limits of national sovereignty and move toward the building of a world community in which all sectors of the human family can participate. Thus, we look to the development of a system of world law and a world order based upon transnational federal government”.

The above points showcase just a few of the fruits of the gospel of humanistic education. Although a number of years have past since the Humanist Manifesto I & II were written, the agenda of the social engineers that developed these writings is still in full swing. In fact, the politicians, religious leaders, and educators who continue to spread the religion of humanism within our nation’s schools and churches are as zealous as ever to capture yet another generation of America’s youth. The plain, and often unpopular, truth is that the religion of humanism is firmly entrenched within the classrooms and culture of our nation, and its goals are even worse than the points previously mentioned!

— This article will be continued in next month's Christian Educator —

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End Notes

[1] As quoted in “People & Events,” Christian Life, July 1984, p.26.

[2] Paul Baldwin, The Social Sciences (New York: Harcourt, Brace, and Jovanovich, 1970), p.210.

[3] John Dunphy, “A New Religion for A New Age,” The Humanist, January/February 1983.

[4] Gary K. Griswold, “Religion: An Obstacle to a Better World?” The Humanist, March/April 1987, p.18, 44.

[5] Devin Carroll, “The Humanist Family and Moral Education,” The Humanist, March/April 1987, p. 35.

[6] The Humanist, January/February 1983.

[7] Steve Hallman, “Christianity and Humanism,” National Federation for Decency, 1984, p. i.

[8] Laurain Mills, “Humanism’s Influence on Charismatic Christians,” World Map Digest, p. 14, 23.

[9] As cited in the Presidential Biblical Scoreboard, 1984, p.10.

[10] James J. Kilpatrick, “Judge Hand on Target: A Brief in No God Is a Religion, Too,” Keene Sentinel, March 23, 1987; see also, Russell Kirk, “Militant Secularism on Trial,” The World & I, June 1987, p. 114-121.

[11] Keene Sentinel, March 23, 1987.

[12] Associated Press, “1 of 4 teens age 14-19 has STD,” Daily Herald, March 12, 2008.

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This article originally appeared as a chapter in a book published in 1994 by Christian Liberty Press entitled Biblical Solutions to Contemporary Problems. The original book, first published in 1988, was reprinted with the permission of the Plymouth Rock Foundation who holds copyright over the writings of Mr. Walton. The author, Rus Walton, died in 1999.

The writings by Rus Walton entitled What Is Humanism?, were edited and updated by Michael McHugh in 2009.