Dear readers,
I wish you a good reading with this issue. This summer we will have our fourth annual international conference, but more things are happening! Online you can read now access a summary of IHEYO’s activities in the previous year. As to new activities and developments unfolds, I hope we can brief you about this in the next issue.
There are many different Humanisms as well as humanists, although I think one can characterize the diverse humanists with some broad commonalities as to outlook on morality and life (the IHEU Amsterdam declaration that IHEYO uses as definition on humanism is a good summary of that). I think then about respect for human choice and dignity and rational thinking or as I would prefer ‘freethinking’, the ability to question all in life and come to own reasoned vision.
There are some religious humanists, but sizeable number of humanists are either atheist or agnostics. The issue (and consequences!) of religiosity is quite a lot discussed among humanists. I found on one of the many humanist oriented sites that are around, a funny page on what one could reply as one receives a message with ‘God bless you” under it, while one questions the existence of a God
(see: http://www.the-brights.net/gby_replies.htm ). Of course one can reply with a friendly thank you, but there are also other options….I will end with one here.
May the force be with you! (from Star Wars)
Gea Meijers, President, IHEYO