There are currently 13 National Secular Service Day Events scheduled across the country on October 18th, 2009!

National Secular Service Day

Terminology

Terminology: What should we call ourselves?

To the religious and nonreligious alike, secular terminology can get pretty confusing.  What is the difference between a “skeptic” and a “freethinker”?  How can someone be an “agnostic atheist”?  And what on earth is a “Humanistic Jew”?  Understanding the way nonbelievers define themselves is key to understanding secular culture.  In the same way Christians have divided into subgroups based on Biblical interpretation, secularists have branched into several approaches to life without religion. 

We’ll do our best to give you a brief overview of the most commonly used words for nonbelievers.  In the end, though, the best way to understand a person’s beliefs is to ask.  Just as two Presbyterian churches in the same town might have radically different approaches to their faith, so might two agnostic Humanists disagree on issues of ethics, politics, or even religion.  How people choose to identify themselves is as personal as the decision of which temple to attend, and the same word can mean different things to different people.

The following terms are used to classify a person’s position on the existence of God or gods:

nonreligious/nontheist/nonbeliever
The most general way of describing one who is not a member of any well-defined religious group.  Those who call themselves nonreligious or nontheist often still believe in spirituality, a life force, or even a god or gods.  “Nonbeliever” is slightly stronger, but it can also usually encompass all who don’t believe in a higher being in any of the commonly accepted forms.

agnostic
From a gnosis meaning without (spiritual) knowledge.  Agnosticism is the belief that the existence of deities is either unknown or unknowable.  Agnostics are often divided into two types:  “strong agnostics,” who believe the God question is impossible to answer and can never be known, and “weak agnostics” who believe that evidence is currently insufficient to be completely sure, but the existence or nonexistence of God may someday be proven.  Since the latter category expresses uncertainty, not impossibility, it can also include atheists or theists who also self-identify as agnostic to emphasize that they are not 100% positive in their beliefs.

atheist
Indicates a lack of belief in any gods or deities.  This is a stronger term than nonreligious, in spite of the similar meaning, because it usually rules out the undecided and the spiritual.  The word “atheist” was originally created as an insult, although it’s basic meaning (a theos or without deity) contains nothing offensive.  It continues to carry a negative connotation, in part due to anti-atheist prejudice [link to “learn about anti-atheism], and is often confused with antitheism.  However, antitheism represents only a very small segment of the total atheist population.
Atheist organizations:

antitheism
Direct opposition to belief in deities.  Antitheists, who make up a small but vocal minority of nonbelievers, assert that religious belief is not only incorrect, but harmful to the world.  Antitheism is often erroneously confused with atheism, although the latter represents a lack of belief while the former represents active dislike of religion.  The most famous modern antitheist is author Christopher Hitchens.

(Note:  While NSSD is not intended to promote antitheism, we do welcome everyonewho wishes to participate, so long as they do so in a positive manner.)

Spiritual
A broad term used to describe those who do not believe in deities, but still believe in a supernatural force.  Spirituality ranges from assigning an aspect of divinity to love and goodness to worshiping nature or other nontraditional forces.

Theist
Refers to anyone who has a belief in at least one deity or higher being.  Opposite of atheist.

Deism
The belief in a Creator, usually God, who made the universe but does not intervene.  Though they are theists, Deists often have much in common with the nonreligious, since they usually reject organized religion and the idea of a personal and present God.

The following terms are used to classify a person’s life stance.  While the words above tell you a person’s position on religion, these words describe their beliefs about life.  As such, they are often used in conjunction; i.e. an agnostic Bright or an atheistic Skeptic.

  •  Humanism
    An ethical philosophy that values human dignity.  When capitalized, “Humanism” usually refers specifically to the nontheist movement that follows this life philosophy, also known as Secular Humanism.  When lowercase, “humanism” refers to the system of beliefs independent of theology.  (For example, a person can identify with Christian, Jewish, or even Marxist humanism.)

    From www.americanhumanist.org:
    “Humanism is a progressive philosophy of life that, without theism and other supernatural beliefs, affirms our ability and responsibility to lead ethical lives of personal fulfillment that aspire to the greater good of humanity.”

    Humanist organizations:


  • Bright
    A social movement started by Paul Geisert and Mynga Futrell, who coined the term “Bright” as a more positive umbrella word for ethical nonbelievers.  The Brights are distinguished from other nonreligious groups by their emphasis on action.

    • From www.the-brights.net :
    • “A bright is a person who has a naturalistic worldview.
    • A bright's worldview is free of supernatural and mystical elements.

        The ethics and actions of a bright are based on a naturalistic worldview.”

       “The movement's three major aims are:

    1. Promote the civic understanding and acknowledgment of the naturalistic worldview, which is free of supernatural and mystical elements.
    2. Gain public recognition that persons who hold such a worldview can bring principled actions to bear on matters of civic importance.
    3. Educate society toward accepting the full and equitable civic participation of all such individuals.”

    Bright organizations:


  •  Skepticism
    A philosophy dedicated to questioning every aspect of perceived reality.  Skepticism dates as far back as Socrates, who said, “All I know is that I know nothing.”  Modern skepticism is more scientific, with skeptics refusing to believe any conclusion not reached by experimentation, observation, and the scientific method.  Although it is not, strictly speaking, a religious philosophy, skepticism often leads to atheism or agnosticism, and this theological doubt is a rallying point for many of today’s skeptic groups.  As such, “Skeptic” is sometimes used to describe anyone who doubts or rejects the existence of deities on the basis of lack of scientific evidence.

    Skeptic organizations:


  • Secularism
    The belief that religion and government should be strictly separated.  Most secularists also believe that political thought and other decision making should be based on nonreligous reasoning.  The primary goal of secularism is to promote a “Secular society,” or a pluralistic society that is tolerant of all philosophies but does not as a whole commit to any of them.  Secularists also often follow a set of secular ethics that calls for reaching personal fulfillment and morality through scientific or material means.  Humanism in particular tends have a lot of overlap with secularism.

    Secular organizations:


  • Freethought
    The philosophy that beliefs should be based on reason, logic, and science.  freethinkers try reject the influence of authority figures, tradition, or dogma in their search for truth.  Skepticism and freethought have a lot in common, and often people self-identify with both.  However, freethought is almost exclusively used in religious context, while skepticism usually also includes disbelief in paranormal activity.  Also, skeptics emphasize science and the scientific method, while freethinkers focus more on the use of logical thinking.

    Freethinker organizations:


  • Rationalism/naturalism
    Both rationalism and naturalism are worldviews that rely solely on reason and the physical world as a source of evidence.  Rationalists value reason and logic above all, and naturalists claim that the only reality is what can be found in the natural (tangible) world.  Like skepticism, they are not uniquely religious philosophies but are usually associated with nontheism.