Dawkins And BHA Doing Humanism No Favours, Claims Philosopher

PR Log (Press Release) – Aug 26, 2009 – (Vancouver, Canada August 25)  The continuing Creationist-Evolution legacy of the Bush era generally pits Christian fundamentalists against the “Humanists”; most notably Richard Dawkins, a best-selling author on the topic and a Vice-President of the British Humanist Association.
 
In the eyes of humanist philosopher Dwight Gilbert Jones, however, Dawkins and the BHA are “social climbers” who have assumed Humanist identities to avoid being dismissed as the simple atheists that they are. Other prominent anti-religious writers, including Sam Harris now seek to distance themselves from the atheist label.

“Humanism is our highest and most principled tradition, devoted since Greek and Renaissance times to the larger questions attending life and our own kind, not the anti-religion it is being wrongly associated with today.” he protests.  He points out that the BHA’s most successful public campaign was called “The Atheist Bus” and maintains that “If they can’t represent Humanism positively, and leave religious beliefs to the individual, they should change their name away from Humanism.”

In his recent book “1000 Summers” Jones envisions our world a decade hence, one that is integrated with the United Nations, has discarded militarism to end poverty,  and is bringing a humanist focus onto our species' governance.

“These basic decisions by our species in the near-term are critical,” says Jones “and thereafter the proper study of mankind is Man. Humanism is a wonderful global philosophy, and what your neighbor thinks about religion is a personal matter.”