Is Nonconformity Required to be Humanist in Our Modern Societies?

Is nonconformity required to be humanist in our current society?

Humanism is a philosophy of life that considers the welfare of humankind — rather than the welfare of a supposed God or gods — to be of paramount importance. (American Humanist Association, 2017).

As existing social, political practices draw largely on views that consider the welfare of a belief system to be of paramount importance, there is an intersection in the efforts of humanists and nonconformists. To be humanist is, and has been through time, to be a nonconformist.

Humanists are few. Where are they? They’re scattered. Some may not even know of their individual perspective on the world — as if the distant scent of love on the horizon. You know it’s there, but you can’t quite find it — and then it goes away.

But humanists are around. Why so few humanists, though? I think one variable or factor is time. It hasn’t had time to catch like wildfire as with the Abrahamic religions, for examples.

Also, as with the stated differences with atheists in the past and into the present, the transition is the explicit, open statement, “I am an atheist.” (Translation: ‘I don’t eat babies, give the ‘evil’ eye, or stand at the right side of the Satan in the Left hand path.’)