After my lecture in the Humanist Association of Toronto last month, one of the ladies present asked me, “If you do not believe in God, prophets, religions, divine revelations and day of judgment, then as atheists, agnostics, freethinkers and humanists, where do you get your guidance from? What is the source of your morality?”
Whenever I am asked that question by believers I share with them that over the centuries human beings have reached such a stage in evolution that human psyche [human mind and personality] has developed a personal and social conscience. Such conscience does not need divine revelations to guide it to the right path. In every culture human conscience has created the golden rule that states,
Do onto others what you would like to be done onto you.
There have been secular philosophers all over the world: Confucius in China, Buddha in India, Socrates in Greece and Chief Seattle in North America, among others, who laid the foundations of secular ethics. Their traditions were different than the traditions of Moses, Jesus and Mohammad that gave birth to monotheistic religions in the Middle East. Secular and humanist traditions gave birth to secular ethics that is very different than religious morality.
It has been my observation and experience that most atheists, agnostics, freethinkers and humanists treat others with caring and compassion as they would like to be treated with the same sentiments.
They like to accept others as they would like to be accepted by them.
They follow their own conscience rather than the dictates of divine revelations.
They create secular and humanist constitutions in which all citizens have equal rights and privileges and human rights of women, children and minorities are respected.
In many parts of the world secular and humanist people have created secular, democratic and humanist constitutions and communities, countries and cultures, without the guidance of God, religions, prophets and divine revelations.
It is also important to point out that moralities of different religions are not only different, they are also contradictory. Sin of one religion is virtue in the other. Followers of different religions and sects have conflicting and contradictory interpretations of the same scriptures and divine revelations. Some of those followers feel so strongly that they try hard to convince and convert others as they believe their God is the only true God and their interpretation of scriptures is the only right interpretation. Some of them get militant and declare holy wars and are willing to spill blood and kill in the name of their God and religion. How sad ! How tragic !
All the humanists I know do not believe in holy wars.
As a humanist I believe that there are as many truths as human beings and as many realities as pairs of eyes in this world. All the humanists I know wish to work and create a peaceful world together. They want to create heaven on earth rather than in the life hereafter.