Letter to The New Statesman. 8 February 2008

After Faith, Humanism.

Sholto Byrnes found himself floundering in heavy seas when he tried to find a basis for our laws and rights (Keep the Faith, 4 February) and he ended up reaching for the Ten Commandments like a drowning man clutching at tablets of stone.

The idea that our moral code fell out of the sky carved on two bricks has been around for a long time.  But it is not much use to us now.  Not only is it totally implausible, but Byrnes appears not to have noticed that the Commandments of Moses vehemently denounce blasphemy and idol-worship, but have no prohibition against rape or child abuse.  Yet we all agree that rape and child abuse are serious crimes, so clearly our moral reasoning is more advanced than that of Moses. 

When our legislators are trying to decide on the moral issues of our time, they get no guidance from ancient texts.  What did ancient tribal leaders like Moses know of the world that we inhabit?  Nothing.  If we are debating what level of alcohol a motorist should be allowed to have, or what limits to place on the sale of pornography or addictive drugs, or how much effluent a factory may dump in a river, then we have to use moral reasoning which draws on agreed notions of liberty, justice and social consequences.  Our main concern should not be the alleged edicts of a sky-god, but our common humanity and the social space that we share.

The history of our legal system shows that the law had to be wrestled from the grip of the churches.  In the time of Chaucer we had both ecclesiastical courts and secular courts.  Fortunately for us, the secular system won, or we would have our own version of Shariah law today.  A similar process of secularisation occurred with regard to schools, hospitals and social services.  Secularisation has been the path of progress.

That is why Humanists are alarmed by the advance of creationist pseudo-science, the state funding of faith schools, the privileges in the media and the legislature that religion still has, and the ‘God on Our Side’ posturing of some political leaders.  We are appalled that Bush has diverted funds from secular social services into church-based ones and from provision of condoms in AIDS-stricken areas into evangelical campaigns.  We are appalled that religious believers will prevent others from dying with dignity or having access to the benefits of stem cell research.

Byrnes needs to get out of church more.  He should spend less time on ancient texts and should instead acquaint himself with Humanism and a modern approach to moral reasoning.

Les Reid