Editing Secular humanism (section)

==Modern context==
[[File:American Humanist Association President David Niose.jpg|thumb|left|200px|[[David Niose]], president of the [[American Humanist Association]], speaks at a 2012 conference.]] 
Secular humanist organizations are found in all parts of the world. Those who call themselves humanists are estimated to number between four<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.americanhumanist.org/what_we_do/publications/Humanism_as_the_Next_Step/Chapter_8:_The_Development_of_Organization |title=American humanist association – Publications – Chapter eight: The Development of Organization |publisher=Americanhumanist.org |access-date=13 November 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110604194510/https://americanhumanist.org/what_we_do/publications/Humanism_as_the_Next_Step/Chapter_8:_The_Development_of_Organization |archive-date=4 June 2011 |url-status=dead }}</ref>{{Failed verification|date=November 2021}} and five<ref>{{cite web|url=http://india.humanists.net |title=India humanist |publisher=India.humanists.net |date=25 June 1997 |access-date=13 November 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120204150554/http://india.humanists.net/ |archive-date=4 February 2012 |url-status=dead}}</ref>{{Dubious|1=Adherents|reason=5 million figure is explicitly number "affiliated to the IHEU", not total number of humanists|date=November 2021}} million people worldwide in 31 countries, but there is uncertainty because of the lack of universal definition throughout censuses. Humanism is a non-theistic belief system and, as such, it could be a sub-category of "Religion" only if that term is defined to mean "Religion and (any) [[Life stance|belief system]]". This is the case in the [[International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights]] on [[freedom of religion|freedom of religion ''and'' beliefs]]. Many national censuses contentiously define Humanism as a further sub-category of the sub-category "No Religion", which typically includes atheist, rationalist and agnostic thought. In [[England and Wales|England, Wales]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/census/2011-census/key-statistics-for-local-authorities-in-england-and-wales/sty-religion.html |title=Census 2011 – Ethnicity and religion in England and Wales |publisher=Statistics.gov.uk |date=27 March 2011 |access-date=13 November 2011}}</ref> 25% of people specify that they have 'No religion' up from 15% in 2001 and in Australia,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/Lookup/by%20Subject/2071.0~2016~Main%20Features~Religion%20Data%20Summary~25 |title=RELIGION IN AUSTRALIA |date=26 September 2017 |access-date=16 October 2017 |publisher=Australian Bureau of Statistics |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170920073309/http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/Lookup/by%20Subject/2071.0~2016~Main%20Features~Religion%20Data%20Summary~25 |archive-date=20 September 2017}}</ref> around 30% of the population specifies "No Religion" in the national census. In the US, the decennial census does not inquire about religious affiliation or its lack; surveys report the figure at roughly 13%.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.adherents.com/rel_USA.html#religions |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/19990508224844/http://www.adherents.com/rel_USA.html#religions |url-status=usurped |archive-date=8 May 1999 |title=Top Twenty Religions in the United States, 2001 (self-identification, ARIS) |publisher=Adherents.com |access-date=13 November 2011}}</ref> In the 2001 Canadian census, 16.5% of the populace reported having no religious affiliation.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www40.statcan.ca/l01/cst01/demo30a.htm |title=Statistics Canada – Population by religion, by province and territory (2001 Census) |publisher=0.statcan.ca |date=25 January 2005 |access-date=13 November 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060209103348/http://www40.statcan.ca/l01/cst01/demo30a.htm |archive-date=9 February 2006}}</ref> In the 2011 [[Scotland|Scottish]] census, 37% stated they had no religion up from 28% in 2001.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.scotlandscensus.gov.uk/ethnicity-identity-language-and-religion |title=Scotland's Census - Ethnicity, Identity, Language and Religion |publisher=scotlandscensus.gov.uk |date=2017 |access-date=26 May 2017}}</ref> One of the largest Humanist organizations in the world (relative to population) is [[Norway]]'s ''[[Human-Etisk Forbund]]'',<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.human.no/Servicemeny/English/|title=Human-Etisk Forbund|access-date=12 June 2015|archive-date=23 March 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160323135954/http://human.no/Servicemeny/English/|url-status=dead}}</ref> which had over 86,000 members out of a population of around 4.6 million in 2013 – approximately 2% of the population.<ref>{{cite web| url = https://www.ssb.no/statistikkbanken/SelectVarVal/saveselections.asp| title = Norway – Members of philosophical2 communities outside the Church of Norway. 1990–2013.}}</ref>

[[File:Levi Fragell, print.jpg|thumb|right|140px|[[Levi Fragell]], former Secretary General of the [[Norwegian Humanist Association]] and former president of the [[International Humanist and Ethical Union]], at the World Humanist Congress 2011 in Oslo]]  
The International Humanist and Ethical Union (IHEU) is the worldwide umbrella organization for those adhering to the Humanist life stance. It represents the views of over three million Humanists organized in over 100 national organizations in 30 countries.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://iheu.org/membership/our-members|title=International Humanist and Ethical Union - Our members|access-date=12 June 2015}}</ref> Originally based in the [[Netherlands]], the IHEU now operates from London.  Some regional groups that adhere to variants of the Humanist life stance, such as the humanist subgroup of the [[Unitarian Universalist Association]], do not belong to the IHEU. Although the [[European Humanist Federation]] is also separate from the IHEU, the two organisations work together and share an agreed protocol.<ref>{{cite web|author=International Humanist and Ethical Union |url=http://www.iheu.org/iheu-and-ehf-agree-revised-protocol |title=''IHEU and EHF agree revised protocol'', 24 February 2009 |publisher=Iheu.org |access-date=13 November 2011}}</ref>

Starting in the mid-20th century, religious [[fundamentalists]] and the [[Christian right|religious right]] began using the term "secular humanism" in hostile fashion. [[Francis A. Schaeffer]], an American theologian based in Switzerland, seizing upon the exclusion of the divine from most humanist writings, argued that rampant secular humanism would lead to moral relativism and ethical bankruptcy in his book ''How Should We Then Live: The Rise and Decline of Western Thought and Culture'' (1976). Schaeffer portrayed secular humanism as pernicious and diabolical, and warned it would undermine the moral and spiritual tablet of America. His themes have been very widely repeated in [[Fundamentalist]] preaching in North America.<ref>Randall Balmer, ''Encyclopedia of Evangelicalism'' 2002 p. 516</ref> Toumey (1993) found that secular humanism is typically portrayed as a vast evil conspiracy, deceitful and immoral, responsible for feminism, pornography, abortion, homosexuality, and [[New Age]] spirituality.<ref>Christopher P. Toumey, "Evolution and secular humanism," ''Journal of the American Academy of Religion,'' Summer 1993, Vol. 61 Issue 2, pp. 275–301</ref> In certain areas of the world, Humanism finds itself in conflict with religious fundamentalism, especially over the issue of the [[separation of church and state]]. Many Humanists see religions as superstitious, repressive and closed-minded, while religious fundamentalists may see Humanists as a threat to the values set out in their sacred texts.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://english.islamway.com/bindex.php?section=lessons&lesson_id=399&scholar_id=38 |title=IslamWay Radio |publisher=English.islamway.com |access-date=13 November 2011}}</ref>

In recent years, humanists such as Dwight Gilbert Jones and [[R. Joseph Hoffmann]] have decried the over-association of Humanism with affirmations of non-belief and atheism. Jones cites a lack of new ideas being presented or debated outside of secularism,<ref>{{cite book |last=Jones |first=Dwight |year=2009 |title=Essays in the Philosophy of Humanism |volume=17 |issue=1 |url=http://www.essaysinhumanism.org/ |access-date=7 July 2015 |archive-date=22 February 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140222074313/http://www.essaysinhumanism.org/ |url-status=dead }}</ref> while Hoffmann is unequivocal: "I regard the use of the term 'humanism' to mean secular humanism or atheism to be one of the greatest tragedies of twentieth century movementology, perpetrated by second-class minds and perpetuated by third-class polemicists and village atheists. The attempt to sever humanism from the religious and the spiritual was a flatfooted, largely American way of taking on the religious right. It lacked finesse, subtlety, and the European sense of history."<ref>{{cite web| url = http://humanism.ws/featured/the-essence-of-humanism/| title = R. Joseph Hoffmann, ''Humanism – What it isn't,'' posted 7 July 2012 on "@Humanism" blog| access-date = 6 July 2015| archive-date = 26 September 2018| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20180926124244/http://humanism.ws/featured/the-essence-of-humanism/| url-status = dead}}</ref>