Army approves ‘humanist’ as religious preference

WASHINGTON (RNS) More than two years after first making his request, Army Maj. Ray Bradley can now be known as exactly what he is: a humanist in the U.S. military.

“I’m able to self-identity the belief system that governs my life, and I’ve never been able to do that before,” said Bradley, who is stationed at Fort Bragg in North Carolina and works on supporting readiness of the Army Reserve’s medical staff.

Lt. Col. Sunset R. Belinsky, an Army spokeswoman, said Tuesday (April 22) that the “preference code for humanist” became effective April 12 for all members of the Army.

In practical terms, the change means that humanists could face fewer hurdles in trying to organize within the ranks; military brass would have better information to aid in planning a deceased soldier’s funeral; and it could lay the groundwork for eventually adding humanist chaplains.

The change comes against a backdrop of persistent claims from atheists and other nonbelievers that the military is dominated by a Christian culture that is often hostile to unbelief. In recent years, activists from the broad spectrum of freethinking organizations have demanded equal treatment as the tradition-bound military grapples with the growth of the spiritual-but-not-religious population.

Jason Torpy, president of the Military Association of Atheists and Freethinkers, has been pushing for greater recognition of humanists in the armed services; in February, the American Civil Liberties Union sent a letter to the Pentagon on Bradley’s behalf.

“This is a big victory,” Torpy said, who noted the decision was by the Army and not the other military services. “This is one part, and the easiest part, of a very long list of other reforms that have to happen before we have equality, not just belief or no belief but theistic belief and nontheistic belief like ours.”

The ACLU wrote in its letter that members of nontheistic faiths should have the option of describing themselves, just as members of theistic faiths do.

“Given the wide range of religious-preference designations currently allowed by the armed forces, there is no reason to deny Humanism similar recognition,” ACLU lawyers wrote.

Bradley, 47, said the ability to officially state “humanist” as a religious preference is technically an additional code in the military’s database.

“The real importance of this change is that our official military records can reflect humanists now,” said Bradley, who initially was listed under the broad category of “no religious preference.”

Although he doesn’t believe in God, Bradley determined that the term “atheist” was not sufficient for him. Frustrated with the lengthy process in getting the “humanist” designation, he had switched to “atheist” in January 2013. But he said “humanist” explains his life stance, which stresses scientific explanations and maximizing human happiness.

He hopes to work now with Torpy to encourage other humanists in the military to officially identify themselves and to seek opportunities for them to meet in facilities and advertise their meetings as many religious groups do.

“It may be very difficult, especially for young soldiers, to take such a step,” he said, noting some would be wary that they might be discriminated against if they reveal they are humanists.

Chaplain (Col.) Kenneth Stice, director of operations for the Army’s Office of the Chief of Chaplains, said the religious preference information — though voluntary — helps the military know how best to respect the religious wishes of an injured or deceased soldier. He said the chaplain corps is beginning to grapple with those who are in the “spiritual but not religious” category and will learn from humanists how to address their particular needs for accommodation.

Bradley said a 2012 meeting at Fort Bragg featuring the president of the American Humanist Association required a “special request” because the group wasn’t officially recognized.

“Humanists have life events, just like any other human being,” such as weddings and naming ceremonies for babies, he said. “Accommodation for that type of events in life, I think, would be important for the chaplaincy to support.”

The religious preference designation could mean that humanist chaplains aren’t far behind.

Torpy’s organization and groups such as the Secular Coalition for America continue to seek humanist chaplains in the military. But Bradley said he sees a more gradual process: first the designation, then a layperson designated as a “distinctive faith group leader” and eventually a chaplain.

“The military doesn’t usually turn on a dime like that,” he said. “I would see it more as a progression of steps.”

I couldn't keep myself from posting this.....

HUMANISM

Name originally given to the intellectual, literary, and scientific movements of the fourteenth century through the early sixteenth. Their aim was to base every branch of learning on the culture of classical Greek and Roman antiquity. On its pagan side, it extolled the early non-Christian writers who stressed the full development of human nature, only vaguely interested in life after death. On its Christian side, believing humanists encouraged the free use of the treasures of antiquity without compromising the truths of the Gospel. Christian humanism began with Dante (1265-1321), while pagan humanism reached its peak in Petrarch (1304-74). Popes Pius II, Sixtus IV, and Leo X favored Christian humanism and did much to promote it. St. Thomas More (1478-1535) typified its best spirit in England. After the French Revolution the extreme humanistic spirit rebelled against Christian revelation and the Church.

All items in this dictionary are from Fr. John Hardon's Modern Catholic Dictionary, © Eternal Life. Used with permission.

Correct. Government schools are all about humanism.

The U.S. Supreme Court cited Secular Humanism as a religion in the 1961 case of Torcaso v. Watkins (367 U.S. 488). Roy Torcaso, the appellant, a practicing Humanist in Maryland, had refused to declare his belief in Almighty God, as then required by State law in order for him to be commissioned as a notary public. The Court held that the requirement for such an oath “invades appellant’s freedom of belief and religion.”
The Court declared in Torcaso that the “no establishment” clause of the First Amendment reached far more than churches of theistic faiths, that it is not the business of government or its agents to probe beliefs, and that therefore its inquiry is concluded by the fact of the profession of belief.
Actually, the Court in Torcaso rested its decision on “free exercise” grounds, not the “Establishment Clause.” Abington v. Schempp, 374 U.S. 203, 264-65 (1962) J. Brennan, concurring.

The Court stated:

We repeat and again reaffirm that neither a State nor the Federal Government can constitutionally force a person to “profess a belief or disbelief in any religion.” Neither can constitutionally pass laws or impose requirements which aid all religions as against non-believers,10 and neither can aid those religions based on a belief in the existence of God as against those religions founded on different beliefs.11

Footnote 11 concerning “religions founded on different beliefs” contains the Court’s citation of Secular Humanism as a religion. It states

Among religions in this country which do not teach what would generally be considered a belief in the existence of God are Buddhism, Taoism, Ethical Culture, Secular Humanism, and others. See Washington Ethical Society v. District of Columbia, 101 U.S. App. D.C. 371, 249 F.2d 127; Fellowship of Humanity v. County of Alameda, 153 Cal. App. 2d 673, 315 P.2d 394; II Encyclopedia of the Social Sciences 293; 4 Encyclopedia Britannica (1957 ed.) 325-327; 21 id., at 797; Archer, Faiths Men Live By (2d ed. revised by Purinton), 120-138, 254-313; 1961 World Almanac 695, 712; Year Book of American Churches for 1961, at 29, 47.

It is important to note that this citation of Secular Humanism as a religion is not merely dictum. The Supreme Court refers to the important 1957 case of Washington Ethical Society v. District of Columbia (101 U.S. App. D.C. 371) in its holding that Secular Humanism is a non-theistic religion within the meaning of the First Amendment.
The Ethical Culture movement is one denomination of Secular Humanism which reaches moral and cultural relativism, situation ethics, and attacks belief in a spiritual God and theistic values of the Old and New Testaments.
The Washington Ethical Society case involved denial of the Society’s application for tax exemption as a religious organization. The U.S. Court of Appeals reversed the Tax Court’s ruling, defined the Society as a religious organization, and granted its tax exemption.
The Court Stated,

The sole issue raised is whether petitioner falls within the definition of a “church” or a “religious society” . . . . The taxing authority urges denial of the tax exemption asserting petitioner is not a religious society or church and that it does not use its buildings for religious worship since “religious” and “worship” require a belief in and teaching of a Supreme Being who controls the universe. The position of the tax Court, in denying tax exemption, was that belief in and teaching of the existence of a Divinity is essential to qualify under the statute. . . . To construe exemptions so strictly that unorthodox or minority forms of worship would be denied the exemption benefits granted to those conforming to the majority beliefs might well raise constitutional issues . . . . We hold on this record and under the controlling statutory language petitioner qualifies as “a religious corporation or society” . . . .

It is incumbent upon Congress to utilize this broad definition of religion in all its legislative actions bearing on the support or non-support of religion, within the context of the “no-establishment” clause of the First Amendment.

http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=homosexualist

A term preferred by some writers in preference to using “homosexual” as a noun.

In a newsmagazine cover article on Gore Vidal in the late 1970s, the celebrated author and essayist explained that, since “homosexual” is used as an adjective (”homosexual fantasy”), the noun form needed something more, well, distinctive and substantive: he used “homosexualist” to describe someone who is gay in practice, or as a state of being.

One doesn’t argue lightly with Gore Vidal but there are precedents either way in forming nouns. “Alcoholic drink” / “Joe’s an alcoholic,” uses “alcoholic” first as an adjective, then as a noun. Similarly, “Green politics” / “Cary has become a Green.”

OTOH a medical practitioner of psychiatry is not a “psychiatric” (better used as an adjective = “psychiatric evaluation”), but a “psychiatrist,” a description of a person, not a field. One who enjoys sensual things is a “sensualist” but has an appreciation of the sensual.

.
“John is an out-of-the-closet homosexual”; OR
“John is an out-of-the-closet homosexualist.”

BUT ALSO: “John is a homosexual,” OR

“John is homosexual.” — BUT NOT:
“John is homosexualist.”

It is much to be hoped that the definitions above of “same-sex love” or “practitioner of same-sex love” will stand, despite the fact that many right-wingers use it almost as a slur (it can get clinical) and avoid “gay” as a neologism. Don’t think it isn’t political, either.

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