By MATT CHERRY
First published in the Albany Times Union, Saturday, July 3, 2004
An atheist, a Jew, a Hindu and a Christian walk into a room together. This sounds like the start of a joke, but it's actually a description of what I do at the United Nations every month.
As president of the Non-Governmental Organizations Committee on Freedom of Religion or Belief, I work within the U.N. system to promote and defend international agreements protecting freedom of conscience. I am a humanist and represent the International Humanist and Ethical Union at the United Nations. The other members of the committee's governing board are representatives of Orthodox Christian, Hindu, Unitarian, Jewish, Methodist and Seventh Day Adventist organizations.
Freedom of conscience, to believe or not to believe, as a person chooses is a fundamental human right. Article 18 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights states: "Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion; this right includes freedom to change his religion or belief, and freedom, either alone or in community with others and in public or private, to manifest his religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship and observance."
Subsequent U.N. agreements expanded on Article 18, culminating with the 1981 Declaration on the Elimination of All Forms of Intolerance and of Discrimination Based on Religion or Belief. These international agreements protect the freedom of nonreligious belief equally with the freedom of religious belief, the freedom of religion equally with the freedom from religion. Or to spell it out in the words of the United Nations: these rights "protect theistic, nontheistic and atheistic beliefs, as well as the right not to profess any religion or belief." As a humanist, I profess nontheistic beliefs. I do not believe in God or the supernatural. But I do believe in ethics based on reason and compassion. I also share with religious thinkers a sense that the fundamental questions of existence -- such as "What is the nature of the universe?" and "How should I live my life?" -- are of the greatest importance. As the United Nations' 1981 declaration on religion or belief states, "Religion or belief, for anyone who professes either, is one of the fundamental elements in his conception of life." Unfortunately, it is widely assumed that if you are nonreligious you must be anti-religious. Like most nonreligious people, I am not afraid to criticize religious beliefs that I think are wrongheaded or harmful, but that does not make me anti-religious. I respect and defend the right of people to hold religious beliefs.
In fact, I value the diversity of beliefs as a positive value. Humanists do not believe the one, final, absolute truth has been revealed to them. On the contrary, we think that all beliefs should be open to revision in the light of new evidence. Free inquiry is thus essential to the process of discovering reality and gaining insight about our own human experience. Humanists value tolerance and diversity as beneficial qualities in society. We don't just put up with different viewpoints because we have to; we believe that dialogue between different viewpoints can lead to progress in understanding that benefits everyone. Today is an exciting time for freedom of religion or belief. Since the fall of the Soviet bloc, hundreds of millions more people are free to follow their conscience. Human rights abuses are still severe in the communist countries that survive, but the new focus of concern is the Middle East and Central Asia. Fundamentalist forms of political Islam are totally opposed to freedom of religion. For example, converting to a different belief system is punishable by death in countries such as Iran and Saudi Arabia. In addition to monitoring government oppression, the NGO Committee on Freedom of Religion or Belief works to advance tolerance and understanding. The committee, of which I was chosen president in May after serving two years as its secretary, is working with U.N. agencies, educators and governments throughout the world to develop public school curricula that promote a culture of tolerance for different religions and beliefs.
In looking at the global picture, we should never forget that progress in human rights must be made in individual consciences as well as in courts and legislatures. And while an atheist, a Jew, a Christian and a Hindu meeting together may sound like the start of a joke, such meetings are actually the start of progress toward freedom of conscience for all members of the human family.
Cherry is executive director of the Institute for Humanist Studies in Albany and author of the Introduction to Humanism course at
www.HumanistEducation.com.
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