I'm a member of the American Humanist Association.

Since the year or so I've been a formal member, I'm often asked, "Why would you want to be a member of an organization like that? Aren't they all communist?"

When I began to seriously think about humanism back in 1995, a good friend of mine decided that I was going to be a communist. He's decided that I'm a socialist, too.

It doesn't seem to matter what I say to him. It doesn't matter how much I try and convince him, "I'm not a communist, a socialist or any other '-ist' except humanist." Because I'm a humanist, his reasoning seems to conclude that I must be some godless communist.

I found a funny poem that I like (by Curt Sytsma), and I tried to send it to him. He never responded.

In every age, the bigot's rage
Requires another focus,
Another devil forced on stage
By hatred's hocus-pocus:
The devil used to be the Jew
And then it was the witches;
And then it was the Negroes who
Were digging in the ditches.
The devil once was colored pink
And labeled Communistic;
Now, all at once, in just a blink,
The devil's humanistic.

A few months after I joined the American Humanist Association, I joined the Humanists of Utah, the local chapter here.

I tried taking my friend to a meeting once. I don't think it went over well. The Democratic nominee for Congress, Ross Anderson, was the speaker that day. I'm not a Democrat or a Republican, but I really enjoyed the talk. My friend thought Ross was a socialist communist.

Another close friend of mine (friend number two) learned from friend number one that I was a godless communist. Since I had just returned from a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, he found that to be a bit incredulous. I still find it incredulous. Since he had just returned from a mission, too, I told him I wasn't an Atheist, or any other type of "-ist" (though I didn't yet mention being a humanist).

My friend dropped the subject at my word.

A while later I explained why friend-number-one had felt I was a godless, atheistic communist. "I'm a member of the American Humanist Association."

What's that?" he asked.

I pulled out my membership card for the Humanists of Utah. On the back, it says: "Humanism is a natural way of life that promotes living joyfully and compassionately in the present, using innate intelligence, science, the humanities and experience as the methods for discovering truths . . . and to be an association where all can have a sense of belonging to a larger community that supports a positive philosophy of reason, integrity, and dignity."

He said, "I don't see anything about Atheism or Communism in that. In fact, I agree with it. Integrity and Reason: how can you argue with that?" I was relieved that he felt that way.

That night we went to his house to watch a video. His father came in, as he always does, to talk to us. His father and I are good friends, too. We talk mostly about books. My friend (friend-number-two) had a copy of History of the Jews, by Paul Johnson, on his bed. "Oh, the Jews," his father said. "Their history is rough. Their almost as stubborn as those awful secular humanists." Or something like that; I don't remember. The irony becomes almost humorous.

I've noticed that many of the fundamentalist Christian bent don't like humanism. They think that humanism is the greatest evil that can happen in the United States. After all, the United States is supposed to be a Christian Nation, right?

No, the U.S. is not a Christian Nation. The Bill of Rights was written so that any religion, belief or faith could be respected in the U.S. However, part of the point is so that a religion, belief or faith does not interfere with the state as well. It is called "Separation of Church and State." There's a statement that reads: "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances."

That makes the United States a secular nation. Secular means not under control of the Church; it also means of this mortal world. It does not mean anti-religious. It is not the opposite of religion. It merely focuses on the affairs of this world, and leaves religion to itself (unless religion is infringed upon, or religion is infringing upon others).

My girl friend at the time wasn't too big on humanism either. That was back in October of 1996, when I joined the humanists. She didn't want me to join. "Why?" I asked. She didn't say anything except that she didn't want to keep me from doing something I wanted to do. We talked about it later on. She asked me, "Is humanism a religion?"

No, humanism is not a religion. I told her that there are those who call themselves religious humanists. These individuals want a secular alternative to religion, and therefore decide to practice humanism in a religious way. They could be called a religion. But humanism, in general, is not a religion. It's an organization for the promotion of the philosophy, attitude and culture of humanism. If humanism is a religion, then so is the Democratic Party, the Republican Party, or the American Civil Liberties Union. That clearly is absurd. So the answer is no, no, no.

My mother asked me the other day where I was to be going that night after I left her house. (I was working on their computer, and not yet finished, I told her I had to leave.) "I'm going to a meeting with the Humanists of Utah."

"You don't believe in them, do you?" she asked, rather shocked, and probing. As if I'm a member of some evil cult.

Why can't people just ask what I believe? They always have to ask, Are you Mormon? Or, Are you Muslim, or Buddhist, or Hindu? Do you believe in God?

I don't mind these questions. But I do mind when someone tries to qualify my goodness, and my morality, by a question like "Are you Mormon?" Or an accusation of "You are humanist, therefore you are Communist, therefore you are amoral." That simply irks me to no end. That's ignorance. That's not taking the time to find out what the individual stands for, let alone the organization they're a member of.

I'm a humanist. I'm a good a person, and I support good things. Things like human dignity; responsibility for my own actions; life; scientific thinking and learning; respect for others beliefs and the things, people and organizations that they support; and for (as my friend Flo put it) Intelligent Compassion. Intelligent Compassion is not just tolerance. Tolerance almost seems like saying, "I'll just have to put up with you." Compassion is a good thing, but too many have compassion willy-nilly and get goaded into something they shouldn't. Intelligent Compassion however shows that you're not gullible, but at the same time concerned for your fellow human beings and for Nature as a whole.

I stand for all these good things, and I'm a humanist, and that's all there is to it.

--David Evans