Humanists Applaud Obama's Election

By David Niose

Many humanists are interpreting the latest election results as a major boost for the cause of reason, and clearly President Barack Obama’s victory is a step in the right direction, a victory against racial intolerance and an affirmation of anything-is-possible thinking. Humanists, however, should be careful before declaring victory and folding tents. In fact, the new political landscape is likely to present humanists and secularists with challenges that will be no less important than those faced under the outgoing administration.

Barack Obama ran on a platform of change, and he reiterated that theme in his November 4 victory speech at Grant Park in Chicago. “That is the true genius of America--that America can change,” he told his worldwide audience. Obama acknowledged that his election in itself reflects change, but he also reminded us that the change America needs is much greater than the mere election of one person, that there is still much work to do.

Obama’s words, of course, were directed at America as a whole, but they ring true especially for the humanist community. It would be a mistake of tragic proportions to assume that just because the religious right and its supporters have suffered a political setback our workload has become a whole lot lighter.

First and foremost, we should remember that humanism and secularism are still marginalized in American society, and that even our progressive allies often feel a need to distance themselves from us. Rational thinking dictates that such a status quo is unacceptable, and we must use this new climate of change to correct it, to improve our public image to the point that it is commonplace for ordinary Americans to identify openly as humanists and secularists.

Surely, at some point the pendulum is likely to swing in some way back in the direction of conservatism, and by the time that happens it is critical that our community be more established in the public eye, more accepted as a demographic that deserves a place at the table. If we succeed it will be more difficult, and maybe impossible, for a reinvigorated religious right to push us back to the margins. Once established as a segment of society worthy of respect, we can more easily defend prejudicial attacks and outlandish policy initiatives by religious conservatives.

Right now we are a small blip on the public’s radar screen, a barely recognized demographic in America. Even when we are mentioned in the media it’s usually in a negative way. For instance, in one of the rare instances when nonbelief came up in the recent election season, Sen. Elizabeth Dole (R-NC) attacked her Democratic opponent, Kay Hagan, for “taking Godless money” and carousing with atheists. Even though Dole’s attack backfired, with the election ultimately going to Hagan, we should also realize that Hagan fended off Dole’s allegations by appearing in public with her minister and distancing herself from nonbelievers. She failed to defend our community in any way. Such is the reality of today’s social and political landscape.

Of course this election means that humanists probably will have opportunities to work with other groups, religious and political, in pursuing a progressive agenda. The establishment has been shaken up, and we find ourselves in a position of possibly achieving policy goals on church/state separation, reproductive rights, and other areas that were not attainable during the Bush years. But we must also be mindful of the potential reemergence of the religious right, and defend against it by raising the visibility, in a positive way, of the humanist lifestance. While the religious right has been pushed to the sidelines, they are organized, well financed, and deeply entrenched in the so-called culture wars. If we emerge as an accepted and admired demographic, we make their agenda much more difficult, if not impossible, to achieve.

This is why the humanist and secular communities must be more vigilant than ever about raising our profile by encouraging people to openly identify as humanists and secularists. If we don’t successfully do that, we will deeply regret it when the pendulum swings right.

David Niose, a lawyer in Massachusetts, is a board member and the treasurer of the American Humanist Association and facilitator of Greater Worcester Humanists.