May 1, 2009

Muslim Demographics and the Future of Western Secular Humanism

source: virgorama


I watched this disturbing video today, and many things came to my mind. Granted, the video is sensationalist and biased towards Christianity, and basically states that western civilization is irreversibly disappearing and being replaced by a predominantly Muslim population. But what worries me is not the decline of Christianity, but the potential disappearance of western secular humanism.

But what is secular humanism and why is it important? The Council for Secular Humanism describes it as a world view with the following elements and principles:

  • A conviction that dogmas, ideologies and traditions, whether religious, political or social, must be weighed and tested by each individual and not simply accepted on faith.
  • Commitment to the use of critical reason, factual evidence, and scientific methods of inquiry, rather than faith and mysticism, in seeking solutions to human problems and answers to important human questions.
  • A primary concern with fulfillment, growth, and creativity for both the individual and humankind in general.
  • A constant search for objective truth, with the understanding that new knowledge and experience constantly alter our imperfect perception of it.
  • A concern for this life and a commitment to making it meaningful through better understanding of ourselves, our history, our intellectual and artistic achievements, and the outlooks of those who differ from us.
  • A search for viable individual, social and political principles of ethical conduct, judging them on their ability to enhance human well-being and individual responsibility.
  • A conviction that with reason, an open marketplace of ideas, good will, and tolerance, progress can be made in building a better world for ourselves and our children.

Secular Humanism has played a very important role in the advancement of science and the separation of church and state in many western societies. Keeping absolute morals and superstition away from legislation ensures equal rights for people regardless of how accepting the general population might be about their lifestyles and sexual orientation. It also keeps the more fundamentalist factions of society from imposing their views on others who might not share them.

So, and back to the issue, could we be moving towards some sort of apocalyptic post-secular western theocracy? It would appear so. Richard Dawkins made the very good analogy of comparing faith to a virus, and this seems to be the case today. Muslim families are reproducing much faster than western secular families, and they are indoctrinating their children into one of the most virulent dogmas today, a religion where doubt is forbidden, every non-Muslim is a heretic, and where apostasy is traditionally punished with death.

And if it wasn't bad enough, Muslim groups are pushing to include the Sharia Law in secular democracies and to forbid any criticism to their faith via lobbying in the United Nations. But can this be stopped? How did we even get to this stage? Both questions deserve to be addressed individually in separate posts.


*EDIT*

A friend of mine sent me a good article that helps keep the issue in perspective: Do Muslims Have More Children Than Other Women in Western Europe?. Things might not be that bad after all.

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