It is sometimes thought that Humanists have no consistent set of beliefs and that they have no values of their own. However, from time to time individuals and organisations have put forward useful guidelines on what might be considered as Humanist thought.

One such document was the International Humanist and Ethical Union (IHEU) Amsterdam Declaration 2002. This provided seven statements about Humanist principles.

However, a group of North East Humanists felt that elements of the Amsterdam Declaration could be expanded to answer basic questions that frequently arise from their own members, from guests at meetings and from acquaintances.

•What do Humanists believe?
•Where do Humanist values come from?
•Are there any practical guidelines on acceptable Humanist behaviour?

A working party was established to address these issues. The outcome of their studies is a discussion paper which is being widely circulated to see if there are some answers to these questions which might provide a series of assumptions against which individual Humanists can compare their own beliefs, values and actions.

The working party convener, John Hodge, will be pleased to have your comments and suggestions so that a more definitive version can be prepared. John's contact details are given in the paper.

Do take a look at the paper available in Acrobat PDF format by clicking here