Secular Humanism in Public Schools?

One commonly heard complaint from the Religious Right is that our public schools promote secular humanism - an argument made largely on the basis of the fact that their brand of Christianity is not being promoted. Aside from that, however, is there any substance to this allegation? What does it mean to 'promote secular humanism' and where does this take place - in books, in classroom instruction, or where?

These are the questions addressed in an article by J.E. Hill:

Since the absence of the Christian religion (or any religion) is mandated for public schools by virtue of the Establishment Clause, the Religious Right asserts that secularism or humanism is taught by default. Well, how is that being accomplished? Nobody really knows, of course, and definitions are as vague as the claim itself. Inasmuch as the majority of teachers in this country are Christians, it begs the question as why they would overtly teach or preach a philosophy counter to their own beliefs. I suggest they would likely avoid any direct curriculum content that had secular humanism overtones--again, whatever that means.

The answer, I think, lies in intersection between the modern philosophy of Secular Humanism and our cultural inheritance known as Cultural Humanism. The latter comes to us from the philosophy, politics, and cultural productions of ancient Greece and Roman, much of it transmitted through the European Renaissance and Enlightenment. Secular Humanism derives much and, so, has much in common with Cultural Humanism; thus, the presence of the latter in our public schools can look an awful lot like the presence of the former.

 

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