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THE PRINCIPLES OF SECULARISM

"Do the duty nearest hand,"--Goethe.

LONDON: BOOK STORE, 282, STRAND;

Austin. & Co., 17, Johnson's court, Fleet Street. 1871.

"If you think it right to differ from the times, and to make a stand for any valuable point of morals, do it, however rustic, however antiquated, however pedantic it may appear; do it, not for insolence, but seriously--as a man who wore a soul of his own in his bosom, and did not wait till it was breathed into him by the breath of fashion."--The Rev. Sidney Smith, Canon of St Paul's.

IN a passage of characteristic sagacity, Dr. J. H. Newman has depicted the partisan aimlessness more descriptive of the period when this little book first appeared, sixteen years ago, than it is now. But it will be long before its relevance and instruction have passed away. I therefore take the liberty of still quoting his words:--

How the organization of ideas has fared with higher class societies others can tell: the working class have been left so much in want of initiative direction that almost everything has to be done among them, and an imperfect and brief attempt to direct those interested in Freethought may meet with some acceptance. To clamour for objects without being able to connect them with principles; to smart under contumely without knowing how to protect themselves; to bear some lofty name without understanding the manner in which character should correspond to profession--this is the amount of the popular attainment.

In this new Edition I find little to alter and less to add. In a passage on page 27, the distinction between Secular instruction and Secularism is explained, in these words:--"Secular education is by some confounded with Secularism, whereas the distinction between them is very wide. Secular education simply means imparting Secular knowledge separately--by itself, without admixture of Theology with it. The advocate of Secular education may be, and generally is, also an advocate of religion; but he would teach religion at another time and treat it as a distinct subject, too sacred for coercive admixture into the hard and vexatious routine of a school. He would confine the inculcation of religion to fitting seasons and chosen instruments. He holds also that one subject at a time is mental economy in learning. Secular education is the policy of a school--Secularism is the policy of life to those who do not accept Theology."

Very few persons admitted that these distinctions existed when this passage was written in 1854. This year, 1870, they have been substantially admitted by the Legislature in concession made in the National Education. Bill. It only remains to add that the whole text has been revised and re-arranged in an order which seems more consecutive. The portion on Secular Organizations has been abridged, in part re-written, explaining particulars as to the Secular Guild.

A distinctive summary of Secular principles may be read under the article "Secularism," in Chambers's Cyclopaedia.

Historical characteristics, however, seemed to point to a term which expressed the Secular element in life; a term deeply engrafted in literature; of irreproachable associations; a term found and respected in the dictionaries of opponents, and to which, therefore, they might dispute our right, but which they could not damage. Instead, therefore, of finding ourselves self-branded or caricatured by this designation, we have found opponents claiming it, and disputing with us for its possession.

SECULARISM is the study of promoting human welfare by material means; measuring human welfare by the utilitarian rule, and making the service of others a duty of life. Secularism relates to the present existence of man, and to action, the issues of which can be tested by the experience of this life--having for its objects the development of the physical, moral, and intellectual nature of man to the highest perceivable point, as the immediate duty of society: inculcating the practical sufficiency of natural morality apart from Atheism, Theism, or Christianity: engaging its adherents in the promotion of human improvement by material means, and making these agreements the ground of common unity for all who would regulate life by reason and ennoble it by service. The Secular is sacred in its influence on life, for by purity of material conditions the loftiest natures are best sustained, and the lower the most surely elevated. Secularism is a series of principles intended for the guidance of those who find Theology indefinite, or inadequate, or deem it unreliable. It replaces theology, which mainly regards life as a sinful necessity, as a scene of tribulation through which we pass to a better world. Secularism rejoices in this life, and regards it as the sphere of those duties which educate men to fitness for any future and better life, should such transpire.

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