Wednesday, 8 th February, 2005

Had enough of Christians trying to impose their anti-abortion views? Horrified by Moslems trying to bully the world into submission? Think Scientologists are complete nutters? Saddened by Jewish militants clinging to the occupied territories in the name of God? Appalled by Hindu nationalists? Bemused by Buddhists believing in reincarnation? Then perhaps the recently formed Secular Party of Australia is for you.

The new party's website describes the Secular Party as having as its heritage "the philosophy of the Enlightenment, in particular the works of David Hume, Adam Smith and Jeremy Bentham." It continues:

"These thinkers explained the importance of finding human solutions to human problems, without resort to notions of the supernatural. They stressed the benefits to society of individual effort and enterprise, while bearing in mind the need to have regard for the common good of society, and of all humanity. The major achievements of modern societies are based on the application of such principles, establishing truth through reason and observation, and by the construction of rational social institutions without the involvement of religion.
Given the state of human knowledge, the persistent adherence to various forms of religious belief is unwarranted and unnecessary. Further, such beliefs are a significant factor in fostering social disharmony, and pose serious threats to global peace and security, compounding other grave global problems. The universal Humanist values of compassion, honesty, freedom and justice provide an ethical foundation superior to any provided by religion.
The Secular Party of Australia seeks to promote the values of Enlightenment philosophy and Humanist ethical principles. A key foundation for the implementation of such principles is an education system free of religious indoctrination. It is the mission of the Secular Party to promote humane secular values in all areas of Australian life, including in personal relations, and in social and economic policy. Globally, the Secular Party opposes the intervention of religion in the conduct of international relations and supports the strengthening of secular international institutions."

The party claims to be

* both socially liberal and economically liberal
* the only party which stands for separation of Church and State

"Right wing parties," it says, "allow economic freedom but oppose personal freedom, while left wing parties oppose economic freedom but allow personal freedom. The Secular Party is in favour of both economic freedom and personal freedom.

"Economically, the Secular Party is neither left nor right. Inevitably there are policy choices between private gain versus the public good. We believe that solutions to such questions are best achieved via application of reason and balanced judgement, rather than resort to any particular ideology.

"The Secular Party is non-religious rather than anti-religious, however we do recognise the supremacy of scientific method as a means of establishing truth. We therefore hold that excessive adherence to religious belief is both unwarranted and can he harmful to society and to the world. We hold that "separation of church and state", the ideal of secularism, is the key policy for the future of humanity."

The website says the party was founded by " a group of freethinkers, secularists and humanists" but I could find no names of anyone involved when I looked at the website apart from John Goldbaum, of 7 Rockwall Crescent, Potts Point NSW 2011 who is listed as authorising it.

The symbol of the new party

The Secular Party is non-religious rather than anti-religious, however we do recognise the supremacy of scientific method as a means of establishing truth. We therefore hold that excessive adherence to religious belief is both unwarranted and can he harmful to society and to the world. We hold that "separation of church and state", the ideal of secularism, is the key policy for the future of humanity.