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Who is a Secular Humanistic Jew (KSJ Home)
Secular Person: A person who explains observations and feelings in natural, nontheistic, concrete ways.

Secular Humanism: A rational philosophy informed by science, inspired by art and motivated by compassion. Affirming the dignity of each human being, it supports the maximization of individual liberty and opportunity consonant with social and planetary responsibility. It advocates the extension of participatory democracy and the expansion of the open society, standing for human rights and social justice. Free of supernaturalism, it recognizes human beings as a part of nature and holds that values - be they religious, ethical, social, or political - have their source in human instinct, experience, and culture. Humanism thus derives the goals of life from human need and interest rather than from theological or ideological abstractions, and asserts that humanity must take responsibility for its own destiny. (Definition of Humanism in The Humanist, May/June 1997)

Jew: A person of Jewish descent or any person who declares himself or herself to be a Jew; and who identifies with the community, history, ethical values, culture, civilization and fate of the Jewish people. (Adapted from the Resolution of the International Federation of Secular Humanistic Jews, Second Biennial Conference, Brussels, Belgium, October 1, 1988). Jewish ethical values include among others love of learning, personal responsibility for our actions and their consequences, Tsedakah (duty vs. charity), social justice, respect for life and love of life (this life is worth living and enjoying)

Secular Humanistic Jew: A person who belongs to and carries on the traditions of the Jewish people; who respects and works to increase human integrity and dignity; who explains all experience, including that of the Jewish people, in natural ways; who uses critical thinking bound by experience and tested in a public forum to evaluate explanations; and whose significant goals include among others increasing the happiness, freedom, social justice and progress of humankind.