A Brief History of Secular Humanism

The Secular Humanist Philosophy we see dominating Western thought in the 21st Century got its start in the 1960's. The founding gurus of the movement are usually identified as socialist Herbert Marcuse (who wrote many books including An Essay on Revolution, Counter-Revolution and Revolt), Educator Paulo Freire (Pedagogy of the Oppressed, Education for Critical Consciousness) and Harvard professor Derek Bell (Faces at the Bottom of the Well, Race, Racism and American Law), who is sometimes identified as the "father" of Critical Race Theory or CRT.

A key concept for these Secular Humanist gurus was that society could be divided into two classes: oppressors and victims. The proper role for government, they maintained, was to encourage revolution from the victim or oppressed class. Educator Paulo Freire attempted to reshape the main mission of educational institutions from training in basic skills such as the three R's into molding new revolutionaries to promote the new social justice order. The revolutionaries rose to power without any bullets or ballots. They simply rose to leadership positions in major institutions.

Secular Humanism proceeded in two phases: gradually (1960's to 1990's), and then suddenly (beginning around the early 21st century). The suddenly phase moved from heavy learning to heavy lifting as new voices led an activist approach to social justice. Major figures in the suddenly phase have included figures like billionaire philanthropist George Soros who almost single handedly changed the U.S. legal system to one in which many crimes are not effectively enforced; Racial Justice advocates like Nicole Hannah Jones (author of the 1619 Project in the New York Times), Robin DiAngelo (author of White Fragility), Ta-Nahisi Coates (Between the World and Me) and Ibrahim X Kendi (How to Be an AntiRacist); and Climate Change advocates including Michael Mann (author of the famous hockey stick chart), Bill McKibben, NASA's James Hansen, and Bill Nye the Science Guy.

These and many other elites including Big Tech executives, media celebrities, and organizations like the World Economic Forum have presented Secular Humanism as if it is just "self-evident common sense", but it has become a full-blown religion with official government sanction. The public seems to have acquiesced to rule by a few unelected experts to right the wrongs the experts have identified. Now that Secular Humanism has become the de-facto philosophical framework for American Society, it has become so entrenched as to be immune from all efforts to rein it in. Vigorous, passionate methods will be needed to put a speed bump into the path of Secular Humanism. The Church can play a vital role in exposing the hollowness of Secular Humanism as it boldly proclaims the gospel of Jesus Christ. May His light guide us!