Humanism for Africa
By Roy Brown

Africa and Human Development

We, the human race, first appeared in Africa over 100,000 years ago. Through migration over the following millennia Homo Sapiens came to dominate the entire planet. But as civilisation triumphed elsewhere, Africa lagged behind. The reasons why are complex, and the debate is muddied by the accusations of racism or neo-colonialism likely to be heard whenever a westerner dares to speak about Africa's problems. But the facts are there for anyone prepared to look. For whatever the reasons, sub-Saharan Africa lags behind every other continent in terms of human development.

What do I mean by "human development"? The Human Development Index, published annually by the UN Development Fund, is an attempt to provide a way of comparing the quality of life of the average man and woman in different countries. It measures average life expectancy, infant and maternal mortality, average income, average years of education for both boys and girls, and so on, and arrives at a composite figure that combines all of these into a single index. Top of the list this year is Norway, closely followed Iceland, Sweden, Australia and the Netherlands. Uganda comes in at 147th and Nigeria 151st of the 175 countries listed. All of the bottom 25 countries in the list are in sub-Saharan Africa.

Why has Africa lagged so far behind? The reasons include history, culture, colonialism, corruption and war, as well as environmental factors and lack of investment. And of course what progress we were seeing until the early 1990s has effectively been stopped dead in its tracks by the scourge of HIV/AIDS.

In one short speech I cannot begin to discuss in any depth the series of measures Africa needs to bootstrap itself out of trouble. But what I can do is suggest that some of the current trends that we are seeing are without question leading Africa in the wrong direction. One particular trend that I find wholly negative is the increasing influence of religion: of evangelical Christianity and radical Islam. As Leo Igwe pointed out in the May 2004 edition of International Humanist News:
".. throughout history, religious mercenaries - evangelical Christians and Islamic jihadists who seek to convert Africans to the alien faiths - have invaded the black continent. They preach submission to the wills of their "Gods" and salvation in the afterlife as answers to Africa's problems. Yet Africa's problems still remain and in fact have grown and multiplied. Christianity and Islam have remained impotent in the face of Africa's troubles. Instead the two religions have contributed to Africa's woes, to its stagnation, alienation and general under-development. Indeed Christianity and Islam have thrived and flourished while Africans suffer, starve and die."

We only have to look at the overflowing churches and mosques and the increasing levels of religious violence: the riots, killing and burning, to see how true that is. Or to consider the contemptible lies spread by the Catholic hierarchy about the efficacy of condoms in the fight against HIV/AIDS - based not on medical science, but on the historical aversion of the church to contraception.

It is ironic that much of the current success of the twin superstitions of Christianity and Islam is based not on their "eternal truth", but on the profits from science and technology. The American people give about $60 billion a year to charity, almost all of which goes to churches and religious organisations, much of it to fund their evangelical activities around the world. Yet it was the scientific, rational revolution, the triumph of scientific naturalism, that fuelled the economic growth that created the wealth that finances their modern evangelism. The Islamic revolution has been financed by Saudi oil money. Oil that would never have found a market without the modern technological revolution. The Saudis are estimated to have spent over $100 billion on promoting Islam during the past 40 years. And now, instead of Africa being offered the benefits of the technological revolution, it is being offered the dross - the authoritarian, oppressive and inhuman alternatives of radical Islam and fundamentalist Christianity.

There is a better alternative. While Humanism may not have the financial resources to compete with Islam and Christianity, it does have, quite simply, a better message - a more humane and a more rational world view on which to build our understanding and our way of life. Humanism values altruism above selfishness; concern for others above greed; and the spirit of free inquiry above superstition. It is a world view that liberates rather than oppresses; that frees the mind from fear and guilt; and recognises above all that we share a common humanity.

The Humanist Worldview

For Christians, Muslims and most religious people, the material world that we touch and feel is only part of the story. There is another world, a spirit world, parallel to our own, inhabited by a god or gods, by angels, demons, djinns and the like. The inhabitants of this parallel world are in constant struggle for our souls. If the demons, the agents of Satan win, we are damned to burn for eternity in hellfire.
Such infantile ideas have no place in Humanism.

Bertrand Russell once wrote that he was never quite comfortable with Humanism. "Those who attempt to make a religion of Humanism, which recognises nothing greater than man, do not satisfy my emotions", he said. But in this, I suggest, he misunderstood the nature of Humanism. Humanism is not merely atheism, not merely rationalism, but rationalism in the service of compassion. From its concern for the well-being of others comes humanist morality, independent of any divine decree or threat of hellfire. And as Richard Dawkins has shown in "Un-weaving the Rainbow", a rationalist outlook can be deeply emotionally fulfilling.

For Humanists, there is indeed another world, but not a world inhabited by gods, angels and evil spirits, by forces that must be placated. Rather, it is the world of ideas and of emotions. It is the world wherein lies our understanding: the world of thought, of dreams and imagination. And it is in this world that the gods and spirits lurk, creatures of the human imagination, unable to harm us except through human agency, through the actions of the believers.

But the other world, the world of ideas, is also the world of science and mathematics. It is a world still being explored, a world we may possibly never come to know completely. But above all, it is a world of great beauty. Our sense of awe at the wonders of nature, our love for our families and for one another, is part of this other world. It is the world of human consciousness. It is an integral part of our nature, not separate from it. This other world owes nothing to any deity, it is an emergent phenomenon, a feature of the natural world.

The great appeal of Christianity and Islam lies in their ready answers to the great existential questions. The fact that their answers are unwarranted and unsupported by reason seems not to matter, such is our overwhelming desire for certainty in an uncertain world. But both Christianity and Islam - as preached by the evangelicals and fundamentalists - are exclusive rather than inclusive. Both pander to the superstitious instinct. Both use "miracle" cures as part of their stock in trade. They preach their own superiority and denigrate and demonise the non-believer and the different. We can see the results today in religious conflict in Nigeria, Uganda, and the Sudan, and in the ill treatment of minorities, unbelievers and "others" throughout Africa.

As Abdelfattah Amor, UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion or Belief said recently, "All religions have a problem with women". This is as true of the traditional religions of Africa as it is with Christianity, Islam, Hinduism or Buddhism. Humanism is unique in that it values all equally - both men and women. Humanism is founded in the worth, dignity and autonomy of every individual and the right of every human being to the greatest possible freedom compatible with the rights of others.

What Africa needs is rationalism rather than superstition. Christianity and Islam both seek to replace one set of superstitions by another. And by asserting the superiority of the spirit world, both Christianity and Islam encourage neglect of the material world and seek to devalue both human life and human experience. Africa needs to retain its instinctive understanding of our oneness with nature, but to replace magic and superstition by rationalism and science. A continent weighed down by superstition does not need more of the same!

Humanism in practice

How does Humanism work in practice? For one telling example, we need look no further than the problem of HIV/AIDS. We know that sex is one of the great driving forces of human life. Yet for the Christian churches, Catholic, Protestant or Evangelical, sex is equated with sin. For most Muslims, sex is a private matter and to discuss such matters in public is considered shameful. So how do these two great religions address the problem of AIDS? Very badly. With the finger-pointing guardians of Christian and Islamic morality breathing down their necks, many African governments have refused to discuss the issue of HIV infection frankly and openly, and to offer advice to the public about unsafe sex. This has been a major obstacle to preventing the spread of AIDS. This folly has been compounded by the blind refusal of some leaders, for their own political reasons, to address the issue rationally.

When George W. Bush visited Africa last year he pledged $5 billion over five years for the fight against AIDS. But ever mindful of his supporters on the Christian right, one third of this money was to be spent on "abstinence-only" education. This, despite overwhelming data that such programs are ineffective and that for many young African women abstinence is simply not an option. But what true believer ever let the facts stand in the way of religious certainty? One is forced to the appalling conclusion that many Christians would rather see millions suffer for their "immorality" than to permit them to be offered advice about safe sex.

The humanist approach: the approach promoted by the United Nations Population Fund, the International Planned Parenthood Federation and all responsible aid agencies - is called: ABC:
Avoid unprotected sex
Be faithful
Use a Condom.
This is the approach that was adopted several years ago in Uganda with results that speak for themselves.

The Principles of Humanism

The fundamental principles of modern Humanism are spelled out in the Amsterdam Declaration of 2002, adopted unanimously by the 15th World Humanist Congress and the IHEU General Assembly in July 2002. I recommend that document to you. Let me read some extracts that I find particularly relevant today.
Humanism is ethical. It affirms the worth, dignity and autonomy of the individual and the right of every human being to the greatest possible freedom compatible with the rights of others. Humanists have a duty of care to all of humanity including future generations. Humanists believe that morality is an intrinsic part of human nature based on understanding and a concern for others, needing no external sanction.
Humanism is rational. It seeks to use science creatively, not destructively. Humanists believe that the solutions to the world's problems lie in human thought and action rather than divine intervention.
Humanism supports democracy and human rights. Humanism aims at the fullest possible development of every human being. It holds that democracy and human development are matters of right.
Humanism insists that personal liberty must be combined with social responsibility. Humanism ventures to build a world on the idea of the free person responsible to society, and recognises our dependence on and responsibility for the natural world. Humanism is un-dogmatic, imposing no creed upon its adherents. It is thus committed to education free from indoctrination.

I would suggest that these are the qualities that Africa needs today. Nowhere on earth does the need for the humanist message seem more urgent: the message of our common humanity, of respect for the dignity and autonomy of the individual, and of the need for rationalism rather than superstition. Africa needs free minds and free bodies, not minds enslaved, nor bodies constrained by medieval customs and beliefs.

Africa needs Humanism.

Thank you.

Roy Brown is president of the International Humanist and Ethical Union