Workshop no 5
Culture, morals, ethics, and religions: Their interconnection and how to find our way forward?
Chaired by Dr. Lars Gule, Secretary General, Norwegian Humanist Association

The workshop was announced with four speakers but due to unforeseen events only two of the presentations could be made. The following speeches set the background for the discussion in the workshop:

• Azam Kamguian: "Universal Citizen Rights vs. Group Rights" (speech presented in full here)
• K. Veeramani: "The Way Periyar E. V. Ramasamy struggled against the sanctified Indian Vedic Varna Dharma Jati (Cast) system to establish a rational humanist society"

Kamguian problematized multiculturalism and group rights, and emphasised the importance of maintaining universal moral claims. Veeramani presented the Periyar movement of Southern India as a model for peaceful and radical social change with a humanist content.

The topic of the workshop, "Culture, morals, ethics, and religions: Their interconnection and how to find our way forward?" was wide ranging and heterogeneous. The chair stressed the importance of maintaining a global perspective on the discussion. It was also important to base the discussion on both principles and experiences.

The discussion revealed important differences in the Humanist movement on the understanding of Human Rights and the balance between individual and collective rights. There were warnings against seeing people as representatives of cultures (or other groups) and not as individuals. However, it was also pointed out that certain rights, e.g. the right to a language, is a right that can only be practices as a collective right.

There were also differences in how to understand and interpret the basic right to freedom of religion and belief. While some Humanists (e.g. Kamguian in her speech) are defending the French law against the wearing of conspicuous religious symbols in schools by pupils and students, others (including the Norwegian Humanist Association) have protested against this ban.

What should be the means to move forward? This would depend on where we want to go, what our ideals are. And finding a way forward towards general respect for a common or universal human ethics will be difficult, for even Humanists disagree on important issues. Nevertheless, it will be important to find out when we engage in dialogue with or when to confront the various religious life stances. It is difficult to find a general answer but there was wide agreement that Humanists can engage in dialogue and cooperate with those who are willing to respect the fundamental human rights. On the other hand it is necessary to confront those who violate and undermine these rights.

While it was difficult to reach a consensus on the way forward, there was general agreement on emphasising Humanism as a positive approach to life, that Humanism is participatory and that Humanism defends and is based on Human Rights.