The Manifesto

1. Humanism is a secular life stance. Its starting point is that humans are part of nature, born free and equal in dignity and rights, equipped with reason and conscience.
2. Humanists hold that there is no pre-determined meaning to existence. We are all free to find meaning and purpose in our own lives; through individual reflection, social interactions and the rich culture humanity has created in science, philosophy and the arts.
3. Humanism promotes rationality. Critical inquiry, informed reasoning and scientific methods are our best tools for acquiring reliable knowledge of the world.
4. Humanists encourage critical inquiry of all ideas and opinions, including our own. We should seek out the best arguments and strive to change our minds and adjust our convictions when shown to be wrong. Freedom of speech is essential to test opinions in open debate.
5. Humanists consider democracy, rule of law and human rights to be crucial, rationally justified values. We are part of a society and have a responsibility for our fellow humans and the environment, both locally and globally. We must ensure that our planet is habitable for future generations.
6. Humanism promotes equality for all. Humanists respect freedom of belief and the right of everyone to choose their own life stance. The state should be secular and not grant special privileges to any life stance.

This is the original text in English.
See Swedish translation

About the Manifesto

The Nordic Humanist Manifesto 2016 was compiled by six Nordic organizations: Humanists Sweden (Humanisterna), the Danish Humanist Society (Humanistisk Samfund), the Icelandic Ethical Humanist Association (Siðmennt), the Finnish humanists (Suomen Humanistiliitto), the Finnish free thinkers (Vapaa-ajattelijain Liitto), and the Norwegian Humanist Association (Human-Etisk Forbund).

The boards of all organizations adopted the English version of the manifesto in the autumn of 2016, the year of the sixtieth anniversary of the Norwegian Humanist Association. It has been translated to the Nordic languages after its adoption. Additionally the Faroese humanist organization, Húmanistafélag Föroya, which was established in 2016, also have adopted the manifesto.