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Congress of Secularists in Lebanon
The preparatory committee of the Congress of Secularists in Lebanon invites you to participate to the first congress for secularists in Lebanon that will be held on May 05 and 06, 2006 at the UNESCO Palace.
P.S.: Please find attached the program of the congress. click here for the program
Secularism as Positive Neutrality
Lebanon has faced a number of social, political, cultural and environmental problems but chief among them is the lack of human rights. Conscious of this major short coming most Lebanese citizens have denounced the problem and tried to fight it, hoping to rid their country of its sectarian system.
Unfortunately the solution does not merely reside in a non-sectarian political system nor in what is known as the "personal status" of citizens. These two false solutions will not only fail to change the sectarian political system but will strengthen its hold on Lebanon because they only serve the interests of a handful of people in power.
The real solution can only come from what we have called "Total Secularism", for it carries with it a positive neutrality towards all religions.
One often accuses Secularism of being hostile to religion, to society and human beings. This may be the reason it has been rejected and fought by those in power and a majority of the people. This accusation is nothing but a misunderstanding with no basis whatsoever.
To those who believe that Secularism can be equated with Atheism
To those who believe that Secularism will fight religion and religious leaders
To those who see in Secularism a danger to an integrated Lebanese National Unity, whose only guarantee is the present sectarian system, that is the equilibrium between the various Lebanese confessions
To all of you we say:
Secularism itself is the guarantee for:
- A stable national unity and true citizenry
- A true religious faith
- The building of a country based on social justice, equality and democracy
- No future civil war
Secularism can be defined as follows:
- The autonomy of the world's constituents dimensions and values vis a vis religion's constituents, dimensions and values.
- The autonomy of state and society, including institutions, fields of work and powers vis a vis religion. This autonomy, or self determination, (not independence, resistance of negligence) is conceived as a positive neutrality towards religion as well as a deep respect for all religions, a neutrality which would facilitate cooperation and promote interaction of social and religious values.
Neutrality will assert:
- That religion shall not interfere in the affairs of Society or State.
- That the State shall not interfere in personal or collective religious life.
- That neither religion nor the state shall try to dominate the other.
Autonomy therefore means that the world's values and institutions, primarily individuals, families and groups, have an intrinsic value, independent of any religion.
Secularism as a guarantee of religious faith.
To state that Secularism as positive neutrality guarantees a true and profound religious faith is to state that faith can be falsified by the pressure of religious institutions on human beings. Indeed, without freedom, faith looses its meaning. Without freedom, men are believers for psychological or social reasons. But in a secular political system each person will have the freedom to exercise his or her faith. Therefore it is the duty of true believers to work towards a secular society.
Secularism: a basic value.
Those who believe in secularism as positive neutrality believe that secularism is inherent to man's aspirations towards his own humanity. Like freedom and justice, solidarity and peace, secularism should be viewed as yet another dimension of the Human Rights Charter. One can even claim that secularism is the basic value on which all the others rest, since it promotes every human being and all that is human.