Tom Blackwell, National Post, February 14, 2004
A group of secular humanists trying to give a voice to Canada's "great, Godless masses" has won what it calls precedent-setting government recognition of humanism's value to Canadians.
Revenue Canada recently cut short a constitutional challenge on the issue and granted the Humanist Association of Toronto charitable status as an organization "beneficial to the community as a whole."
Offering an alternative to religion that rejects all notions of God, humanists say their movement has not always garnered such respect. The government originally rejected a request for charity designation by the Toronto group, whose mandate includes performing weddings and funerals "free of supernatural implications."
"To us, it's now quite clear: The promotion of humanism is of benefit to society in the eyes of the federal government," said Sheena Sharp, a spokeswoman for the association.
"For a long time, we've felt that we were not at the table, so to speak, when it comes to ethical concerns .... We think if people are going to be making decisions on this basis, someone should be standing up and speaking for the great, Godless masses."
Secular humanism is an outlook centered around human matters and human needs, seeking rational ways of solving moral problems, rather than relying on divine or supernatural forces.
The Toronto organization holds lectures, provides public speakers and performs non-religious weddings, funerals and "name-giving" ceremonies. Ms. Sharp said humanist groups are a voice on such issues as stem-cell research and abortion for some of the 18% of Canadians listed in the census as being atheists. Too often, she said, policy-makers and the media turn only to religious groups for moral views on such matters.
A couple of humanist organizations have obtained charitable status in the past. But it was done almost automatically, with the government providing no reasons for why they qualified and, since then, the criteria have tightened considerably, Ms. Sharp said. The tax department initially turned down the Toronto group's application, saying it fell under none of the four charitable categories: poverty relief, advancement of education, advancement of religion or general benefit to society.
Although humanists see their role as being similar to that of a religion, Revenue Canada ruled the association failed to qualify because its members did not "pray to a deity or supreme being."
The association appealed to the Federal Court of Canada, arguing the decision violated guarantees of equality and freedom of religion in the Charter of Rights.
In an out of-court-settlement of the case, the government finally granted status, specifying that the group was as an organization "beneficial to the community as a whole."
The Revenue Canada decision "makes us equal," Ms. Sharp said. "In a sense, it brings us to the table as a recognized player."
Dawna Labonte, a spokeswoman for the Canada Customs and Revenue Agency, said she could not comment on any specific case because of confidentiality rules. But she said the agency sometimes reverses its decision after suggesting ways a group can change its activities to fit the criteria.
Ms. Sharp said her association has not modified itself in any way.
Ronald de Sousa, a philosophy professor at the University of Toronto, said it is only right that humanists should get charity status alongside religious groups. Religions do not have a monopoly on moral authority, especially given the turmoil historically caused by spiritual beliefs and disputes, he said.
But Janet Epp Buckingham of the Evangelical Fellowship of Canada questioned why humanists should be granted charitable status, when many anti-abortion groups that consider themselves to be promoting particular moral values are denied status for being too political.