September 2026: How do you live?

“I was a-trembling, because I’d got to decide, forever, betwixt two things, and I knowed it. I studied a minute, sort of holding my breath, and then says to myself: “All right, then, I’ll go to hell.” 
Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1885) by Mark Twain

A rebuttal to a secular life is that without religion, how do you know how to live? 

When I have encountered this, it is not a genuine question but rather a wholecloth rejection and dismissal, as if the label unworthy has now been stamped across my forehead. 

But when we shift our worldview, as many of us have, it often comes with a deeper inspection of other worldviews and their evolution alongside our own. 

One component of some of the earliest secular moral compasses is the Harm Principle. 

“That the only purpose for which power can be rightfully exercised over any member of a civilised community, against his will, is to prevent harm to others.”

Best known from On Liberty by John Stuart Mill

Not surprisingly, you will see a moral line around harming others in many other frameworks like the French Constitution, the Declaration of Independence, Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948) and the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) 1989, the UNCRC is the most widely ratified human rights treaty in history.

It seems like a strong foundation for a moral compass. 

But what do secular people follow?

As secular folks know, the moral compass you follow is already within you. 

For some freethinkers, the idea that another group or person would tell you how to act is a huge turn off. For others, perhaps those transitioning from a religious world view, guiding principles can be helpful. And, for all of us, something to contemplate and help understand a given group’s view. 

Here are some examples:

Unitarian Universalist

Interdependence: We honor the interdependent web of all existence and acknowledge our place in it. With reverence for the great web of life and with humility, we acknowledge our place in it.

We work to protect Earth and all beings from exploitation. We create and nurture sustainable relationships of care and respect, mutuality and justice. We will work to repair harm and damaged relationships.

Pluralism: We are all sacred beings, diverse in culture, experience, and theology.

We learn from one another in our free and responsible search for truth and meaning. We embrace our differences and commonalities with Love, curiosity, and respect.

Justice: We work to be diverse multicultural Beloved Communities where all feel welcome and can thrive.

We work to dismantle racism and all forms of systemic oppression. We support the use of inclusive democratic processes to make decisions within our congregations, our Association, and society at large.

Transformation: We adapt to the changing world.

We collectively transform and grow spiritually and ethically. Openness to change is fundamental to our Unitarian and Universalist heritages, never complete and never perfect.

Generosity: We cultivate a spirit of gratitude and hope.

We freely and compassionately share our faith, presence, and resources. Our generosity connects us to one another in relationships of interdependence and mutuality.

Equity: We declare that every person is inherently worthy and has the right to flourish with dignity, love, and compassion.

Ethical Societies

“Deed before creed,” meaning that what one does is more important than what one professes.

What beliefs do Ethical Societies teach?

Freedom of Belief: When we stimulate our thinking with new insights and inspirations, our understanding of the world evolves, and we realize the full capacity of our human spirit.

Eliciting the Best: It is by acting in a way that encourages and elicits the better natures in others that we bring out the best in ourselves.

Respect for Human Worth: We treat all people as having inherent worth and a capacity for good, for kindness, for generosity and for personal growth.

Ethical Living: When we put into practice ethical principles such as love, justice, honesty, and forgiveness, we experience harmony within ourselves and in our relationships.

Reverence for Life: We cultivate the spiritual dimension in life by experiencing our interdependent connections to humanity, nature, and our inner values.

Respect for Science: Our understanding of the universe comes from observation, not revelation. Science is our key to unlocking the mysteries of creation.

American Humanist

Ten Commitments 

Altruism: “I will help others in need without hoping for rewards.”

Critical Thinking: “I will practice good judgment by asking questions and thinking for myself.”

Empathy: “I will consider other people’s thoughts, feelings, and experiences.”

Environmentalism: “I will take care of the Earth and the life on it.

Ethical Development: “I will always focus on becoming a better person.”

Global Awareness: “I will be a good neighbor to the people who share the Earth with me and help make the world a better place for everyone.”

Humility: “I will be aware of my strengths and weaknesses, and appreciate the strengths and weaknesses of others.”

Peace and Social Justice: “I will help people solve problems and handle disagreements in ways that are fair for everyone.”

Responsibility: “I will be a good person—even when no one is looking—and own the consequences of my actions.

Service and Participation: “I will help my community in ways that let me get to know the people I’m helping.”

Satanic Temple

There are seven fundamental tenets:

I.  One should strive to act with compassion and empathy toward all creatures in accordance with reason.

II. The struggle for justice is an ongoing and necessary pursuit that should prevail over laws and institutions.

III. One’s body is inviolable, subject to one’s own will alone.

IV. The freedoms of others should be respected, including the freedom to offend. To willfully and unjustly encroach upon the freedoms of another is to forgo one’s own.

V. Beliefs should conform to one’s best scientific understanding of the world. One should take care never to distort scientific facts to fit one’s beliefs.

VI. People are fallible. If one makes a mistake, one should do one’s best to rectify it and resolve any harm that might have been caused.

VII. Every tenet is a guiding principle designed to inspire nobility in action and thought. The spirit of compassion, wisdom, and justice should always prevail over the written or spoken word.

Reading all of these really gave me pause when I thought about the commandments I grew up with:

• I am the Lord your God: You shall not have strange Gods before me.
• You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain.
• Remember to keep holy the Lord’s Day.
• Honor your father and mother.
• You shall not kill.
• You shall not commit adultery.
• You shall not steal.
• You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.
• You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife.
• You shall not covet your neighbor’s goods.

I had actually not done this comparison so directly before and found it staggering. When reading the 10 commandments, they seem to lack kindness. There is no focus on other’s wellbeing, no learning to do better, no compassion or empathy. 

But when reading the commandments against these lists, I noticed what the commandments don’t ask of me. They tell me what to not do, but they never tell me to notice someone struggling, to make things right when I get it wrong, or to keep growing. 

In the moral climax of the novel Huckleberry Finn, by Mark Twain, Huck doesn’t follow his religious teachings, instead, he chooses to think for himself and choose what is morally right. Huck was raised to believe that helping an enslaved person escape is stealing, and stealing is a sin, but decides to help anyway. “All right, then, I’ll go to hell,” he says. Nobody handed Huck a better list. He just couldn’t ignore the inherent worthiness of the person in front of him. And that is a great way to live.