North Carolina Society for Ethical Culture

Eight Commitments of Ethical Culture
(Ethical Humanism)

Always act so as to elicit the best in others, and thereby in yourself.
- Felix Adler, founder of Ethical Culture

1. Ethics is central.

   The most central human issue in our lives involves creating a more humane world.

2. Ethics begins with choice.

   Creating a more humane world begins by affirming the need to make significant choices in our lives.

3. We choose to treat each other as ends, not means.

   To enable us to be whole in a fragmented world, we choose to treat each other as unique individuals having intrinsic worth.

4. We seek to act with integrity.

   Treating one another as ends requires that we learn to act with integrity. This includes keeping commitments, and being more open, honest, caring, and responsive.

5. We are committed to educate ourselves.

   Personal progress is possible, both in wisdom and in social life. Learning how to build ethical relationships and cultivate a humane community is a life-long endeavor.

6. Self-reflection and our social nature require us to shape a more humane world.

   Growth of the human spirit is rooted in self-reflection, but can only come to full flower in community. This is because people are social, needing both primary relationships and larger supportive groups to become fully human. Our social nature requires that we reach beyond ourselves to decrease suffering and increase creativity in the world.

7. Democratic process is essential to our task.

   The democratic process is essential to a humane social order because respect for the worth of persons requires democratic process which elicits and allows a greater expression of human capacities.

8. Life itself inspires religious response.

   Although awareness of impending death intensifies the human quest for meaning, the mystery of life itself, and the need to belong, are the primary factors motivating human religious response.

Written in collaboration with leaders and members of the American Ethical Union, coordinated by Lois Kathleen Kellerman, Leader, Brooklyn Society for Ethical Culture.

Last Modified: Sunday, October 23, 2005
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