The American Humanist Association launched today what it calls its “Godless Holiday Campaign.” Its ad in the New York Times andWashington Post reads, “Why believe in god? Just be good for goodness’ sake.” The same ad will appear on Metro buses in Washington, D.C.
Bill Donohue, president of the Catholic League, responded as follows:
“It is a shame that an organization that worships nothing would be forced to crib its ‘Holiday Campaign’ ad from a Christmas song about St. Nick. More important is the reasoning employed by Roy Speckhardt, executive director of the American Humanist Association. He says that ‘Morality doesn’t come from religion. It’s a set of values embraced by individuals and society based on empathy, fairness and experience.’
“Codes of morality, of course, have always been grounded in religion. For those of us in Western civilization, its tenets emanate from the Judeo-Christian ethos. By casting this heritage aside, and replacing it with nothing more than the conscience of lone individuals, we lay the groundwork for moral anarchy. And that is because there is nothing that cannot be justified if the only moral benchmark is what men and women posit to be right and wrong. Indeed, every monster in history has followed his conscience.
“We know that militant secularists are busy flexing their muscles these days, but is it too much to expect them to act rationally? Highly recommended would be what we Catholics call ‘an examination of conscience,’ a process best fulfilled by repairing to the Catholic Catechismfor guidance.”
