A person's life stance, or lifestance, is their relation with what they accept as being of

ultimate importance In moral philosophy, instrumental and intrinsic value are the distinction between what is a ''means to an end'' and what is as an ''end in itself''. Things are deemed to have instrumental value (or extrinsic value) if they help one achieve a part ...

. It involves

presupposition In linguistics and philosophy, a presupposition is an implicit assumption about the world or background belief relating to an utterance whose truth is taken for granted in discourse. Examples of presuppositions include: * ''Jane no longer writes ...

s and commitment to exercise it in

theory A theory is a systematic and rational form of abstract thinking about a phenomenon, or the conclusions derived from such thinking. It involves contemplative and logical reasoning, often supported by processes such as observation, experimentation, ...

and

practice Practice or practise may refer to: Education and learning * Practice (learning method), a method of learning by repetition * Phantom practice, phenomenon in which a person's abilities continue to improve, even without practicing * Practice-based ...

in one's

life Life, also known as biota, refers to matter that has biological processes, such as Cell signaling, signaling and self-sustaining processes. It is defined descriptively by the capacity for homeostasis, Structure#Biological, organisation, met ...

. It can connote an integrated perspective on reality as a whole and how to assign valuations, thus being a concept similar or equivalent to that of a

worldview A worldview (also world-view) or is said to be the fundamental cognitive orientation of an individual or society encompassing the whole of the individual's or society's knowledge, culture, and Perspective (cognitive), point of view. However, whe ...

; with the latter word (derived from the German ) being generally a more common and comprehensive term. Like the term ''worldview'', the term ''life stance'' is a ''shared'' label encompassing both

religious Religion is a range of social- cultural systems, including designated behaviors and practices, morals, beliefs, worldviews, texts, sanctified places, prophecies, ethics, or organizations, that generally relate humanity to supernatural ...

perspectives (for instance: "a

Buddhist Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or ...

life stance" or "a

Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...

life stance" or "a

Pagan Paganism (, later 'civilian') is a term first used in the fourth century by early Christians for people in the Roman Empire who practiced polytheism, or ethnic religions other than Christianity, Judaism, and Samaritanism. In the time of the ...

life stance"), as well as non-religious spiritual or philosophical alternatives (for instance: "a

humanist Humanism is a philosophical stance that emphasizes the individual and social potential, and agency of human beings, whom it considers the starting point for serious moral and philosophical inquiry. The meaning of the term "humanism" ha ...

life stance" or "a personist life stance" or "a

Deep Ecology Deep ecology is an environmental philosophy that promotes the inherent worth of all living beings regardless of their instrumental utility to human needs, and argues that modern human societies should be restructured in accordance with such idea ...

life stance"), without discrimination in favour of any.

Origins of the phrase

Humanists Humanism is a philosophical stance that emphasizes the individual and social potential, and agency of human beings, whom it considers the starting point for serious moral and philosophical inquiry. The meaning of the term "humanism" has ...

interested in educational matters apparently coined the

neologism In linguistics, a neologism (; also known as a coinage) is any newly formed word, term, or phrase that has achieved popular or institutional recognition and is becoming accepted into mainstream language. Most definitively, a word can be considered ...

''life stance'' in the mid-1970s; Harry Stopes-Roe of the

Rationalist Press Association The Rationalist Association was a charity in the United Kingdom which published '' New Humanist'' magazine between 1885 and 2025. Since 2025, the Rationalist Press has been the publishing imprint of Humanists UK. The original Rationalist Press ...

and

British Humanist Association Humanists UK, known from 1967 until May 2017 as the British Humanist Association (BHA), is a charitable organisation which promotes secular humanism and aims to represent non-religious people in the UK through a mixture of charitable servic ...

developed the concept originally in that context. The term originally arose in the context of debates over the controversial content of the City of Birmingham's ''Agreed Syllabus for Religious Education'', 1975. That document referred to "non-religious stances for living". According to Barnes: In the late 1980s Harry Stopes-Roe initiated a successful campaign for the adoption of the term by the

International Humanist and Ethical Union Humanists International (known as the International Humanist and Ethical Union, or IHEU, from 1952–2019) is an international non-governmental organisation championing secularism and human rights, motivated by secular humanist values. Fou ...

and by other organisations (see also his comments quoted below on its provenance). It was not an uncontroversial proposal among humanists.Stopes-Roe (1988a, p. 21) commented that "I have found the degree of opposition to the term "life stance" among Humanists more surprising than the religionist's objection." See also the overview of the debate between Walter (1988a and 1988b) and Stopes-Roe (1988a and 1988b) in Fowler (199
pp. 3–4
. The term was introduced as part of an attempt to establish a clear identity for Humanism, in order to gain recognition and respect. According to Stopes-Roe:

Definition

Harry Stopes-Roe, who fought for the term's acceptance by the

Humanist Humanism is a philosophical stance that emphasizes the individual and social potential, and agency of human beings, whom it considers the starting point for serious moral and philosophical inquiry. The meaning of the term "humanism" ha ...

movement, defined "life stance" as follows: The British Humanist Association, drawing in part on jurisprudence related to the term "religion or belief" in the European Convention on Human Rights, has put forward a more analytical definition:

Orthography

A life stance may be distinguished from general support of a cause by

capitalization Capitalization ( North American spelling; also British spelling in Oxford) or capitalisation (Commonwealth English; all other meanings) is writing a word with its first letter as a capital letter (uppercase letter) and the remaining letters in ...

of the first letter. For instance, the life stance of Humanism is distinguished from

humanism Humanism is a philosophy, philosophical stance that emphasizes the individual and social potential, and Agency (philosophy), agency of human beings, whom it considers the starting point for serious moral and philosophical inquiry. The me ...

generally. Many life stances may contain humanism to a greater or lesser extent as

instrumental value In moral philosophy, instrumental and intrinsic value are the distinction between what is a ''means to an end'' and what is as an ''end in itself''. Things are deemed to have instrumental value (or extrinsic value) if they help one achieve a part ...

in order to fulfill their own chosen intrinsic value(s). However, Humanism regards it as having intrinsic value. Not all life stances use this orthography.

Spectrum

The term was intended to be a ''shared'' label encompassing both

religion Religion is a range of social system, social-cultural systems, including designated religious behaviour, behaviors and practices, morals, beliefs, worldviews, religious text, texts, sanctified places, prophecies, ethics in religion, ethics, or ...

s and alternatives to religion, without discrimination in favour of either. A life stance differs from a

or a belief system in that the term ''life stance'' emphasizes a focus on what is of ultimate importance. Life stance differs from

eupraxsophy Paul Kurtz (December 21, 1925 – October 20, 2012) was an American scientific skeptic and secular humanist. He has been called "the father of secular humanism". He was Professor Emeritus of Philosophy at the State University of New York at Buff ...

in that the latter typically implies a strictly non-theistic outlook, whereas a life stance can be theistic or non-theistic, supernaturalistic or naturalistic.

Religious life stances

A ''religion'' is a set of beliefs and practices, often centered upon specific supernatural and/or moral claims about

reality Reality is the sum or aggregate of everything in existence; everything that is not imagination, imaginary. Different Culture, cultures and Academic discipline, academic disciplines conceptualize it in various ways. Philosophical questions abo ...

, the

cosmos The cosmos (, ; ) is an alternative name for the universe or its nature or order. Usage of the word ''cosmos'' implies viewing the universe as a complex and orderly system or entity. The cosmos is studied in cosmologya broad discipline covering ...

, and

human nature Human nature comprises the fundamental dispositions and characteristics—including ways of Thought, thinking, feeling, and agency (philosophy), acting—that humans are said to have nature (philosophy), naturally. The term is often used to denote ...

, and often codified as

prayer File:Prayers-collage.png, 300px, alt=Collage of various religionists praying – Clickable Image, Collage of various religionists praying ''(Clickable image – use cursor to identify.)'' rect 0 0 1000 1000 Shinto festivalgoer praying in front ...

ritual A ritual is a repeated, structured sequence of actions or behaviors that alters the internal or external state of an individual, group, or environment, regardless of conscious understanding, emotional context, or symbolic meaning. Traditionally ...

, and

law Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior, with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been variously described as a science and as the ar ...

. Religion also encompasses ancestral or cultural

tradition A tradition is a system of beliefs or behaviors (folk custom) passed down within a group of people or society with symbolic meaning or special significance with origins in the past. A component of cultural expressions and folklore, common e ...

s, writings, history, and

mythology Myth is a genre of folklore consisting primarily of narratives that play a fundamental role in a society. For scholars, this is very different from the vernacular usage of the term "myth" that refers to a belief that is not true. Instead, the ...

, as well as personal

faith Faith is confidence or trust in a person, thing, or concept. In the context of religion, faith is " belief in God or in the doctrines or teachings of religion". According to the Merriam-Webster's Dictionary, faith has multiple definitions, inc ...

and mystic experience. The term "religion" refers to both the personal practices related to communal faith and to group rituals and communication stemming from shared conviction. In the frame of European religious thought, religions present a common quality, the "hallmark of patriarchal religious thought": the division of the world in two comprehensive domains, one sacred, the other profane.Durkheim 1976, p. 36 Religion is often described as a communal system for the coherence of belief focusing on a system of thought, unseen being, person, or object, that is considered to be

supernatural Supernatural phenomena or entities are those beyond the Scientific law, laws of nature. The term is derived from Medieval Latin , from Latin 'above, beyond, outside of' + 'nature'. Although the corollary term "nature" has had multiple meanin ...

, sacred,

divine Divinity (from Latin ) refers to the quality, presence, or nature of that which is divine—a term that, before the rise of monotheism, evoked a broad and dynamic field of sacred power. In the ancient world, divinity was not limited to a singl ...

, or of the highest

truth Truth or verity is the Property (philosophy), property of being in accord with fact or reality.Merriam-Webster's Online Dictionarytruth, 2005 In everyday language, it is typically ascribed to things that aim to represent reality or otherwise cor ...

Moral code Morality () is the categorization of intentions, decisions and actions into those that are ''proper'', or ''right'', and those that are ''improper'', or ''wrong''. Morality can be a body of standards or principles derived from a code of conduc ...

s, practices, values, institutions, tradition,

philosophy Philosophy ('love of wisdom' in Ancient Greek) is a systematic study of general and fundamental questions concerning topics like existence, reason, knowledge, Value (ethics and social sciences), value, mind, and language. It is a rational an ...

, rituals, and

scripture Religious texts, including scripture, are texts which various religions consider to be of central importance to their religious tradition. They often feature a compilation or discussion of beliefs, ritual practices, moral commandments and ...

s are often traditionally associated with the core belief. Religion is also often described as a "way of life".

Non-religious life stances

Alternatives to religion include life stances based on

atheism Atheism, in the broadest sense, is an absence of belief in the Existence of God, existence of Deity, deities. Less broadly, atheism is a rejection of the belief that any deities exist. In an even narrower sense, atheism is specifically the ...

agnosticism Agnosticism is the view or belief that the existence of God, the divine, or the supernatural is either unknowable in principle or unknown in fact. (page 56 in 1967 edition) It can also mean an apathy towards such religious belief and refer t ...

deism Deism ( or ; derived from the Latin term '' deus'', meaning "god") is the philosophical position and rationalistic theology that generally rejects revelation as a source of divine knowledge and asserts that empirical reason and observation ...

skepticism Skepticism ( US) or scepticism ( UK) is a questioning attitude or doubt toward knowledge claims that are seen as mere belief or dogma. For example, if a person is skeptical about claims made by their government about an ongoing war then the p ...

freethought Freethought (sometimes spelled free thought) is an unorthodox attitude or belief. A freethinker holds that beliefs should not be formed on the basis of authority, tradition, revelation, or dogma, and should instead be reached by other meth ...

pantheism Pantheism can refer to a number of philosophical and religious beliefs, such as the belief that the universe is God, or panentheism, the belief in a non-corporeal divine intelligence or God out of which the universe arisesAnn Thomson; Bodies ...

secular humanism Secular humanism is a philosophy, belief system, or life stance that embraces human reason, logic, secular ethics, and philosophical naturalism, while specifically rejecting religious dogma, supernaturalism, and superstition as the basi ...

spiritual but not religious "Spiritual but not religious" (SBNR), also known as "spiritual but not affiliated" (SBNA), or less commonly "more spiritual than religious", is a popular phrase and initialism used to self-identify a life stance of spirituality that does not reg ...

(SBNR),

Objectivism Objectivism is a philosophical system named and developed by Russian-American writer and philosopher Ayn Rand. She described it as "the concept of man as a heroic being, with his own happiness as the moral purpose of his life, with productive a ...

existentialism Existentialism is a family of philosophical views and inquiry that explore the human individual's struggle to lead an authentic life despite the apparent absurdity or incomprehensibility of existence. In examining meaning, purpose, and valu ...

, modern incarnations of Hellenistic philosophies, or general

secularism Secularism is the principle of seeking to conduct human affairs based on naturalistic considerations, uninvolved with religion. It is most commonly thought of as the separation of religion from civil affairs and the state and may be broadened ...

Humanism

Humanism Humanism is a philosophy, philosophical stance that emphasizes the individual and social potential, and Agency (philosophy), agency of human beings, whom it considers the starting point for serious moral and philosophical inquiry. The me ...

is an example of life stance which may be considered to be religious (usually in a non-theistic, ethical sense) or non-religious or anti-religious. One of Stopes-Roe's reasons for advocating the adoption of "life stance" as a label for the Humanist movement, was his hope that it would end the arguments between the different sides as to how best to characterise their position (note that Stopes-Roe uses the term "god-religious" to distinguish theists from non-theists in what follows): Bill Cooke comments:

Values and purposes

Different life stances differ in what they hold as intrinsic values and purposes in life.

References

Bibliography

*Barnes, L. Philip (2008). "The 2007 Birmingham Agreed Syllabus for Religious Education: a new direction for statutory religious education in England and Wales", ''Journal of Beliefs & Values'', Vol. 29 (1), April, pp. 75–83. *British Humanist Association (1975). ''Objective, fair and balanced: a new law for religion in education.'' London: BHA. *Cooke, Bill (2003). ''The Blasphemy Depot: a hundred years of the Rationalist Press Association''. London: RPA. *Cox, E. (1975). "Principles behind Syllabus Making", ''Learning for Living'', Vol. 4 (4), p. 132. *Fowler, Jeaneane D (1999). ''Humanism: beliefs and practices'', Brighton: Sussex Academic Press. *Greer, J.E. (1985). "Edwin Cox and Religious Education", ''British Journal of Religious Education'', Vol. 8 (1), pp. 13–1

*Hull, John (1984). ''Studies in Religion and Education'', London: Falmer. *Kurtz, Paul et al. (ed) (1989). ''Building a world community: humanism in the 21st century'', Prometheus Books, pp. 166– *Slotte, Pamela (2008). "Waving the ‘Freedom of Religion or Belief’ Card, or Playing It Safe: Religious Instruction in the Cases of Norway and Finland", ''Religion and Human Rights'' Vol. 3 (1), March, pp. 33–6

*Stopes-Roe, H rryV. (1976). "The concept of a 'life stance' in education." ''Learning for living'', Vol. 16 (1), Autumn, pp. 25–28. *Stopes-Roe, Harry (1983). "Moral Practice and Ultimate Reality", ''Journal of Moral Education'', Vol. 12 (2), pp. 81–91. *Stopes-Roe, Harry (1987). "Humanism as a life stance", ''Free Inquiry'', Vol. 8 (1), Winter 1987/88, pp. 7–9, 56. *Stopes-Roe, Harry (1988a), "Humanism as a life stance", ''New Humanist'', Vol. 103, (2) October, pp. 19–21. *Stopes-Roe, Harry (1988b). "Controversy: In defence of a life stance", ''New Humanist'', Vol. 103 (4), December, pp. 8–9. *Stopes-Roe, Harry (1996). "The Presuppositions of Dialogue: a fair vocabulary." ''Journal for the Critical Study of Religion, Ethics and Society'', Vol. 1 (2), Summer/Fall, pp. 9–15. *Stopes-Roe, Harry (2007). "Life stance", in Flynn, Tom (ed.). ''The New Encyclopedia of Unbelief''. Amherst, New York: Prometheus, pp. 506–507. *Walter, Nicolas (1988a). "Rationally speaking: against Humanism as a life stance." ''New Humanist'', Vol. 103 (3), October, p. 4. *Walter, Nicolas (1988b). "Rationally speaking: what kind of humanists?", ''New Humanist'', Vol. 103 (4), December, p. 4. {{Authority control Personal life Intention Belief Philosophical theories