About Secular Principles Pinky Swear

What's remarkable about these students is that they are NOT taking any kind of pledge in the traditional sense. Instead, they are just declaring their humanist values (values that include a commitment to being true to themselves, to being honest about their beliefs and values, and to taking a mature approach to life's important issues). In the Pinky Swear, there is no promise of loyalty to any institution or philosophy, no dogma of any kind.

Instead, the students declare their secular principles and they commit to being open about them, but they do not even promise to maintain a secular outlook forever. (How could they make such a promise?) They commit only to being open and honest about the beliefs they do have, and they promise only to not identify falsely as religious merely to appease family, friends, or anyone else.

The Pinky Swear is a direct challenge to dogmatic religious pledges, because it demonstrates how secular students can have strong values rooted in reason, how they can commit to being courageous in the face of cultural pressure. We're hoping the Pinky Swear catches on across the country, thereby raising public awareness and acceptance of humanism and helping young humanists to find the encouragement to declare their secular values and identity.

Please do what you can to expose everyone you know, especially young people, to the Pinky Swear. Let's hope in the coming months and years we see millions of young people wearing their "pinky rings" as a symbol of their commitment to secular values!