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“Skeptic” today usually means someone who doubts the truth of religious and other supernatural or “paranormal” beliefs, typically on rationalist grounds. (‘Skeptic’ also has a special philosophical meaning: someone who rejects or is skeptical with regard to all claims to knowledge).

“Secularists” believe that laws and public institutions (for example, the education system) should be neutral as between alternative religions and beliefs. Almost all humanists are secularists, but religious believers may also take a secularist position which calls for freedom of belief, including the right to change belief and not to believe.  Secularists seek to ensure that persons and organizations are neither privileged nor disadvantaged by virtue of their religion or lack of it. They believe secular laws – those that apply to all citizens – should be the product of a democratic process, and should not be determined, or unduly influenced, by religious leaders or religious texts. The word “secularism” was once used to describe a non-religious worldview more generally (sometimes described in similar terms to humanism) but this original meaning is very old-fashioned and has fallen completely out of use.

All human rights are indivisible and interdependent.  This means that one set of rights cannot be enjoyed fully without the other. For example, making progress in civil and political rights makes it easier to exercise economic, social and cultural rights. Similarly, violating economic, social and cultural rights can negatively affect many other rights. The principle of universality of human rights is the cornerstone of international human rights law. This means that we are all equally entitled to our human rights. This principle, as first emphasized in the UDHR, is repeated in many international human rights conventions, declarations, and resolutions. Human rights are inalienable. They should not be taken away, except in specific situations and according to due process. For example, the right to liberty may be restricted if a person is found guilty of a crime by a court of law.

• “Freethinker” is an old-fashioned term, popular in the nineteenth century, used by those who reject authority in matters of belief, especially political and religious beliefs. It was a very popular term in the 19th century and is still used in different languages in some European countries by non-religious organizations to describe themselves."

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