Why the international Brights movement?
- Way too much supernatural hokum in society.
(Brights usually spot it quickly.) - Prevalence of nonsensical ideas.
(Brights care when we see absurdities given priority over reasonable real world facts.) - Unjust privileging in society of people who embrace or tout groundless beliefs
(Brights are mindful of how institutions that have been organized around these beliefs, particularly in the name of religion, are given unwarranted advantage.)
There is little hope for change in those societies where the naturalistic worldview is suppressed and the citizens who hold it are marginalized or ostracized or stigmatized.
Even in the more broad-minded societies, there is little evidence of consideration given to the naturalistic outlook in law, in government, in media and general education.
The world needs more citizen participation by Brights of all stripes.
People who have a naturalistic worldview, no matter their self-identity labels, have to engage in activities that help to increase societal acceptance of other brights and move them toward parity in public life.
Several priority arenas for constituents' consideration have been identified by polling of Brights and are described on this website. In addition, Brights are urged to be candid about having a naturalistic outlook while becoming more involved in constructive ways in their communities or spheres of influence (e.g., by running for elective office, by volunteering on committees and commissions of interest or concern).
We each must start from where we are and within whatever circumstances we live.
That is what the movement is about. That’s why the word “bright” was invented and forged on the Internet as an amenable worldwide umbrella for a broad diversity of citizens in a huge variety of social circumstances.
The Brights’ Network exists to support the Brights movement.
Among the offerings from Brights Central are:
- Developing of pictorials, videos and merchandise to educate about the movement and about the priority action arenas (naturalistic morality, youth education in evolution, affirmative characterizations in media, etc.)
- An online community for Brights to address current affairs via an international discussion forum
- Strategies and assistance for meeting other Brights within certain postal codes and make the bright-to-bright connections that strengthen the naturalistic fabric in their locale via online and/or in-person community clusters.
- Fresh ways for individuals with a naturalistic worldview to characterize themselves, avoiding the trappings of references to religion
- An affirmative approach for interacting with fellow citizens
Organizationally, The Brights’ Network is quite unique.
- It is set up as a constituency of individuals.
(All registrants have in common is a naturalistic worldview, free of supernatural/mystical elements.) - Every participant in the movement keeps his/her personal beliefs.
(There’s no dogma, no common manifestos to sign onto, no need to endlessly parse philosophy.) - The network is about as grassroots as it gets.
(No board of directors is taking group positions on your behalf.) - Actions taken by Brights are theirs to do, but the idea is that individuals will be guided in their actions by the stated aims and principles of the movement.
