Secular empathy is the ability to understand or feel what another person is experiencing from within their frame of reference. That’s to say, the capacity to place oneself in another’s position especially during times of sorrow, agony,
depression, grief, misfortune, and many other challenging moments without trying to add religion or other superstitious beliefs in-between. There should be no hidden agenda of converting the person on the receiving end to the giver’s beliefs. Empathy should entirely be a humanity principal. That’s to say, you care because it’s human nature to do so and you voluntarily do it with no expectations back.
From 2000-2019, I have given out thousands of dollars in humanitarian crisis and human rights campaigns that matter to me in addition to my time in volunteering . I have shared my secular compassion and empathy with total strangers that came from different backgrounds and regions in Uganda and South Africa. Furthermore, I have helped students whose academic credentials were held due to unpaid university dues, and this held the receivers from jump-starting their lives because the keys to open the door are held without mercy.
I have significantly paid direct medical bills of the least fortunate in our society. I have seen the lives of people saved as a result, people who were in agony, from
HIV/AIDS-stricken bedridden to women suffering from severe pain of unoperated fibroids. I desire to continue helping the least fortunate people who urgently need medical attention by establishing a secular compassion relief fund to help those who otherwise may die for lack of funds to be admitted to hospitals. I work directly with hospitals. This means money is paid directly to the hospital where the medical service will be given. Also in countries like undesirable Uganda, I have a team of volunteers who veto the prospective patients in a way that we are not taken advantage of. Our relief is meant for the poorest amongst us. No exception.
I decided to unmute my silence on religious privileges in undesirable Uganda and later to greater Africa.
Secularism, as defined in the Merriam-Webster dictionary, is the “indifference to, or rejection or exclusion of religion and religious considerations.” As a philosophy, secularism seeks to interpret life on principles taken solely from the real world, without recourse to religion. I, therefore, plan to champion the separation of state and religion on all grounds without fear or favour. Equality means no one is disadvantaged, nor privileged, because of their beliefs. I stand firmly with this view.
I will continue to agitate for a secular state in which all citizens are free to practise their faith, change it, or have no faith at all. I will promote secularism as the surest
guarantor of religious freedom and the best means to foster a fair and open society, in which people of all religions and none can live together as equal citizens.
When it comes to political terms, secularism is the principle of the separation of government institutions and the persons mandated to represent the State from religious institutions and religious dignitaries. Defined briefly, secularism means that governments should remain neutral on the matter of religion and should not enforce nor prohibit the free exercise of religion, leaving religious choice to the liberty of the people. One form of secularism is asserting the right to be free from religious rules and teachings, or, in a state declared to be neutral on matters of belief, from the imposition by government of religion or religious practices upon its people. In expansion, secularism also means that public activities and decisions, especially political ones, should be uninfluenced by religious beliefs or practices.
It is extremely hard for Africans to be open about their secular identity. It’s okay to keep it to yourself if you’re in a position where being open would be detrimental to you. However, there is no better way to combat the stigma of a secular identity than by secular people making their identities known to others. That’s what I did twenty-five years ago.
When people personally know someone with a marginalized identity, it’s more difficult to stigmatize or vilify the identity. They can observe firsthand that any myths they’ve heard about secular people aren’t true, which may make them question what else they may have gotten wrong about secular people.
By simply telling one person about your secular identity, you can help make the world more accepting of those who may not be able to be openly secular right now. I encourage you to unmute and go visibly secular.
There have been real tensions between religious groups in Uganda on who should have the right to slaughter animals for human consumption. I aim to agitate for an end to the Islamic religious exclusive right to slaughter animals in Uganda. I think this absolute right cannot continue until 2020 without challenge. It’s time to face it. I encourage the right to religious freedoms for everyone who needs it, but not an absolute right for one particular religion. I do not think that exemptions should be made on religious grounds to animals slaughtered for human consumption. If you share my vision of a secular democracy, please consider supporting my work. Together we can work to make this vision a reality by donating here if you are able.