Last updated 15:52, Wednesday, 30 April 2008

LIKE the Quakers, Humanists are essentially a peaceful group. So when Cumbria Humanist Group invited Anne Bell and fellow Quakers from Penrith Meeting to speak to our members on April 16, at the Eden Rural Foyer in Penrith, we focused on our shared values rather than our differences.

The obvious difference is religion: Quakers are also known as the Religious Society of Friends whereas Humanists are by definition non-religious.

Some individuals, however, are members of both groups, which raises the question of reconciling the two convictions.

Humanism encompasses a broad spectrum of belief from agnostic fellowship to militant atheism in the Dawkins/Hitchens vein.

Similarly the spiritual fellowship of a Friends meeting can include belief in a personal divinity – the Christian God and Jesus – or it may just value human friendship and support in facing the challenges of life, essentially spirituality in a different form.

If you are interested in Humanism, visit www.cumbria-humanists. org.uk or telephone 01228 810592 or 01768 881245.