What is a rationalist?
What is a humanist?
What are the Objects of the NZARH?
Do you have to be both a rationalist and humanist to be a member of the NZARH?
How many non-religious people are there in New Zealand?
What does the NZARH do?
Why don't you believe in a god?
What is a secular state?
Does New Zealand have a secular state?
Is New Zealand a Christian country?
Does New Zealand celebrate Christian holidays?
Why is the NZARH unhappy about the National Statement on Religious Diversity?
What is the NZARH position regarding the movie The Passion of the Christ?

A rationalist believes that knowledge and truth are ascertained by using reason and logic, and not by divine or supernatural revelation.

A humanist rejects that there is any power or moral value superior to that of humanity; the rejection of religion in favour of a belief in the advancement of humanity by its own efforts.

The Objects for which the NZARH is established are:

• To advocate a rational, humane, and secular view of life without reference to supernatural agencies and which is compatible with the scientific method.

To promote a tolerant, responsible, and open society.
To encourage open-minded enquiry into matters relevant to human co-existence and well-being.

Membership is open to everyone who signs that they are agreement with the objects of the NZARH and is subject to approval by the NZARH Council. These objects include advocating a view of life without reference to the supernatural, and promoting a tolerant, responsible, and open society. To agree with these objects you are a rationalist and a humanist by our definition of these two words.

1,297,104 people chose the no-religion option in the 2006 Census. This is approximately 32% of the population. A further 12% objected to answering the question and 3% gave answers outside of scope. The number of non-religious people increased by 269,046 from the 2001 Census which means the number of New Zealanders willing to declare themselves as non-religious has been growing by over a thousand per week.

The NZARH writes submissions, stands up for the rights of the non-religious, provides a place and opportunities for non-religious people to socialise, highlights and discusses issues of interest ...

Because there is no good reason to.

A society in which the government is neutral on matters of belief and where people have the freedom to believe as the wish without one viewpoint being given privilege.

While New Zealand is one of the most secular countries in the World it still has laws which give special privilege to the religious. These include the promotion of religion being a charitable activity, the crime of blasphemous libel, and religious exemptions for allowing union officials into a workplace and animal welfare.

It depends by what is meant by the question. If it is asking whether Christianity holds a special place in NZ law and government then the answer is "No, NZ doesn't have a state religion". If the question is asking whether the majority of the population is Christian then the answer is "It used to be but that is probably no longer the case. According to the 2006 Census figures those declaring themselves Christians made up just over half of the population. However if the current trends have continued, and there is no reason to believe that they haven't, then this is no longer be the case.

While New Zealand did inherit the Easter and Christmas holidays most New Zealanders treat these as secular holidays and are not involved in any religious observance. Both of these festivals have a long history prior to Christianity including most of the associated symbolism such as trees, gifts, eggs, and rebirth.

Because the non-religious have been excluded in being directly involved in the drafting of the statement and the clear basis against the non-religious expressed in the statement. Especially of concern is clause three which states: "Faith communities and their members have a right to safety and security" as this doesn't express the corresponding responsibility of providing the same right to others.

Information on our submission against lowering the film's rating can be found in the Decision of the Film and Literature Board. The film was the subject of an editorial in our Association's journalThe Open Society.