The issue at hand.

The Humanist is a magazine which, among other things, applies humanism to the critical issues of our time. Toward that end, on our inside front cover, we provide a short definition of humanism. And in the rest of the publication we bring that outlook to bear.

But how clear have we been regarding the latter? After all, we let our authors say what they have to say in the way they prefer to say it. We don't try to force their work into some standardized form wherein the specific humanist principle or ideal being applied must be stated and then a case made for the recommended application. As a result, it's fair to say that the humanism in the Humanist is often implicit rather than explicit.

Beyond that, because humanism is a particular (but sometimes fluid] range of ideas rather than some specific stone-etched doctrine, then not all thoughts printed in the Humanist will be agreeable to all humanists--including the editor. That means nothing in the magazine should be assumed to express an official position of the publisher, the American Humanist Association, unless clearly stated as such.

Given such an open atmosphere of multiple voices, some readers will desire a little navigational guidance. To provide that, the editor's commentary you are now reading has been revived from the magazine's earlier tradition. With it, as editor, I can chart you a course through the principal material and make the humanist message clearer.

For starters, last issue's discussion of the "war on terrorism" continues here with additional and differing viewpoints in the letters section, "Up Front," and "The Popular Condition." In this regard, Valerie Demmer's lead article pursues the developing civil liberties fallout and thus helps reinforce a longstanding humanist commitment to individual human rights. That naturally leads to this issue's cover story, which reintroduces one of the signature examples of humanist social involvement: the defense of church-state separation and the Enlightenment thinking and thinkers who made it possible.

But people can't survive by freedom alone. Thus we follow with a unique, firsthand account of homelessness and thereby readdress a social justice calamity that strikes at the heart of the very human dignity that humanists affirm. Though we've covered homelessness before, we've never covered it like this.

The fear of death is a factor that drives many to traditional religion. But humanists, while usually as unwilling to die as the next person, paradoxically view death as "part of life." What can this mean? Biologist Joshua Mitteldorf explains it clearly and from a purely naturalistic perspective in his article on the benefits and evolutionary development of mortality.

And while we are waxing naturalistic, one might reasonably ask if this allows any room for a humanist spirituality. Yes it does, argues philosopher Thomas W. Clark, and he shows how it can be developed.

Overall, humanism is a world view and moral outlook that can take nearly anything as its subject. In exploring, developing, and applying humanist ideas, therefore, the Humanist will continue to address a broad range of social concerns, science, religion, physical and emotional health, the arts, the humanities, and a host of other topics.