About MuktoMona

Muktomona is a secular humanist organization that took its shape on the 26th of May, 2001 from a discussion meeting organized by Avijit Roy (1972 - 2015). Although Muktomona started as an online discussion circle, it has now evolved into a social movement through blogs, activism and research. Our central principles are exemplified by secular humanism, a thought process characterized by a belief in philosophical naturalism and humanism. Philosophical naturalism states reality consists of only natural things, there exists nothing supernatural that we can know of, and science remains the only venue to know the world. Humanism asserts human beings are simply natural elements of this natural world and the source and measure of all morality and values.

In English, the literal dictionary translation of "Muktomona" is freethinker. According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, freethinker is somebody "who forms opinions on the basis of reason independently of authority; especially : one who doubts or denies religious dogma." The Muktomonas or the freethinkers do not subscribe to any authoritative diktats and want to understand the world through methodological naturalism. They believe in the immortal words of the Roman poet Horace: Sapere aude (dare to know).

Those who form ideas and opinions about the world on the basis of logic, science and humanism, and independently of authority, tradition, societal norms and established dogmas can be called the freethinkers. However, not all of them are members of the Muktomona Collective. Only those who have agreed with the rules of the Muktomona Collective and have become members of the Collective are called Muktomona.

Those who are considered the members of the Muktomona are atheists, agnostics, sceptics, humanists, and secularists. Can a believer be a Muktomona? If a believer can apply methodological naturalism, analyze phenomena on the basis of natural laws of science and philosophy, and be secular and humanist in outlook then he or she can be a Muktomona, but one has to remember that this is mostly a society of non-believers.