Ethical Societies have faith in the human capacity for good, but no creed or dogma. While the Ethical Culture philosophy inspires and guides the Ethical Movement, members and leaders have been free not to fully embrace it. Dr. Felix Adler, the founding leader of Ethical Culture, set forth his worldview in his major work, An Ethical Philosophy of Life, but encouraged each generation to reconceive it to better serve the needs of the future. Yet Dr. Adler's thinking contributed sufficient common ground to unite the Ethical Movement more than a century later. The impulse that led originally to the formation of Ethical Societies sprang from his profound belief that human life must be treated as sacred and never violated. Before most people, Dr. Adler was aware that the emerging influence of secular society and the rise of scientific thinking in the public mind would make traditional religious metaphors less believable and compelling. Dr. Adler held that religion needed to evolve to keep pace with the evolution of politics, economics, and science. He was concerned because he believed religious communities to be essential because they are the one institution with the exclusive mission to sanctify life, teach ethical values, and provide a personal experience of living in a caring community. The Ethical Society intends to fill these functions with important differences. The Ethical Culture philosophy insists on the necessity for each individual to develop their own ethical philosophy free from communal creeds and dogma. Ethical Culture regards each person as autonomous while necessarily functioning in the context of social relationships. Therefore, an ethical culture must utilize the paradoxical twin rules that 1) each individual has an absolute right to say "no" and an opportunity to discover his or her unique personality, and 2) each individual is responsible for making and keeping clear agreements with others and to create a culture that serves every person to discover their unique capacities. Another distinctive element of Ethical Culture philosophy is that each individual is an end in him- or herself, to be respected as if inherently worthy, as capable of learning right from wrong, regardless of the usefulness (value) that an individual may or may not have. Dr. Adler expressed the "Golden Rule" in three parts:
