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 | Christian Humanism: a philosophy based on Christian beliefs about the nature of God, and which advocate people's fulfillment by personal effort. |
| Cultural Humanism: A concept that knowledge can be obtained through rational thought and experimentation. It has its roots in ancient Greece and Rome. It developed into the scientific method and is the major underpinning of all sciences today. |
| Literary Humanism: pursuit of the humanities (languages, literature, philosophy, history, etc.) |
| Modern Humanism: a generic term encompassing both Religious and Secular Humanism. |
| Philosophical Humanism is a philosophy centered upon the needs and interests of people. |
| Renaissance Humanism: A movement starting at the end of the Middle Ages which renewed an interest in classical studies and promoted the concept that truth could be discovered by human effort. |
| Religious Humanism is similar to secular humanism, except that it is practiced in a religious setting with fellowship and rituals, as in Ethical Culture Societies, congregations associated with the Society for Humanistic Judaism and some groups affiliated with the Unitarian Universalist Association. |
| Secular Humanism a non-religiously based philosophy promoting humanity as the measure of all things. It had its roots in the rationalism of the 18th Century and the free thought movement of the 19th Century. |
This page will deal primarily with Secular Humanism.
Humanist beliefs and practices:
A Humanist Manifesto was prepared in 1933, endorsed by 34 leading Humanists, and published in the 1933-MAY/JUN issue of The New Humanist (VI:3:1-5). 1
It was updated as the Humanist Manifesto II in 1973. 2 Some of the themes of the latter document are:
| They trace their roots to the rational philosophy first created in the West in ancient Greece. Many regard Socrates as the first and greatest of the Humanists. | ||||||||||
| They value knowledge based on reason and hard evidence rather than on faith. | ||||||||||
| Being secular Humanists, they reject the concept of a personal God, and regard humans as supreme. From this belief naturally
follows:
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| Many Humanists believe that much historical progress has arisen from the conflict between organized religion and secular society in which the former beliefs and practices have been gradually replaced with secular beliefs. | ||||||||||
| They feel that religious groups' "promises of immortal salvation or fear of eternal damnation are both illusory and harmful." | ||||||||||
| They accept democracy and reject both theocracy and secular dictatorships as political systems that are dangerous to individual freedoms. | ||||||||||
| They value freedom of inquiry, expression and action. They have a history of combating bigotry, hatred, discrimination, intolerance and censorship. | ||||||||||
| They are energetic supporters of the principle of separation of church and state. | ||||||||||
| They tend to have very liberal beliefs about controversial ethical topics, like abortion, corporal punishment of children, death penalty, enforced prayer in schools, homosexuality, physician assisted suicide, etc. | ||||||||||
| They believe that "moral values derive their source from human experience." Since most believe that an afterlife is non-existent, they regard life here on earth to be particularly precious. They are highly motivated to alleviating pain and misery around the world. Many are active in refugee, human rights, anti-death penalty, environmental groups, etc. | ||||||||||
| Generally speaking, they do not believe in
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Humanist Manifesto III, titled "Humanism and its aspirations" was written in 2003. It is not published as dogma that Humanists must believe; rather it represents a consensus of what Humanists do believe. Its basic points include:
| Knowledge of the world is derived by observation, experimentation, and rational analysis. |
| Humans are an integral part of nature, the result of unguided evolutionary change. |
| Ethical values are derived from human need and interest as tested by experience. |
| Life’s fulfillment emerges from individual participation in the service of humane ideals. |
| Humans are social by nature and find meaning in relationships. |
| Working to benefit society maximizes individual happiness. 3 |
The American Humanist Association encourages people who agree with the Humanist Manifesto III to become a signer. 5
Famous Humanists
A short list taken from the text of a talk 5 by Frederick Edwords, (Copyright © 1989 by Frederick Edwords) the Executive Director of the American Humanist Association. It includes both religious and secular Humanists:
| Isaac Asimov, scientist and author |
| Margaret Atwood, author and literary freedom activist |
| Brock Chisholm, physician and first Director-General of the WHO (World Health Organization) |
| Albert Einstein, physicist and conceiver of the Theory of Relativity |
| Betty Friedan, feminist activist |
| R. Buckminster Fuller, futurist and inventor |
| Julian Huxley, philosopher and first Director-General of UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Social and Cultural Organization) |
| Richard Leakey, anthropologist |
| Abraham Maslow, psychologist and creator of Third Force Psychology |
| John Boyd Orr, the first Director-General of the FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization) |
| A. Philip Randolf, human rights activist |
| Carl Rogers, psychologist and creator of Client Centered Therapy |
| Bertrand Russell, mathematician and philosopher |
| Jonas Salk, physician and developer of the polio vaccine |
| Ms. Margaret Sanger, founder of Planned Parenthood |
| Andrei Sakharov, physicist and human rights activist |
| Gloria Steinem, feminist activist, and founder of Ms. Magazine |
References used:
- A copy of the 1933 "A Humanist Manifesto" can be seen at: http://www.infidels.org/
- The Humanist Manifesto II, The Humanist, 1973-SEP/OCT issue, American Humanist Association. Available at: http://www.infidels.org/org/
- "Humanism and its aspirations," American Humanist Association, 2003, at: http://www.americanhumanist.org/
- David Hudson, "Federal appeals panel: Prison officials not liable for rejecting Humanism group," at: http://www.freedomforum.org/
- "Sign 'Humanism and Its Aspirations: Humanist Manifesto III'," American Humanist Association, at: http://www.americanhumanist.org/
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Home page > World religions > Humanism > here |
Copyright © 1996 to 2006 by Ontario
Consultants on Religious Tolerance
Originally written: 1996-SEP-2
Latest update: 2006-MAR-26
Author: B.A. Robinson
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