Facts about Humanism

Secular humanism rejects theistic religious belief, and the existence of God or other supernatural being, on the grounds that supernatural beliefs cannot be supported rationally.

Hence, while secular humanism is antithetical to theism, religious humanism and theism are complementary.

Secular humanism, which denies God and attributes the universe entirely to material forces, today has replaced religion for many people.

Today, so-called secular humanism constitutes a great challenge to established religion.

Renaissance humanism was a reaction to Catholic scholasticism which had dominated the universities of Italy, and later Oxford and Paris, and whose methodology was derived from Thomas Aquinas.

The term, "Enlightenment humanism," is not as well known as "Renaissance humanism."

Renaissance humanism also inspired the study of biblical sources and newer, more accurate translations of biblical texts.

Religious humanism embraces some form of theism, deism, or supernaturalism, without necessarily being allied with organized religion.

The Manifesto and Potter's book became the cornerstones of modern organizations of secular humanism.

Humanism is an attitude of thought which gives primary importance to human beings.

Humanism within organized religion can refer to the appreciation of human qualities as an expression of God, or to a movement to acknowledge common humanity and to serve the needs of the human community.

So, it was natural that Renaissance humanism occurred in the fourteenth century as a reaction against the religious authoritarianism of Medieval Catholicism.

After the Enlightenment, its humanism continued and was developed in the next two centuries.

Potter was a minister from the Unitarian tradition and in 1930, he and his wife, Clara Cook Potter, published Humanism: A New Religion.

Humanism refers to any perspective which is committed to the centrality and interests of human beings.

Humanism has come to encompass a series of interrelated concepts about the nature, definition, capabilities, and values of human persons.

Enlightenment humanism was more advanced in its secular orientation than Renaissance humanism, and its tradition even issued in atheism and Marxism.

The reason is that the relationship of humanism to the Enlightenment has not been as much clarified by historians than that between humanism and the Renaissance.

During the last two centuries, various elements of humanism have been manifested in philosophical views including existentialism, utilitarianism, pragmatism, personalism, and Marxism.

Humanism affected every aspect of culture in Europe, including music and the arts.

Enlightenment humanism is characterized by such key words as autonomy, reason, and progress, and it is usually distinguished from Renaissance humanism because of its more secular nature.