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Secular humanism?

Please help me resolve a dispute: Do you think a person must be secular in order to be a humanist?

  • 9 votes
  • 23 votes
  • 3 votes
Lilie 6 Jan 8
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11 comments

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1

Nope....there are Religious Humanists and Secular Humanists by the thousands. ....both groups will take your money to join both. ...why should the word matter to you ?

I agree with you! I’m trying to resolve a dispute through a survey.

@Lilie most surveys like the fake dictionaries are biased for xians, believers and theocracy globally. ...we Atheists do not : " deny Jesus Christ " as Webster Dictionary mis-defines us so bigotedly that it equates Thomas Paine DEISM = Atheism and quotes Teddy Roosevelt famously insulting Paine as that " filthy little Atheist." ....I have documented academia bias against Atheists in dozens of states hundreds of libraries. ....even humanist Dewey categorizes Atheism authors as " controversial literature " RARELY leaving our titles in non-fiction nor philosophy nor sciences like anthropology or sociology

1

Let this be the one commandment

Thou shalt not be a dickhead

1

Humanism is the idea that human beings are the most important thing in human life. Therefore it is impossible to be a religious humanist, because religion means believing that there is something supernatural above human life.

1

Rather than being a specific doctrine on its own, Humanism is more a general life stance or attitude that upholds human reason, ethics and justice, and is a component of a variety of more specific philosophical systems, and is incorporated into some religious schools of thought. It is an optimistic attitude to life whose ultimate goal is human flourishing (see the section on Eudaimonism), doing good and living well in the here and now, and leaving the world better for those who come after.

2

I am a member of the Church of Spiritual Humanism. Secular simply means not spiritual or religious. I do consider myself to be "humanistically" spiritual. Note: I have to be a spiritual minister to be licensed to perform marriages. Though I also tout myself as a secular celebrant. Fuzzy lines.

I feel it is the human spirit which can tune into humanism. You can also be totally secular and pragmatic as a humanist. Humanism is just that - and a person can be spiritual or secular to believe in and follow its tenets. It's all how you define "spiritual" which has been discussed many times on this site.

I don't believe you can be religious with supernatural deities and be a humanist, but perhaps humanitarian.

@powder Not sure what dictionary you use, but mine defines "secular" as denoting attitudes, activities, or other things that have no religious or spiritual basis.

Nothing about separation, but I agree that our government should be secular, and therefore a separation of church and state. A secular society is one in which the citizens create the laws based on civic ethics, not religious doctrine.

@Julie808 your definition is correct...

@Julie808 as for the misuse of the word "spiritual" .... like Atheism it is mis-defined by controlling believers. ....I AM SPIRITUAL CHEROKEE and was born that way just as we all are born Atheist free from theism. ...harmful religion begins with brutal painful amputation of 4 square inches of healthy natural prepuce flesh torturing baby boys on a strap down board. ...to feel and know our connectedness to nature outside of un-natural boundaries and facades is to be Cherokee wherever I go. ...I am a militant American Atheist leader since 1981....I am also a hUUmanist, Evangelical Agnostic, Skeptic, Objectivist, Secularist, Eupraxophist, Ethical Culturist, UnitarianUniversalist Pagan Anarchist Libertarian Communist Socialist Naturist Pastafarian Bright Festivus Rationalist Emotive Therapist and Atheist Assertiveness Trainer from LifeSpring Drake University Divinity School and Humanist Institute Amherst New York....took 66 years to be there and welcome to the American Revolution free from bible lies destroyed by Thomas Paine 1776 and to this day

1

you can be a humanist if you subscribe to a religion. you cannot be a humanist if you place that religion above humanism. reform judaism is humanistic. westboro christianity is not.

g

1

Humanism is fundamentally just about contributing to a world that's good for people of all stripes. (To paraphrase, in any case.) On that level, whether on is secular or not is a slightly moot point, hence my "no" vote.

However, it's worth mentioning that much of what secular humanists (and by extension the majority of humanists overall) propose is incompatible with most religious views, especially with respect to proselytizing and their concepts of the afterlife. Making a world that's good for people of varying (or no) religions often means disregarding these notions or at least restricting them to specific social situations.

1

Liberation theology, base on Mark 2:27, comes very close to humanism.

"Then he said to them, 'The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath.'"

0

Not being a humanist, I couldn't say.

1

No, religious people can care about humanity too

lerlo Level 8 Jan 9, 2019
2

Contrary to what the fundamentalists would have us believe, then, what our society really needs is not more religion but a richer notion of the nature of morality. Humanism is compatible with atheism and agnosticism, but being atheist or agnostic does not automatically make one a humanist.

Secular humanism - Wikipedia

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