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Explain secular humanism to me

GreyWanderer

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Aug 1, 2002
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How is a secular humanist different from any other atheist?

EDIT: I was going to put this in the religion forum, but now I can't delete it. Could any of the mods move it for me?
 
From what I understand an atheist is just basically some person that doesn't believe in a deity of any sort. They have no real other definition.

A secular humanist is basically an atheist that does "christian" things in order to help humanity. And by this I don't mean they go to church, tithe or do any of the other religious stuff that christians do. No, I mean they volunteer to help with the homeless, or the sick or they work with charities, or do random acts of kindness. But whereas a christian does these things in order to get brownie points with the Big Sky Daddy, a humanist does so to help humankind.

That's the way I interpret it.
 
Nice site here that will probably tell you more than you need.

http://www.bidstrup.com/humanist.htm


Quoting from the above website:


So there you have it. That despised being, the "secular humanist liberal." Someone who has recognized the shortcomings of religion, and has accepted the fallibility of reason. Who has accepted responsibility for his own value system. Who understands the frailties of human reason, but who, in spite of human limitations, is willing to forge ahead, and try to make the world a better place for himself and his family and neighbors, based on the best information available to him. Accepting that he won't necessarily get it right on the first try. But someone who also knows he can't neccessarily get answers from God either.
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I'd suggest reading the Humanist Manifesto

http://www.americanhumanist.org/about/manifesto1.html

There are actually three iterations of the manifesto, each of which builds on the previous ones.

Humanism as a modern philosophy started after WWI as a reaction to the horrors of modern war, nationalism, dogmatism, etc.
The essential notion is that human beings are responsible for thier own destiny, and capable of building and ordering their own societies.
The primary thrust is human rights and social justice, without dogmatic intervention.
I consider myself a humanist.
 
Bikewer said:
I'd suggest reading the Humanist Manifesto

http://www.americanhumanist.org/about/manifesto1.html

There are actually three iterations of the manifesto, each of which builds on the previous ones.

Humanism as a modern philosophy started after WWI as a reaction to the horrors of modern war, nationalism, dogmatism, etc.
The essential notion is that human beings are responsible for thier own destiny, and capable of building and ordering their own societies.
The primary thrust is human rights and social justice, without dogmatic intervention.
I consider myself a humanist.
Click to expand...

Ditto. Secular humanism (not all forms of humanism, there is also religious humanism and other types) also rejects the supernatural and asserts the importance of life and making the most of the only life we have.
 
GreyWanderer said:
Ok, then, it's an atheist that tries to be good?
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"Secular Humanist" can be seen as a somewhat more politically correct term for "atheist".

A rose by another name...
 
I'd differ somewhat on that; atheism does not imply a political or life philosophy. Merely rejecting god makes you an atheist.

Humanism has a definite political thrust.
 
Bikewer said:
I'd differ somewhat on that; atheism does not imply a political or life philosophy. Merely rejecting god makes you an atheist.

Humanism has a definite political thrust.
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*ahem*

Atheists don't reject God. How can you reject something that doesn't exist?

As to political thrusting, I will leave that one alone. :D
 
I've noticed some fundies tossing that term around lately, along with the 'intelligent design' agenda.

Its used (from what I've seen) to decry the 'godless' nature of schools, government, science or anything else they can't seem to sneak a religious agenda into. If they proclaim it 'atheistic' though, people tend to point out that many of the people involved aren't atheists and that NO religious agenda is involved. And so they've wrapped it up in 'secular humanism' trying to show that as a 'religious' agenda being promoted (in schools, government, science, etc) so why can't they promote theirs waaah.

Seems to be the same old sh!t, merely repackaged.
 
Yahweh said:

"Secular Humanist" can be seen as a somewhat more politically correct term for "atheist".

A rose by another name...
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I would strongly disagree with this. Atheism says nothing more than one's lack of belief in god(s). An atheist could be a satanist, a buddhist, a unitarian, chocoholic. . . and so on. A secular humanist is an atheist that affirms certain beliefs and values that go along with humanist values. I like this definition:

Humanism is: A joyous alternative to religions that believe in a supernatural god and life in a hereafter. Humanists believe that this is the only life of which we have certain knowledge and that we owe it to ourselves and others to make it the best life possible for ourselves and all with whom we share this fragile planet. A belief that when people are free to think for themselves, using reason and knowledge as their tools, they are best able to solve this world's problems. An appreciation of the art, literature, music and crafts that are our heritage from the past and of the creativity that, if nourished, can continuously enrich our lives. Humanism is, in sum, a philosophy of those in love with life. Humanists take responsibility for their own lives and relish the adventure of being part of new discoveries, seeking new knowledge, exploring new options. Instead of finding solace in prefabricated answers to the great questions of life, humanists enjoy the open-endedness of a quest and the freedom of discovery that this entails. • The Humanist Society of Western New York

This describes many atheists I know, but certainly not all.
 
Skyknight said:
From what I understand an atheist is just basically some person that doesn't believe in a deity of any sort. They have no real other definition.

A secular humanist is basically an atheist that does "christian" things in order to help humanity. And by this I don't mean they go to church, tithe or do any of the other religious stuff that christians do. No, I mean they volunteer to help with the homeless, or the sick or they work with charities, or do random acts of kindness. But whereas a christian does these things in order to get brownie points with the Big Sky Daddy, a humanist does so to help humankind.

That's the way I interpret it.
Click to expand...
Helping other people is not a "christian" thing to do; it is a humanitarian thing to do. Please do nopt sully the good name of secular humanists by implying that some sort of morality is edrived from believing in the Xian sky god.
 
Originally posted by Kimpatsu

Helping other people is not a "christian" thing to do; it is a humanitarian thing to do. Please do nopt sully the good name of secular humanists by implying that some sort of morality is edrived from believing in the Xian sky god.
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Heaven forbid! I would never say such a thing.

No, the idea was a humanist does these things for themselves with no thought of eternal reward. A Xtian does so to make points with their god and buy their way into heaven.

Morality doesn't enter into it.
 
Skyknight said:
But whereas a christian does these things in order to get brownie points with the Big Sky Daddy, a humanist does so to help humankind.
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That is stereotypical. A Christian, for example, could also, perhaps in addition to pleasing his/her God, whatever, do such things also to help out humanity.
 
T'ai Chi said:

That is stereotypical. A Christian, for example, could also, perhaps in addition to pleasing his/her God, whatever, do such things also to help out humanity.
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I grant you that the two objectives (pleasing god and doing the right thing for its own sake) are not mutually exclusive, but when a humanist does the right thing, you can guarantee that it's because they like doingthe right thing, whereas with a Xian, the ulterior motive of racking up brownie points is always present.
So not tewll me, which is the better person?
 
Kimpatsu said:

I grant you that the two objectives (pleasing god and doing the right thing for its own sake) are not mutually exclusive, but when a humanist does the right thing, you can guarantee that it's because they like doingthe right thing, whereas with a Xian, the ulterior motive of racking up brownie points is always present.
So not tewll me, which is the better person?
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I am a secular humanist, but I disagree with this to some extent. Obviously some Christians are good people who do things to help out humanity simply out of the goodness of their heart, not necessarily to get "brownie points". I disagree that this motive is "always" present.
 
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