Secular Humanism Research Paper

“The church (…) individualism was identical with arrogance, rebellion, and sin”(doc 1). This shows that actions like rebellion and sin relate with individualism, which is just like Humanism. “In true order that mortal man should first care for mortal things”(doc 4). This just shows how important things have meant to people, and to respect person’s property. Humanism brought the idea of civilized people with great ideas into the world. Before the Renaissance, religion was everything, when the Renaissance came, the people were exposed to the arts and

Humanism was a belief the Greeks and Romans practiced. It was a belief that humans and their lives were more or as important as the Gods. Humanists believed that God(s) made human and then went on to gift them with talents and a place to live, earth. Humanism paintings and sculptures exhibited humans in a superficial light, chiseled and flawless. The Romans absorbed the art of sculptures and paintings largely from the Greeks and helped to broadcast Greek art to later ages.

Humanism was the study of Latin and Greek literature with the goal of understanding human nature. It was the focus on themselves, rather than the focus on religion. Unlike those

Webster's Ninth New Collegiate Dictionary gives several definitions for humanism, a word which made its appearance in 1832. The first is "a devotion to the humanities or the revival of class, individualistic and critical spirit, and emphasis on secular concerns characteristic of the Renaissance." Renaissance is capitalized. Another definition reads as follows: "a doctrine, attitude, or

Humanism is a way of life that revolves around the interests of people. It stresses human worth and building up self-realization. Humanism was developed in Greece and Rome, and is generally due to philosophy and current literary works during 1400-1650. It is termed "Classical Humanism" because it was born during that time period. Classical Humanism had an impact during the Renaissance Era.

Secular humanist believe the starting point of life is nothing breathtaking. The Human life is a result of a great many years of advancement that can be explained through the theory of evolution. There is no god who made life, and that religion is nothing more than the fears of mankind. Secular humanist utilize science, intelligence, and individual feelings as the answer for life’s most troublesome questions.

Humanist teachings which counsel us to heed the guidance of reason and the results of science, and warn us against idolatries of the mind and spirit;

The founders of the secular humanistic worldview considered it a religion. The ideals of the movement can be traced to ancient philosophers, scientists and poets of classical Rome and Greece and to some extent the Chinese Confucian society, Carvaka movements of India and other ancient moral

The culture of Europe began to be interested in human achievements and the possibilities of humans with the development of humanism (The Editors of Encyclopedia Britannica). In the beginning, secularism was viewed as anti-Christian, or against organized religion. Focusing on humans brought the Renaissance away from the God fearing nature of the Middle Ages into a new world of a secular belief system, where humans had potential beyond waiting for death in order to enter

In this belief, people have the power to choose their own reality, instead of a God.

Humanism is derived from the movement that happened from the fourteenth to the sixteenth centuries. The start point of Humanism is in Italy. It is an important development during the Renaissance. Because of the terrible Black Death in 14th century. The population of Europeans decreased extremely. A lot of people died of the Black Death. At the beginning of that time, people thought the Black Death is God’s punishment for living life in sin. People went to Church and hope the forgiveness of God. However, the wide spread of the Black Death didn’t stop. The dead body forced the people started finding the other new way. Instead of believing in God, people started to think about science. The scientists did the research and treated the Black Death by more scientific way. People started thinking about the man himself and explored natural environment by more scientific method. The new ways of thinking influenced the development of Humanism in art during the Renaissance. The Renaissance artworks are about the re-discovery of ancient Greek and Roman artworks and their way of life. Humanists rejected the religion concept and not believe in the supernaturalism. They tried to discover the natural creatures and destiny of man. Artists learned the human beauty from the ancient Greek and Roman artworks and architectures. They began to find out more ideas about the human experience, personal independence and social community. They brought the Humanism ideas into their artworks.

A secularist is a worldview that rejects religious faith and anything spiritually related. They don’t believe that life’s ultimate questions are answered spiritually. They believe human existence is explained in terms of the material not spiritual. Humanism, individualism, materialism and science are all forms and key beliefs of secularism. All these key beliefs and forms of secularism show what secularists believe in.

It “was essential to the rise of democracy in Europe, as thinkers from John Locke to Thomas Jefferson argued for liberty of body and spirit by appealing to our status as divinely created beings” (Shook). People have been engaging in Christian humanism and all have seem to be content with the ideals; no major issues have been caused with this coexisting doctrine. To those that say Christianity and Humanism are not suited to be appropriately dependable on each other, a good point is made; the major beliefs of these doctrines can affect society in a crucial way. It can be easily understood when the ideas are contrasted: beliefs between Christians and Humanists differ in five main areas: “God, origins and processes, nature of man, morals and values, and

A similarity is that both Catholicism and Secular Humanism believe that there is a moral code which must be followed to live a peaceful life, however they differ as to the origin, with Catholicism being that God created the moral compass whereas Secular Humanists believe that human character and behaviour created moral beliefs. Both believe in the ethical principles and the dignity and worth of all people and creation. Both also believe in the truth setting individuals free and that there is a purpose in life. Another similarity is that both believe that something happened in the universe a long time ago which created human life and the earth which we live on.

In conclusion, to practice humanism is to spread kindness and peace each day and to not let the minor, snippy remarks and crabbiness of others bother us. We must try to realize that this person might be having a bad day or be experiencing a loss or hardship. This may be