Secular Humanism Research Paper

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.

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.

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

What is Secular Humanism? It is humanism, with regard to the belief that humanity is capable of morality and self-fulfillment without belief in God. Christian worldviews are based on the bible, we believe that God created the all. Secular Humanist are critical thinkers, focused on modern beliefs without having any religious ties. “Many Christians and proponents of secular humanism share a commitment to reason, free inquiry, the separation of church and state, the ideal of freedom, and moral education; however, they differ in many areas. Secular humanists base their morality and ideas about justice on critical intelligence unaided by Scripture, which Christians rely on for knowledge concerning right and wrong, good and evil.” (3)

“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 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.

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

Analyse the key beliefs of a religious and secular world view in relation to ultimate questions – Taylor Murfitt.

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 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

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

The Renaissance began in Florence, Italy around the 1500’s to about the 1700’s. Florence, Italy was the mecca of this rebirth because at the time Florence was extremely wealthy and the people of the city had political freedom and those new ideals of the Renaissance were not being condemned in Florence as they were other cities. This was a time where the arts and the logic of one’s own mind was valued rather than criticized, the antiquated medieval ideals no longer matched the needs of those who were living during the early Renaissance. Eventually, a term for this way of thinking arose and was called Humanism, and what humanism is, is an ideology where humans can lead themselves to create a prosperous life and instead of leaning on supernatural forces for answers. Humanists believe that humans have enough logic to create conclusions themselves. This brand-new way of thinking caused a lot of controversy because it did question God’s ability and the church’s power, but the ideas behind it are still heavily used today, even in the 21st century. Humanism in the early Renaissance is important because it called for thinking with reason, it allowed an appreciation for human body and mind, inspired authors and caused a shift in power.

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

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.

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.