Humanism is a broad category of ethical philosophies that affirm the dignity and worth of all people, based on the ability to determine right and wrong by appeal to universal human qualities — particularly rationality. It is a component of a variety of more specific philosophical systems and is incorporated into several religious schools of thought. Humanism entails a commitment to the search for truth and morality through human means in support of human interests. In focusing on the capacity for self-determination, humanism rejects the validity of transcendental justifications, such as a dependence on belief without reason, the supernatural, or texts of allegedly divine origin. Humanists endorse universal morality based on the commonality of the human condition, suggesting that solutions to human social and cultural problems cannot be parochial. (Courtesy of Wikipedia - yes, Wikipedia).
Thats a mouthful, but is it very far from what really all religions are preaching? Look at what is said in Buddhism, Judaism, and Christianity - many ideals are extremely similar: spiritual equality, help the poor, etc. Are these religious ideals or human ideals? I think of the spread of all. Syncretism was involved in all of these processes, with the religions adapting to local customs and traditional beliefs.
As per the "Is God in our Genes" article, there seems to be something innately human about spirituality, even if it is not manifeted in the form of relgion. Maybe all religions are just the manifestation of a universal human spirituality?!
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I beleive that the desire to need a god, to need love, and to need freinds is really a persoanlity defect our minds have been susceptible to, and we only look for such things because we fear being lonely. A god, a love, and a friend is a sign of hope, something that cannot be promised. I donnot believe it is in anyway human, but more the opposite, or a defect with being human.
I see your point, and it is an interesting thought - the need for some sort of "reassurance" for the unexplained. Are you basing your "model" on nature and the fact that animals do you not have belief systems? In that sense you may be right, but what about our ability for reason? We naturally seek out answers to the unexplained, no? Maybe religion is our answer to the unexplained!!
There is one major, key difference between humanism and what religions are preaching.
Quote: humanism rejects the validity of transcendental justifications, such as a dependence on belief without reason, the supernatural, or texts of allegedly divine origin.
Religion preaches blind faith in the supernatural, and requires that all the faithful hold beliefs without any true proof. They believe in a divine being as being the source of our ethical and moral codes. Humanism takes a secular approach to the same matter, emphasizing our unity as a human race and our human nature as a reason for practicing ethical and moral ways of life. They preach the same thing, but take vastly different approaches to arguing in favor of it.
I agree with tyler & mr. shrinsky. the whole idea of humans creating gods and religion was so that the unexplainable could be explained. We could get reassurance and comfort out of the answers that religion provided. I think that religion could be a product of humanistic ideas and that the two are intertwined as they share similar ideas.
LAUREN IS AWESOME. SO IS MARCUS.
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