Do Humanists Worship Humans?
or — How Do You Know that You’re a Humanist?
Do Humanists Worship anything?
Are you born a Humanist?
Do Humanists have a Holy Book?
Are there any core Humanist beliefs?
Do Humanists sing hymns?
The answer to all those questions and probably several more, as well as the title is; No!
So if the answer to all those questions is no, the next ones have to be;
What do Humanists believe and how do you know whether you are one?
There’s no simple answer to either of those. You could say that we believe in the essential goodness of the human race, or that we believe in science as a way of explaining the world. Both of those things are broadly true, but I think that most of us would say that it is a way of understanding the world and a set of philosophies (which vary from one person to the next).
For the purists, Humanists don’t actually believe in anything because Humanism isn’t a belief system in the way that religions are. There is no creed, no mythology and no book. Similarly, there are no rules or codes by which to live; you have to decide all those for yourself.
For myself, I would say that I have a philosophy but not a belief. My philosophy is broadly in line with that of most other Humanists and, not entirely coincidently, it is broadly in line with the codes of ethics of most religions.
My personal understanding of the world has been shaped by Humanist philosophy. Everything in the world around us is the product of processes that are increasingly understood and explainable through mainstream science.
Those things are broadly true for most other people too. In the funeral ceremonies that I take, I often say; ‘… we all look for ways to explain and understand the world around us, in this way, all of us could be considered to be Humanists, even though we might not describe ourselves with that term.’
My basic rules for living are that:
This earth is shared by all of us and is for sharing, so I try not to take more than I need.
I feel that everyone has a right to life and to the best life that is possible for them.
I know that people want to get along with other people and I think that the best way to achieve that is to be as nice to everyone as I can and always hope that others will be nice in return.
I always trust other people until they prove otherwise. I always assume that people I meet wish me no harm and are nice people.
Those things might sound a little naïve but it’s the way that I’ve tried to live for more than sixty years and I have rarely been disappointed.
The difference between Humanism and religion is that Humanists feel that the codes by which they live their lives have come from within — they are the product of rational thought, developed and refined by thousands of years of observation and introspection. Many of the thoughts of the Greek philosophers of the BCE years still apply in general terms to the way that we live and interact with each other but their thoughts are not set in stone (actually some of them may be!), these can form a good starting point.
In religions, those codes have at some point been handed down by god, often in some special revelation. For many, what was written down, hundreds or even thousands of years ago cannot and must not be changed or spoken against, even though the same conditions no longer exist today.
Even up to the modern day, philosophers and thinkers are able to influence society and adapting the ways that enlightened people think and act. Humanist philosophy is adaptable, we are not afraid to change our minds as new information and understanding comes along.
It doesn’t really matter where those codes come from, as long as they are worthwhile and work to everyone’s benefit. I’m happy for religious people to believe their creeds and rules, as long as they are tolerant of mine and that their rules are beneficial to society — unfortunately that’s not always the case but that’s not what I’m writing about at the moment.
Obviously, there is a flaw in that argument. If everyone feels that their own philosophy and codes for living are perfectly ok and if they can justify it to themselves, then no-one can be criticised for whatever they believe or do. However, a well constructed society will protect everyone from the negative effects of other people’s behaviour and promote the positive, through the laws and mechanisms of society and governance. Individual freedom is fine, within reasonable and agreed limits. That’s why we have governments and laws.
Humanism is largely an atheist tradition — most Humanists don’t believe in god; there’s no solid evidence for god’s existence and living without god makes life an awful lot easier. There’s only one person to answer to in the end and that’s yourself. It doesn’t take away guilt or obligation but then religion doesn’t actually take away those things either.
Do Humanists worship Humans? No, because the word Humanism has an origin that may be obvious only to those who have looked it up.
Through a long period of European history, really since Christianity became the main religion, the only people who had the means of studying, access to books and the ability to read them were those involved in religion — usually in monasteries and similar august places. The clerics were the repository and the gatekeepers of all knowledge — I wonder where Phillip Pullman got his idea for the Magesterium in ‘His Dark Materials’… ?
The only certain knowledge was knowledge that was contained in the Bible, so the only study was Theology. Study of anything else was considered unnecessary and possibly blasphemous. However, there were still those who made observations and recorded things about the world, historical events and places. Study of events and things were associated with; people, their events and accomplishments, their travels and reports, their trade and discoveries, all the things associated with the world of humanity. Thus study of anything non-theological was study of Humanity. Academic institutions still use the term ‘Humanities’ to describe history, geography, sociology, art, music, in fact almost everything that isn’t religion.
This term was later borrowed and modified to describe a growing movement of sceptical people who questioned the biblical and religious explanation of life and the world. They also began to realise that there were scientific explanations for the origins of the Earth, the universe, life on Earth and everything around us. They realised that there was actually very little actual evidence for the existence of gods, the afterlife, magic and divine mysteries. Some of these people began to describe themselves as Humanists.
So why am I a Humanist?
Well, that will have to wait. I might write about that at a later date.
