What's in a name?
The text below is a short abstract from an
article about secular humanism which we
read on the website
Relgious Tolerance.
Types of Humanism:
In the religious arena, many words have a number of different meanings. Some examples are:
Christian, cults, Humanist, pagan, Satanist, Witch and
Witchcraft. The terms Humanism and Humanist are
essentially meaningless when used by themselves; their meanings only become clear when preceded by an adjective, as in:
- Christian Humanism
: a philosophy based on Christian beliefs about the nature of God, and which advocate people's fulfillment by personal effort.
- Cultural Humanism
: A concept that knowledge can be obtained through rational thought and experimentation.
It has its roots in ancient Greece and Rome. It developed into the scientific method and is the major underpinning all sciences today.
- Literary Humanism
: pursuit of the humanities (languages, literature, philosophy, history, etc.)
- Modern Humanism
: a generic term encompassing both Religious and Secular Humanism.
- Philosophical Humanism
: is a philosophy centered upon the needs and interests of people.
- Renaissance Humanism
: A movement starting at the end of the Middle Ages which renewed an interest in classical studies and promoted
the concept that truth could be discovered by human effort.
- Religious Humanism
: is similar to secular humanism, except that it is practiced in a religious setting with fellowship and rituals,
as in Ethical Culture Societies, congregations associated with the
Society for Humanistic Judaism and
groups affiliated with the Unitarian Universalist Association.
- Secular Humanism
: a non-religiously based philosophy promoting humanity as the measure of all things.
It had its roots in the rationalism of the 18th Century and the freethought movement of the 19th Century.
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