A Humanist Revolution

What are the origins of Humanism? Is Humanism a response to religion? A response to naturalism? An outgrowth of ethical reasoning? The answer is yes. And no. To all of them.

Ryan Bell wrote an article critiquing an article that claims secular Humanism grew out of Christianity.  See: http://www.patheos.com/blogs/yearwithoutgod/2015/12/30/a-humanist-revolution/ Ryan is correct to rebut this claim.

Humanism predates Christianity and while western Humanism may have grown out of or been influenced by Christianity, other forms of Humanism can also claim to have grown out of the respective dominant religious traditions present in the culture at the time the Humanist tradition emerged in that culture.

You see, to quote my friend Babu Gogineni, Humanism arises in every culture and in every time. And yes, it is influenced by the traditions of that culture and time. But that doesn’t mean that it grows out of those traditions. It is more accurate to say that Humanism is probably a reaction to those traditions, rejecting what is wrong with them (the supernatural and theistic parts) and holding onto what is good.

I was recently asked by Jay Forrest during my interview with him (see: http://jayforrest.org/2016/03/25/133-jennifer-hancock-humanism-interview/)  whether Humanism arises from Naturalism. I said – it didn’t for me but I understand for many people it does.  Some people have to shed supernatural beliefs before they can consider constructing a supernatural free ethic.

For me, Humanism and naturalism arose out of my search for a meaningful ethics for myself. I was not raised religious, so my Humanism was not a reaction to religion. I was not raised with supernatural beliefs so I had no need to shed them. Yet, I still arrived, on my own, at Humanism.

What is the prerequisite foundation of Humanism? I don’t really know for sure. I suspect it has to do with individuals wondering how best to live life. They come at that question from whatever starting place they have – be it religion, or culture or other belief. As they struggle with how best to live, they explore ideas and eventually many decide that loving others, living life fully and trying to leave the world a better place pretty much sums up their ideas. They then ascribe that to whatever tradition or culture or beliefs they happen to hold at the time.

I have no doubt that some Christians who are still concerned with supernatural but drawn to humanism can see parallels between the best of what their faith offers and Humanism. I can understand how their faith journey might lead to a humanistic approach to life. For them, their humanistic beliefs grow out of their theistic ones.

I think what we need to realize is that whatever our journey is, it is not the only possible journey. People arrive at the conclusions of Humanism in a myriad of ways, all of which are valid. Trying to claim Humanism for one tradition exclusive of others is a remnant of tribalistic and religious ways of thinking. (ie: my belief is the correct belief.) In Humanism, there is no one correct belief. We learn and take from religion, from culture, from stories and books and from paintings and music.

Our search is not for one true fountainhead of knowledge, but for a continuation of study, all towards the same goal. What does it mean to be a good human being?  This is the question that gives rise to Humanism. As we seek and find answers to this question we learn and grow as Humans.

Is Humanism a response to religion? To naturalism? Yes and no. We cannot divorce our individual practice of Humanism from our own personal origins. I suggest instead of arguing which journey is more authentic, we start sharing what we’ve learned being open to the experiences of others and what we might learn from them and their journeys.

To learn more about Humanism and it’s history through the ages – get my book – The Handy Humanism Handbook - http://www.jen-hancock.com/handyhumanism/offer.html 

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