Humanism
From RationalWiki
Humanism is the idea that humans, not knowing what goes on outside the natural world (if anything), are all we have in this reality, and that human reason must help us act morally. It is often associated with Rationalism, but rationalism does not necessarily have any moral implications. It is also associated with atheism, specifically in the guise of secular humanism, although the two certainly aren't the same thing; humanism is where atheism would turn to for moral guidance, as it can't really get it from a divine source, for example.
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[edit] What humanism is, and what it is not
There are many branches of humanist philosophy, but all have in common recognizing the intrinsic worth of all human beings. Humanism also assumes that people have the ability to distinguish between right and wrong without the aid of a supernatural being or its edicts.
Many humanists believe in God - in fact, humanism as we know it began with medieval Christians enamored with the works of the Greeks and Romans. Secular humanists often don't, but in general consider God irrelevant. As a result it's become a snarl word among the Religious right.
[edit] Attacks on humanism
Some fundamentalist propagandizers will try to scare you with a document called The Humanist Manifesto. It really isn't that bad, though not every humanist is going to agree with it as it was written by religious humanists. It just sounds scary because it ends in "-ist Manifesto". Go on, read it. Them, actually; there's three of them. It won't hurt you. Though you should probably also read A Secular Humanist Declaration and the IHEU's Amsterdam Declaration 2002 as well.
Answers in Genesis claims - and will continue to claim, provided they survive the financial year - that humanists are in league with Satan.[1]
