Are humanists also atheist

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mysticrose's picture
Are humanists also atheist

I saw the logo of a humanists group that says "good without go"; does this makes them also atheists? What are the difference between humanism and atheism?

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Spewer's picture
Not all of them. In fact,

Not all of them. In fact, the movement's origins were religious. Today, I think the Unitarian Universalist Association (www.uua.org) is probably the best representation of religious humanism. Over the years, though, secular humanism come to dominate humanist movement. Secular humanism itself is not atheistic, but in practice I think most self-identified secular humanists are non-theists of one stripe or another.

So not all humanists are atheists, and not all atheists are humanists. There is a lot of room for overlap, but the two are distinct.

mysticrose's picture
I think majority of humanist

I think majority of humanist are atheist though.

Danny Craft's picture
Through logical thinking such

Through logical thinking such as humanism, one is likely to arrive at Atheism :)

mysticrose's picture
I mean "Good without God"

I mean "Good without God"

Jeff Vella Leone's picture
"Good without God" is not an

"Good without God" is not an atheist expression but an anti-theistic expression.

It says nothing about his existence but it is implying that we can have a good life without him.

Anti-Theism = against any form of theistic philosophy. = theism does more harm to the world then good.

mysticrose's picture
The world will be very

The world will be very different and more peaceful if people are concerned with fellow human beings.

Michael J. Vecore's picture
Most humanists are atheists,

Most humanists are atheists, but it's not a rule or requirement. It's simply the idea that you don't need a god to be good, and whether he, she, it exists or not, humanists will do good regardless.

Travis Hedglin's picture
Not all humanists are

Not all humanists are atheists, and not all atheists are humanists. Humanism is the principle that the soul source, authority, and dependence of things such as ethics or community should be derived from humanity instead of another agent or agents. It emphasizes our agency, ability, and responsibility to live in a fashion which promotes humanity as a whole. There is a humanist manifesto you can find online and read if you are interested in the subject, and that will likely be more informative than the scant summary I can provide. You should probably check it out...

CyberLN's picture
Additionally, not all who

Additionally, not all who identify as humanist behave in a manner that would elicit a consensus that they are 'good.' Thomas More, as one example of many, considered himself a humanist and yet had folks burned at the stake for heresy.

ThePragmatic's picture
A theist humanist?

A theist humanist?
That kind of sounds like a benevolent psychopath.

mysticrose's picture
I think there are also

I think there are also theists who are humanist...

myrobot's picture
humanists are more near to

humanists are more near to atheism. But some theists are also humanis but their quantity is very low.

Only non religious peoples can become true humanists. :)

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