Do you consider yourself to be a humanist? Why or why not?

Answer 1

Yes, I am a Humanist of the secular kind. I try to live a moral life by the guidance of reason and human compassion. All available evidence tells me that we each get one life, which makes every moment we have precious and behooves us all to make the best use of the time we have. That doesn't mean squandering it on meaningless pleasures. Sure, we should enjoy life, but we should always remember to balance personal liberty with social responsibility.

Tassadar and imasis: you're both victims of a malicious disinformation campaign by the religious right. Humanists do not believe that "man is God" or "worship themselves." We rely upon human intelligence, human compassion, human experience, and human ingenuity to solve our problems, for no one else will solve them for us.

Answer 2

In the secular sense that I believe in attempting to understand the world and live a good life without unnecessary (supernatural) baggage. I don't believe that human beings "are essentially good" except inasmuch as much (but certainly not all) of what we consider good and bad is instinctual. But believing that human beings are essentially good is not, I believe, a defining characteristic of a humanist.

So in this respect I'm a humanist, but if people ask me what religion I am (which is rare), I normally say as an atheist. It's more straightforward and (usually) requires less explanation.

Answer 3

Humanism is, to quote the Encarta English Dictionary, "a system of thought that is based on the values, characteristics, and behavior that are believed to be best in human beings, rather than on any supernatural authority". So yes, I suppose I'm a humanist because I do not believe morality or ethics are derived from supernatural entities.

Answer 4

Do you mean humanist in the secular sense of rejecting religion and the supernatural or the rennaissance sense of humanitarianism and the establishment of human welfare rights?

In either case I consider myself to be in favour of both, but not the extent that Martin Luther and Nietzsche were. I believe that the preservation of the human race depends on Humanism, to the extent of neutralising both the sway religions have on people and the apathy shown by the developed countries towards the 3rd world.

Answer 5

Generally speaking, I do consider myself a humanist, but that's not my primary description of myself. And this does not mean that I will agree with other people who consider themselves humanists on all points. For one thing, political liberals tend to use that term rather loosely. To me, liberalism is being liberal with taxpayers' money.

Answer 6

Yep. Because I support human dignity and uphold the human ability to determine right and wrong through rationalism. I also support the search for knowledge and human advancement, not through faith or religion, but through rationality and science, to support human interests and the quality of human life - basically rational solutions to problems facing people and the improvement of the human condition on a universal scale.

Answer 7

No. I'm a Christian and Christianity and Humanism aren't very similar at all. I'm not God. I'm not a god. I don't believe man is essentially good or that morals are relative. I believe in concrete things. I believe we are all born with the spirit of our father Adam. I believe there are rights and wrongs regardless of who you are and I believe in a Man who was God incarnate in the flesh who died for my sins. So, the answer is a definate no.

Answer 8

I am not my own God, so no, I am not a humanist.

Answer 9

Humanism is the belief that man is God. I do not believe this because I am not that prideful