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RE: An interesting read concerning atheism in america.
January 2, 2022 at 5:13 pm
The author claimed humanism was a stand-in for monotheism... not religion.
Decent arguments could be made on either side whether humanism is a standin for religion. I tend to think "Mostly not. But maybe somewhat. In certain cases with certain individuals."
As for humanism being a stand-in for monotheism, I tend to say "No."
To me, secular humanism is a transparent set of values. You are invited to examine them and determine for yourself if you agree. Some religions follow that model. If anything, secular humanism may be similar to those religions. But that's not monotheism's model by any stretch.
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RE: An interesting read concerning atheism in america.
January 3, 2022 at 12:46 am
(This post was last modified: January 3, 2022 at 12:56 am by The Grand Nudger.)
People conflate monotheism and religion pretty often, I wouldn’t be surprised to find that the author did as much.
Humanism (of any kind) is a normative worldview, it professes a set of values and makes a claim on how the world should be and how we should be, and things considered taboo, that are forbidden. That claim binds everyone who accepts it and it’s set of values into a moral community.
Other religious views with hopes for political authority see it as competition, and rightly so. There are differences, ofc, one notable difference being the lack of any ritual observances. That may have been more of a difference when what we now call our traditional religions weren’t suffering from the same lack of practicing observants.
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