Non-religious humanism. Particularly noteworthy is the second form of reaction of the Christian spirit outside the Church to the Church’s insufficient attention to social issues - I mean irreligious humanism. The phenomenon of “humanism” is a whole complex of various ideological and spiritual movements

945. Social frenzy. About the different names of saints God's mercy be with you! I apologize for not answering soon. Didn't have a chance to do this before. IN last letter You have more precisely defined what kind of urge you have for entertainment. And I have nothing to say against if

Humanity has always been concerned with issues of faith and morality, and secular humanism is a movement in which people appear as the highest creations of nature. Not only his own life, but also the moral and physical state of the people around him depends on a person’s actions and thoughts.

Secular humanism – what is it?

The basic principles of worldview are formed in society, based on the experience of previous generations and needs modern man. Secular humanism is one of the directions of the philosophy of humanism, proclaiming the value of man and his ideas. Man bears responsibility:

1. For the ethical consequences of your decisions and actions.
2. For his own contribution to the development of modern society.
3. For creative achievements and discoveries made for the benefit of humanity.

Secular humanism - worldview

Secular humanism does not oppose the dogmas of religious teachings, but does not recognize higher power which governs a person’s life. He builds his destiny himself, based on ethical and moral principles. Religion and secular humanism develop in parallel and overlap only in the issue of the formation of ethical values. Secular humanism proposes to follow the following principles:

1. Possibility of free research (unimpeded access to information).
2. The state and the church exist separately (if events develop differently, the principle of free research will be violated).
3. Formation of the ideal of freedom (absence of total control, all layers of society have the right to vote).
4. Ethics (following moral and ethical standards formed without religious revelations).
5. Moral education (children are brought up on the principles of philanthropy, and upon reaching adulthood, they independently decide how to relate to religion).
6. Religious skepticism (critical attitude to the fact that a higher power can decide human destinies).
7. Reason (a person relies on real experience and rational thinking).
8. Science and technology (discoveries in these areas allow society to move to higher stages of development).
9. Evolution ( real facts the existence of the evolution of species confirms the inconsistency of the idea of ​​the creation of man in the divine image).
10. Education (availability of education and training).

Secular humanism and atheism - the difference

The difference between these concepts is obvious. Secular humanism and atheism develop in similar directions, but the paths to achieving them differ. Atheism categorically rejects the existence of a higher power and its influence on. Secular humanism does not hinder the development of religious teachings, but does not welcome them either.

Secular and religious humanism

The obvious contradictions between these areas of philosophy do not prevent them from having similar principles. For example, the concept of secular humanism is based on a kind attitude towards people, compassion, mercy. People find the same postulates in the Bible. Adherents of a certain religious movement have an illusory perception of life. This is self-deception, and its consequences plunge a person into a state of uncertainty and spiritual stagnation.

Secular humanism – books

A large number of skeptics, pantheists, rationalists, agnostics of past centuries used a rational approach in solving the human dilemma: what is fundamental - science or religion and what does secular humanism mean? The works of famous scientists and writers excite the minds of contemporaries and provide comprehensive answers to questions of relationships between people, conception and birth of children, euthanasia. Secular humanism is atheism, which does not prohibit belief in a higher mind, but also does not welcome devotion to religious teachings. This:

1. "Phenomenology of Spirit" (written by Hegel).
2. "The Source of Pure Reason" (written by Kant).
3. “The Science of Knowledge” (written by Fichte), etc.

Secular or secular humanism- this is a worldview based on atheistic thinking, which denies any higher meaning and any spiritual reality. Secular humanism recognizes the material nature and social nature human, but denies the spiritual. From religious humanism differs in that it abolishes faith in God (for its supporters) as the principle of an illusory orientation of a person in the real world. In supporters of secular humanism, the fight against religion or religious worldview is not the main task.

But this worldview is fundamentally wrong, since it does not answer questions such as where the soul came from, and how the love that lives in the heart of each person was formed.

Basic principles of secular humanism

According to the “Declaration of Secular Humanism” there are ten of these principles:

1. Free exploration. We must not tolerate widespread censorship and dogmatism. Independence of the press and means of communication from them. Recognition of the dangers of the media in the spread of dogmas, including religious ones.
2. Separation of Church and State.
3. Ideal of freedom. The inadmissibility of various forms of totalitarianism, the ideal of equality of rights for minorities and the majority, equality of all before the law.
4. Ethical behavior based on critical thinking. Independence of ethics from religion and church. The need for inference and development of ethics without the interference of religion.
5. Morality of education. To separate children and youth from the unreformed church at a stage when the person is still being formed and is not able to consciously choose a worldview - atheistic or religious. Or the need for moral education is recognized.
6. Religious skepticism. Skeptical attitude towards the claims of the church and the unreal, irrational into reality.
7. Mind. The use of logic, rational inquiry and experience in the process of accumulating knowledge and in testing the criteria for its truth.
8. Science and technology. Recognition of the advantages of scientific experience as the most valid and fruitful means of understanding the world.
9. Evolution. Recognition of the advantages of evolution as a scientifically based worldview over religious worldviews and divine intervention.
10. Education. Science-based education is recognized as an integral part of building humane, free and democratic societies.

Secularism, Secular (secular) humanism (Secularism, Secular Humanism).

A way of life and thought in which there is no place for God and religion. Latin root saeculum means “generation”, “human age” or “century”, “age”. Therefore, the word “secular” has come to mean “belonging to this age,” “worldly.” Secularism affirms the immanent realities of this world and denies the transcendent, otherworldly reality. This worldview and way of life focuses on the profane rather than the sacred, and on the natural rather than the supernatural. Secularism is a non-religious approach to personal and public life.

Historically, secularization primarily meant the transfer of church property to the state or non-church authorities. In this institutional sense, "secularization" still means the limitation of formal religious authority (eg in education). Secularization of various public institutions was caused by the collapse of the united Christian world after the Reformation, on the one hand, and the growth of rationalism in society and culture, starting with the Enlightenment and ending with modern technocratic society, on the other. Some scientists, speaking about the secularization of society, i.e. about the replacement of official church power with non-church power, they prefer the word “secularization.”

The second meaning of the word "secularization" is associated with a change in the way of thinking and life and marks a falling away from God and a turning towards the world. Renaissance humanism, Enlightenment rationalism, the growth of the power and influence of science, the collapse traditional structures(families, Churches, communities), the technicalization of society and competition from nationalism, evolutionism and Marxism - all this led to what M. Weber called the “disenchantment” of the modern world.

The secularization of social institutions and ideological secularization have occurred simultaneously over the past centuries, but the causal relationship between them is by no means obvious or necessary. Even in the medieval empire of Constantine, people were often guided by worldly considerations. Likewise, in a secular society, individuals and groups of people can live, think and work based on religious considerations and listening to God.

Thus, secularization is historical fact, it has both positive and negative sides. However, secularism as a comprehensive philosophy of life certainly welcomes the secularization of all spheres of life. A simplistic and reductionist view of reality that denies and excludes God and the supernatural, as well as a myopic focus on the immanent and natural, is the fatal flaw of secularism. IN contemporary discussions Secularism and humanism are often combined into a single direction - secular humanism. This is a view of life and thought, of man and society, which exalts the creature and rejects the Creator. In this capacity, secularism acts as a rival to Christianity.

Christian theologians and philosophers have assessed the meaning and impact of secularization from different angles. F. Schleiermacher was the first theologian who tried to re-formulate the concept of “Christianity”, using the humanistic and rationalistic values ​​of the Renaissance and Enlightenment. Although his brilliant work had an enormous influence on the development of theology, critics accused Schleiermacher of not so much defending Christianity as betraying the most important tenets of the Christian faith by redefining religion in terms of man's inherent sense of dependence.

Not a single serious discussion on the topic of Christianity and secularism is complete without mentioning D. Bonhoeffer and his “Letters and Notes from Prison.” First of all, since this work is not finished, Bonhoeffer's ideas such as the "down-to-earthness of Christianity", "the maturation of the world" and the need for a "non-religious interpretation of biblical language" have become the subject of heated debate, in which F. Gogarten plays a large role ("Reality faith", 1959), P. vanBuren ("The Secular Meaning of the Gospel", 1963), G. Cox ("Secular City", 1965), R. Smith ("Secular Christianity", 1966) and the theology of the death of God. Each of these theologians followed their own special path, defining the meaning of Christianity through the concepts of the secular world. K. Hamilton (“Life in Overcoming” , 1968) believes that Bonhoeffer cannot be interpreted in this way, and insists that the German theologian never wavered in his basic orthodoxy.