Humanism is a [human]-centered religion or philosophy. In ancient Greece, Protagoras (5th Century B.C.) proclaimed that he could not know whether or not the gods exist, but that "Man is the measure of all things..." I take this to mean not that the cosmos does not exist apart from [human beings], but rather--the only knowing, value center that we know anything about is [the human]. This is the starting point of humanism. As Alexander Pope put it in his Essay on Man: "Know then thyself, presume not God to scan; the proper study of mankind is man."

Certain ages in the history of [humankind] provide the historical roots of humanism. One of the reasons that I characterize myself as a humanist is that these ages are the most productive and most interesting periods of human history. Classical Greece, the Renaissance, the 18th Century (the age of enlightenment), the 19th and 20th Centuries (ages of science)--are to me the most important historical periods. Developments in these ages centered around [the human being], [the] understanding of [themselves] and the world, and the development of [their] potential. This history cannot be reviewed in this short statement, but a most important trend in these key periods is the emergence of the humanist view of [humankind].

In studying the different religions of the world I find that Buddhism, Taoism, and Confucianism--the three humanistic religions--appeal to me much more than the others. Christianity, incidentally, in some ways represented a humanistic emphasis to the world of pre-Christian Judaism. The concept of incarnation was an attempt to bring God close to [humankind], and to emphasize the divinity in [the human being]. Many sayings of Jesus, like "The Sabbath was made for man and not man for the Sabbath," contain a very healthy humanism. This reemphasized a humanistic tendency in the Jewish religion which grew out of the fact that [each person] was made in the image of God and hence cannot be all bad...

Perhaps the next most important support for modern humanism is evolutionary theory. The humanist in effect says, "Given a hot mass circling the sun and gradually cooling, then everything else follows: the emergence of life out of inorganic matter, the proliferation of life to fill every ecological niche, the development of animals with highly complex nervous systems, and finally the emergence of a higher primate who transcends biological evolution by the development of language which makes psycho-social (or cultural) evolution possible." Now, says the humanist, "we must take responsibility for our further evolution on this planet. For the first time [we] are conscious of how [we] became what [we] are, and of how [our] decisions may affect the human race of the future." Evolution has become potentially self-conscious in [the human being]...

Here is the main reason why I am a humanist. Please imagine an intelligent [person] (perhaps a genius), who has no personal history or religious upbringing, and no preconceived ideas. What if you could take such a [person], transport [this person] to a good university...to study every field in that university for a ten year period. [This would include] biology, literature, chemistry, physics, archaeology, zoology, ethnology, psychology, sociology, geology, and all the other disciplines. Now when [the study was] completed what if you said, "What single word might be used to characterize a religious stance that could best try to bring all of these disciplines together?" How could [this student] say anything else but humanism!

This hypothetical example is another way of saying that humanism is the best framework for integrating modern knowledge. My presupposition is that traditional words and concepts like God, or Jesus as the Christ, are kept because they are an emotional heritage in our culture and can provide a satisfying religion for some people although I do not think that in the long run they can serve as the best basis for integrating modern knowledge...

It may be that humanism could turn out to be an ideological framework capable of global acceptance...For the first time in the modern era (since the Renaissance) there is now a philosophy which is capable of unifying the world around an under-standing of [humankind's] cultural heritage in all its diversity; with our scientific understanding.

--Paul H. Beattie, Unitarian Minister
Adapted from Religious HumanismVolume VI, No. 4