Theistic humanism

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Theistic Humanism is the combination of humanistic ideals, particularly the idea that ideals and morals stem from society, with a belief in the supernatural and transcendental. [1] [2]

It is frequently invoked as a form of spiritual opposition to monotheism.[ citation needed ]

Theistic Humanism in African Philosophy

In Southern Africa, indigenous humanism is popularly associated with the Ubuntu philosophy, and its fusion with Traditional African religion is often referred to as Theistic Humanism. [3] [4] Ubuntu asserts that society, not a transcendent being, gives human beings their humanity. This form of theistic humanism has frequently been associated with opposition to globalisation.[ citation needed ]

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Secular humanism is a philosophy, belief system or life stance that embraces human reason, secular ethics, and philosophical naturalism while specifically rejecting religious dogma, supernaturalism, and superstition as the basis of morality and decision making.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Theism</span> Belief in the existence of at least one deity; the opposite of atheism

Theism is broadly defined as the belief in the existence of a supreme being or deities. In common parlance, or when contrasted with deism, the term often describes the classical conception of God that is found in monotheism — or gods found in polytheistic religions — a belief in God or in gods without the rejection of revelation as is characteristic of deism. Gnosticism is the belief in personal spiritual knowledge.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Religious humanism</span> Integration of humanist ethical philosophy

Religious humanism or ethical humanism is an integration of non-theistic humanist ethical philosophy with congregational rites and community activity which center on human needs, interests, and abilities. Self-described religious humanists differ from secular humanists mainly in that they regard the non-theistic humanist life stance as their religion while organizing with a congregational model. Religious humanism is sometimes referred to as non-theistic religion or congregational humanism.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ubuntu philosophy</span> Southern African philosophy

Ubuntu is a Nguni Bantu term meaning "humanity". It is sometimes translated as "I am because we are", or "humanity towards others". In Xhosa, the latter term is used, but is often meant in a more philosophical sense to mean "the belief in a universal bond of sharing that connects all humanity".

Irreligion is the active rejection of religion in general, or any of its more specific organized forms, as distinct from absence of religion. The Oxford English dictionary defines it as want of religion; hostility to or disregard of religious principles; irreligious conduct. Irreligion takes many forms, ranging from the casual and unaware to full-fledged philosophies such as atheism and agnosticism, secular humanism and antitheism. Social scientists tend to define irreligion as a purely naturalist worldview that excludes a belief in anything supernatural. The broadest and loosest definition, serving as an upper limit, is the lack of religious identification, though many non-identifiers express metaphysical and even religious beliefs. The narrowest and strictest is subscribing to positive atheism.

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Humanist Manifesto is the title of three manifestos laying out a humanist worldview. They are the original Humanist Manifesto, the Humanist Manifesto II (1973), and Humanism and Its Aspirations. The Manifesto originally arose from religious humanism, though secular humanists also signed.

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Theistic science, also referred to as theistic realism, is the pseudoscientific proposal that the central scientific method of requiring testability, known as methodological naturalism, should be replaced by a philosophy of science that allows occasional supernatural explanations which are inherently untestable. Proponents propose supernatural explanations for topics raised by their theology, in particular evolution.

Antitheism, also spelled anti-theism, is the philosophical position that theism should be opposed. The term has had a range of applications. In secular contexts, it typically refers to direct opposition to the belief in any deity.

Secular ethics is a branch of moral philosophy in which ethics is based solely on human faculties such as logic, empathy, reason or moral intuition, and not derived from belief in supernatural revelation or guidance—the source of ethics in many religions. Secular ethics refers to any ethical system that does not draw on the supernatural, and includes humanism, secularism and freethinking. A classical example of literature on secular ethics is the Kural text, authored by the ancient Tamil Indian philosopher Valluvar.

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Fellowship of Humanity v. County of Alameda was a 1957 California Courts of Appeal case in the Fellowship of Humanity, an organization of humanists, sought a tax exemption from Alameda County, California on the ground that they used their property "solely and exclusively for religious worship." Despite the group's nontheistic beliefs, the court determined that the activities of the Fellowship of Humanity, which included weekly Sunday meetings, were analogous to the activities of theistic churches and thus entitled to an exemption.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Humanism</span> Philosophical school of thought

Humanism is a philosophical stance that emphasizes the individual and social potential, and agency of human beings, whom it considers the starting point for serious moral and philosophical inquiry.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Outline of humanism</span> Overview of and topical guide to humanism

The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to humanism:

Moral syncretism consists of the attempt to reconcile disparate or contradictory moral beliefs, often while melding the ethical practices of various schools of thought.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Secular theology</span> Theology embracing this-world realities and rejecting dualism

Secular theology rejects the substance dualism of modern religion, the belief in two forms of reality required by the belief in heaven and hell. Secular theology can accommodate a belief in God, like many nature religions, but as residing in this world and not separately from it.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Spiritual naturalism</span>

Spiritual naturalism, or naturalistic spirituality combines a naturalist approach to spiritual ways of looking at the world. Spiritual naturalism may have first been proposed by Joris-Karl Huysmans in 1895 in his book En Route.

Coming into prominence as a writer during the 1870s, Huysmans quickly established himself among a rising group of writers, the so-called Naturalist school, of whom Émile Zola was the acknowledged head...With Là-bas (1891), a novel which reflected the aesthetics of the spiritualist revival and the contemporary interest in the occult, Huysmans formulated for the first time an aesthetic theory which sought to synthesize the mundane and the transcendent: "spiritual Naturalism".

References

  1. Mace, Emily (October 15, 2014). "Theistic Humanism". Harvard Square Library .
  2. "Optimistic Secular Humanism | Xenos Christian Fellowship". www.xenos.org.
  3. Gade, Christian. "What is Ubuntu? Different Interpretations among South Africans of African Descent" (PDF). Aarhus University . Retrieved 2020-07-10.
  4. Ani, Emmanuel Ifeanyi (April 1, 2018). "Theistic humanism and a critique of Wiredu's notion of supernaturalism". Critical Research on Religion . 6 (1): 69–84. doi:10.1177/2050303217732134. S2CID   171751046.