Humanist Manifesto

Questions for Further Study

• 1. Respond to the following statement: Humanism is not really a religion, for it is a form of atheism that rejects appeals to a deity and focuses instead on the human community.
• 2. What is the distinction between secular humanism and religious humanism? Why are so-called secular humanists so often the target of attack by people who adhere to traditional religious beliefs, particularly fundamentalist Christian beliefs?
• 3. What social, historical, and economic circumstances may have played a part in the decision to formulate the Humanist Manifesto?
• 4. Can you see any commonalities in the views of the authors of the Humanist Manifesto and those of the Pittsburgh Platform, which articulated the views of Reform Jews?
• 5. Some people who participated in the discussions surrounding the Humanist Manifesto ultimately refused to sign it. Why?
• 6. Do you agree that the “doctrines and methods” of traditional religion have “lost their significance and … are powerless to solve the problem of human living in the Twentieth Century”?