secular humanism
1
8.4
- noun
- /ˈsɛkjələr ˈhjuːmənɪzəm/
:
humanismo secular
- And so from there we can build and you, you know, you get to a kind of secular humanism, utilitarian math from there.
- the religion of secular humanism
- teaching secular humanism
Examples
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In debates about morality, secular humanism is often presented as a philosophy that relies on human ethics rather than the supernatural.
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Thus, as teaching the Christian faith would violate the constitution by allowing a government establishment of religion, teaching any of the forms of naturalism indicated here, including secular humanism, would violate the constitution as well, but not because some religion other than Christianity is thereby established.
Academic text (1991) -
But he goes further, saying, "We have but one choice: the path of secular humanism, based upon the principles of logic and reason."
Academic text (2002) -
Jennifer, what you're describing is a greater movement of secular humanism.
Blog text (2) -
The gap between religious and secular humanism has since needlessly widened.
Academic text (1998) -
Public schools have been turned into "battlegrounds" over moments of silence, the teaching of creationism, and the influence of "secular humanism" in the school curriculum.
Academic text (1991) -
Ed Brayton: "You would be hard pressed to find anyone who did more to advance secular humanism, atheism, and skepticism over the last century."
Blog text (21) -
But the constant fundamentalist refrain that by teaching evolution, schools are in fact teaching secular humanism is not defensible.
Academic text (1991) -
Many of the non-philanthropists, though exposed to the idealism of religion and secular humanism in youth, did not commit themselves to the redistribution of wealth.
Academic text (1998) -
He identifies two distinct fronts of this assault: atheistic secular humanism and the growing climate of religious pluralism.
Academic text (1998)
Synonyms
19
6.1
A belief that people and reason matter more than religious ideas
Antonyms
How Secular
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning is directly compositional: 'secular' (not connected with religion) simply modifies 'humanism' (a belief in human values and reason), yielding a non-religious form of humanism. This is a common, predictable modifier+noun pattern found across many languages, so a B1 learner who knows the constituents would readily infer the MWE's meaning.
Etymology
Secular humanism comes from the words secular, which means 'not religious', and humanism, which means 'a focus on people and human values'. So the phrase describes a belief that uses human reason and ethics, not religion, to decide what is right.