by Jeff Dray

Created on: August 26, 2007

Under the popularly held definition of the term, Humanism is not a religion, more of a belief system that does not ally itself to any organised religion but instead promotes a set of life values that try to ensure that people live together harmoniously without making too much impact on the environment.

This I see as the positive side of humanism. Organised religion has always been the major cause of strife, war and bloodshed in the so-called civilised world.

Catholics have burned witches, persecuted protestants, Jews fight Muslims, Muslims are against any other religion, Hindus have excluded other religions from their societies, Jews have been persecuted and have persecuted other faiths.

The one thing that all organised religions, with the possible exception of Buddhism, have in common is an institutionalised intolerance to people of any other or no faith.

Like my wife, they are always right and everyone else is wrong.

Humanism, in my opinion, takes the essences of the true meaning of religion but does not subscribe to all the dogma and nonsense spouted by the organised faiths.

Even the mild, wishy-washy Church of England shows its true colours when they raise money for starving children in Africa but object to planning applications for centres for the disadvantaged that might be visible to their comfortable lives.

The Church of England is ample demonstration of the hypocrisy of religion, being founded by Henry the Eighth when the church in Rome refused to allow him an annulment of his marriage.

The self same church of Rome that takes money from some of the poorest parts of the world yet sits on enough wealth in art treasures to make a huge difference to world poverty.

How can humanism be classed as a religion when it is honest, transparent and does not judge anyone?

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