What is Humanism?

Humanism is a tradition concerned with our life in the natural world and what we as creatures in that world can accomplish among ourselves. Many Humanists consider themselves to be atheists or agnostics, some consider themselves indifferent or uninterested in questions about God. While "humanism" is a term used many ways to describe a concern for living beings in the natural world, the Humanist movement is a unique global movement that took on its current form in the mid 20th century, with legacies in Christianity, political secularism, Ethical Culture, and religious naturalism.

Many Humanists find inspiration in the beauty and majesty of nature--the vastness of the stars, the mystery of the oceans. Others, in the storytelling power of art and music. Still others, in a sense of a shared story among beings on this Earth, and our simultaneously small and meaningful place in that story. The Humanist Manifesto is a non-binding document that seeks to capture general values that many Humanists share, most recently updated in 2003.

Humanism for some means finding community. On campus, the Humanist Community at Tufts seeks to provide that sense of shared experience, as well as other spaces on campus that are attentive to the experience of nonreligious people like CAFE. In Boston, the Greater Boston Humanists offers a wider sense of that community. The American Humanist Association is a national organization that connects Humanist communities and provides resources to those seeking to find inspiration or connection outside of traditional religion.