Do Humanists Believe the Naturalistic Alternative Can Unite People?
Yes. The ethical codes of the great religions are very much alike, although there the similarities often end. Humanism is free from divisive doctrines about the unknown, free from rituals and ceremonies and liturgical regulations that so often separate people and set them apart from each other. There is no damnation, no purgatory, no heaven, no hell, no mystical realms or planes. But humanists can receive a deep satisfaction from being part of a total natural world. Humanism is concerned with the harmony of life on this earth we share. Historical theologies vary, as do the ways in which people aspire and worship, but the essence of these religions and philosophies—the teaching as to the way humans should behave—is often similar. In humanism this good moral life is justified in terms of our having proper relationships with nature and with each other. Humanists are united by their devotion to the scientific spirit and acceptance of differences among individuals. Albert Einstein, in his L
