How We Compare
At a glance Humanism is compared with other popular beliefs
The Religions of the books
Christianity, Islam, Judaism and other beliefs (such as that of the Mormons) use the same 'Bible tradition' as their starting point. They may add their own book, which they separately declare is a final revelation from God, and refuse to acknowledge other books as valid, either some of the books accepted by others as part of the original tradition, or the various books added by the other faiths.
They all accept Adam, Noah, Moses, and other mythical 'prophets' from the Judaic Torah books as if they were historically authenticated, as well as kings like Saul, David, and Solomon, for which there is no historical evidence outside 'Bible' stories.
Christians declare Jesus is the Judaic messiah, but this is denied by Judaists and Muslims. It is accepted by Mormons but their own Book of Mormon is rejected by everyone else. Jesus is largely, if not entirely, a mythical figure.
Other Religious Systems
A separate tradition has grown as the Hindu faith. This faith is based on notions of cycles of birth, death and rebirth. Gods and goddesses are considered to be aspects of a single divine being, but Buddhism, which is a part of this tradition, rejects the idea of a creator god.
Unlike Humanism, all these systems teach belief in supernatural beings, such as angels, demons and devils, and in supernatural events. Also unlike Humanism, the faiths say that every human being consists of a body and a soul, which can exist separately from the other part. No religion accepts randomness and chance.
From the basic differences the following emerge:
| Subject | Christianity, Islam, Judaism | Hinduism, Buddhism | Humanism |
| Your place in society | "God first, others second, self third" | Defined by caste at birth. | Self and others equal. |
| Mankind's nature | Created and controlled by God. | Part of the pattern of birth and rebirth. | Produced by evolution by natural selection and moulded by society. |
| Attitude to authority | God's will to be done without question. This comes from the Pope or bishops for most Christians, Rabbis for Judaists and Imams for Muslims. They often disagree. | The will of the gods comes through the Brahmans, and the Vedas and other writings, for Hindus. Buddhists have to follow their sects' books. | Authority subject to rigorous examination and only accepted by consent on its merits. |
| Attitude to Science | Theology is superior to science. | All suffering is caused by desire, so science offers no remedies. | Science must be objective, democratic and international. |
| Cause of world conditions | Humanity entirely sinful with evil world conditions as the result. | Suffering is inevitable even after rebirth. | Evolution and social organisation. |
| Future of Mankind | Predetermined by God. For Christians the end may come at any time when Jesus will return and each individual will be judged according to God's law. | The future is determined, and the universe will die and be reborn. | Everything that happens is by chance, necessity and choice - not determined. |
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