The Humanist Heritage website contains a number of words linked to the history of humanism which may be unfamiliar, or used in specific ways. This brief glossary draws from those created to accompany our resources for schools, as well as including some other words it might be helpful to define.
For more on the history of some key words linked to the humanist worldview, see: What’s in a word?
Abolition/abolitionist – to abolish means to get rid of something. ‘Abolitionist’ is frequently used to refer to someone who wanted to ban slavery.
Activism/activist – activism means working to make social or political change happen, like through campaigning or protests. An activist is someone who does this.
Agnostic – to be agnostic means to ‘not know’, and usually refers to the existence of god. Many humanists call themselves ‘agnostic’.
Atheist – atheist means ‘without god’, and refers to a person who doesn’t believe in god.
Blasphemy – blasphemy is saying or writing something about god or religion which is seen to be offensive.
Campaigner – a campaigner is someone who takes part in actions to achieve a particular goal, especially a social or political change. See also: activist.
Compassion – compassion is having sympathy and understanding for someone who is suffering.
Deism – the belief that a god created the world and the laws of nature, but does not get involved in human affairs. See also: deism.
Democracy – democracy means ‘power of the people’. A country where people can show this power by voting and taking part in decision making is called a democracy.
Discrimination – discrimination is treating a person or a particular group of people differently, usually worse than others, because of something about them.
Disestablishment – disestablishment is when a country removes the official status of a religion, e.g. the Church of England was disestablished in Wales in 1920.
Dissenter – a dissenter is someone who refuses to go along with the established Church. This is similar to a nonconformist.
Empathy – empathy is feeling what someone else is feeling, or imagining how it would feel to be another person.
Equality – equality is when everyone is treated equally and fairly, and has access to the same rights and opportunities.
Ethics – ethics comes from ‘ethos’, which means ‘ways of living’. Ethics are our beliefs about how we should act, based on ideas about what is right and wrong.
Ethical Society – ethical societies were groups of like-minded people who came together in the belief that it was possible to be good without religion and to change the world for the better.
Evolution – to evolve is to change gradually over time. Evolution is the process by which different kinds of living things are believed to have developed from earlier forms.
Freedom of the press – the right to publish newspapers, magazines, and other printed material without restriction or censorship by the government.
Freethinker – a freethinker is someone who thinks for themselves, and uses their own reason to examine what they’re told, or what is traditionally thought.
Humanism/humanist – humanism is an approach to life based on reason and empathy. A humanist is an atheist or agnostic who follows this approach to life.
Humanist ceremony – a humanist ceremony is a special event – like a wedding, funeral, or naming ceremony – which marks an important moment in life, without reference to god.
Humanitarian – focused on making people’s lives better.
Philosophy/philosopher – a person’s philosophy is the beliefs and values they live by; a philosopher is someone who thinks deeply about things, and studies thinking itself.
Pluralism – pluralism is when different types of people, with different beliefs and opinions, live together within the same society.
Radical – holding strong beliefs about how society should be changed.
Reason – to think carefully about something, using logic and evidence.
Reform/reformer – to reform means to make changes; a reformer is someone who tries to do this, e.g. to change something about society or the law.
Revolution – a sudden and dramatic change, usually in how a country is run.
Rights – your rights are what you are morally or legally entitled to do or to have.
Secular – ‘secular’ describes things which are not religious, or separate from the church and religion.
Secularism/secularist – secularism means the separation of church and state and equal treatment for all, regardless of religion or belief; a secularist is someone who believes in this.
Status quo – the way things are; the current state of things.
Suffrage/suffragist – suffrage is the right to vote in political elections; a suffragist is someone who campaigned for this.
Supernatural – something outside of nature, which can’t be explained by science.
Tolerance – a fair and understanding attitude towards people who are different from you.
Wisdom – being wise; using knowledge and experience to make good decisions.