This document provides an overview and comparison of the worldviews of Secular Humanism and Marxism/Leninism across 10 disciplines: theology, philosophy, ethics, biology, psychology, sociology, law, politics, economics, and history. It summarizes the key beliefs and stances of each worldview within each discipline, noting both similarities and differences between Secular Humanism and Marxism/Leninism. The document aims to describe the major tenets of each worldview.

1. Seth Allen
ICS2015 World Religions
ID#1004263
12/18/12
Secular Humanism vs. Marxism/Leninism
Secular Humanism is an atheistic religion/worldview. It is one of the 4 major
worldviews, which are: Secular Humanism, Marxism/Leninism, Cosmic Humanism, and
Biblical Christianity. In this report I will describe the ten major disciplines included in the
major worldviews which are; theology, philosophy, ethics, biology, psychology,
sociology, law, politics, economics, and history. I will also be comparing the worldview
of Secular Humanism with Marxism/Leninism.
Secular Humanism is by definition; the worldview that assumes that there is no
supernatural (God, angels, or after life), nothing goes beyond the material universe. So
Secular Humanists are Atheists, thus saying that there is sufficient evidence that there
is no God or even that there is supernatural at all. Supernatural includes God, Satan,
angels, demons, souls, and consciences.
Now theology is the study of the nature of God, or just the study of God. The
Secular Humanists theology is Atheism. They do not believe there is a God or (as
previously stated) anything supernatural. There are three main written documents that
express the main beliefs of Secular Humanism. These are: 1The Philosophy of
Humanism, which insists that Humanism, “rejecting supernaturalism” and “seeking
man’s fulfillment in the here and now of this world,” has a long and honored tradition of
1 The Philosophy of Humanism- written by CorlissLamont, pg. 145

2. atheism that began with Democritus in ancient Greece, and continued through history to
John Dewey in the twentieth century. The Humanist Manifesto I 2
described the
universe as “self-existing and not created,” later in the Manifesto it stated, “Time has
passed for theism…” Thus bringing us to our third document, The Humanist Manifesto
II 3
, which states “We find insufficient evidence for belief in the existence of a
supernatural; it is either meaningless or irrelevant to the question of survival and
fulfillment of the human race.” Marxist theology is much like a Secularists theology, in
that they both have atheistic views, but the written documents are different from those in
Secular Humanism.
The next discipline I will be talking about is philosophy. The Secular Humanists
are naturalistic, while Marxists have a dialectical materialism philosophy. Secular
Humanists are slow to accept a certain philosophy because defining the Humanist
position would imply that absolute truth exists. Because absolute truth cannot be a part
of their worldview, they have accepted other positions such as: materialism, naturalism,
organicism, and other views presented by science. In dialectal materialism there are a
few parts that make up the philosophy of each world view, these are cosmology/
metaphysics which is the study of the universe, epistemology which refers to the theory
of one’s knowledge. The Secular Humanist believes that the physical universe was
brought to existence by accident and nothing exists beyond the physical realm
(cosmology). The Marxists also believe that the universe cam to existence through
accidental processes, like Secular Humanists. As for epistemology being the study of
2 HumanistManifesto I – Written by John Dewey, Roy wood Sellars,John H. Randall,Jr.,E. A. Burtt, and Edwin H.
Wilson.Pg.8
3 HumanistManifesto II – Written by the Humanistgroup. Pg. 16

3. knowledge and how it is obtained, both Humanists and Marxists believe that knowledge
can only be found through science. And that anything can be known about the physical
universe.
The third discipline is ethics, which is the study of what you think is right and
wrong. A Humanist has a problem with their code of ethics because of their atheistic
theology. This is because with being atheist they have no moral code of ethics that they
should follow, like we as Christians have through the life and laws given to us by
God/Jesus. The Humanist ethics are based on ethical relativism. The Secular
Humanists have rejected the whole idea behind the existence of a code of ethics. So
the way they decide the difference between right and wrong depends on how the
individual interprets the right and wrong in every situation. The Marxists point to
proletariat morality, which is the domination of the proletariat class. Also they believe
that anything that is done for the benefit of the communist party is considered right.
The fourth discipline is Biology, which is how everything works and is created.
The Humanists view in biology is Darwinian evolution. The theory of evolution is
extremely important to the Humanists, because it is the only alternative explanation of
how the world was made without pointing to a supreme being involved in the creation of
all things. According to the Humanist Manifest I, “Humanism believes that man is a part
of nature and that he has emerged as the result of a continuous process.” While the
Marxist view is somewhat similar to the Secular humanists view by the means of how
the universe was created, through evolution, and the assumption that “science” can
prove this theory. But there are a few differences in the things they view as true. The
Humanist says that only the fittest will survive, and to the humanist combining mutations

4. with the theory of natural selection provides an answer for adaption. Marxism does not
openly accept these views into their view of evolution.
The fifth discipline is psychology, which is the study of the human mind and
behavior. The Humanist psychology is based on self-actualization. With the denial of
the supernatural, humanism doesn’t leave very much of the “science” of psychology to
study. So the Humanists base their study of psychology on physical things, such as;
the brain, environmental stimuli, and tangible human responses to that stimuli. Secular
Humanists self – actualization point in psychology is the realization that each individual
deep inside is good, but the society around them and the way they are brought up is at
fault for the bad things that they do. Both Marxists and Humanists embrace the
approach of behaviorism. Behaviorism by definition is the approach to psychology
focusing on behavior, denying any independent significance for mind and assuming that
behavior is determined by the environment.
The sixth discipline is sociology, which is the study of society. The Humanist
takes the stance of non-traditional family sociology. In the same way as in psychology,
the Humanist sociologists have to work to redefine science in a way that fits their
approach and still keeps religious approach on any aspect of life out of their worldview.
Secular Humanists believe in social activism partly because it gives more significance to
their discipline. The institution of the church is reached by the separation of church and
state. The Marxist view is the abolition of home, church and state. Marxist sociologists
say that their approach to sociology is the most scientific out of all of the other
approaches. Marxists believe that not only man is evolving through biology but also that
society is evolving through sociology. “The sociology of a Marxist is the view that all

5. social institutions as decided by the economic system on which society is based.”4 The
Marxists also believe that the next evolutionary level will be a world socialist
(communist) system. Which in time will remove religion completely, and they will
establish a proletarian system of public education.
The seventh discipline is Law. According to David Noebel, no Humanist leaders
have ever written a book specifically addressing the Humanist attitude toward law. But
this does not mean that they do not have some sort of legal assumptions. The
Humanists standpoint of law is Positive Law. This view is somewhat the same as the
view of sociology, where any evil displayed in man is because of the less-than-perfect
environment around the man. The way to change each individual is to change the
society each are in. Also the Humanist believes that being based on that God does not
exist (atheism) and that man is an evolving animal. So the question is: do rights
evolve? The Humanists make some daring assumptions “human rights.” Marxists have
the same view on law as does Secular Humanism in the areas that God does not exist
and that man (evolving animal) and social institutions are evolving, which makes them
both rely on some sort of the same legal positivism. But in the Marxist view each citizen
is held hostage by the arbitrary law of the state.
The eighth discipline is politics. According to Understanding the Times (page
270), “Virtually every Secular Humanist embraces that democracy as the most
acceptable form of government.” But for the humanist, democracy goes far beyond just
politics, and that it should be a guideline for every part of a man’s life. Corliss Lamont
states (in his Philosophy of Humanism pg. 262), “Humanist principles demand the
4 Pg. 217 of Understandingthe times, by David A. Noebel

6. widest possible extension of democracy to most aspects of human living.” And later he
also says, “That the process of democratization entails a process of equalization.”
Humanists believe that through globalism, a peaceful world government will happen
because of man’s evolving to a higher state and will be able to control his own
evolution. Marxism believes in a new world order, which is where everyone will be
economically equal. To a Marxist democracy is a necessary evil; because of the
government that it imposes on the people (Marxists want proletariat morality.) They do
want a type of “democracy” known as the “dictatorship of the proletariat”. This
eventually evolves into communism.
The ninth discipline is economics. Both Humanism and Marxism believe in
Socialism5 as their “perfect” economic view. At different times there were controversial
opinions between humanists, some supported socialism, while others attacked it (with
rightful evidence from the past experiences of failure.6)
And finally the tenth discipline, which is History. History is the collection of past
events. The Secular Humanist believes in Historical Evolution, and the Marxists believe
in Historical materialism. When a Humanist looks back at history they see man’s
progress towards paradise. The Humanist is always insisting that they have a realistic
sight of humans history, and yet time and time again they make statements that
abandon their absolute faith in evolving humanity. The Marxist believes in historical
materialism. And they claim that their history is strictly based on the scientific view of
5 Definition:Any of various economic and political philosophies thatsupportsocial equality,collectivedecision-
making, distribution of incomebased on contribution and public ownership of productive capital and natural
resources,as advocated by socialists.
6 Pg. 303 Understandingthe Times.

7. the world. They say, “Neither God, nor angels, nor Men’s souls act as the actual basis
for the workings of history; rather, matter obeying specific laws drives the progress of
the world.”7 So both Humanists and Marxists view history from an evolutionary point of
view, thus meaning that humanities history will always progress.
The most important aspect of both Secular Humanism and Marxism/Leninism is
their (atheistic) belief that there is no God. In Christianity our whole religion is based on
having an Almighty God at the center of our lives. And not only is God almighty, He is
also the divine Creator of the whole universe. One of the coolest parts about this is the
fact that He is so holy and perfect, and yet He still desires to have a relationship with
humanity (who have been corrupted with sin.)
Through all of this research I have learned a lot about how much two different
world views will have the same views in some areas, but in other areas they are
completely opposite. Another thing I have seen is, how much two secular worldviews
will change their view on something, just enough to keep the existence of the
supernatural out of their worldview. I have also learned how almost everybody in
society is introduced to some various forms of either Secular Humanism or Marxism.
For example, China is under Marxist rulers. They have been that way for quite a while
now, where they will call themselves an economic democracy (which is not possible,
because democracy is not associated with economics, but with the citizen role in
government.) So in more clear terms, I have learned some of the major differences and
similarities between Secular Humanism, and Marxism/Leninism.
7 Pg. 344 Understandingthe Times.

8. Bibliography
"American Humanist Association." American Humanist Association. N.p., n.d. Web. 21
Dec. 2012.
American Humanist Association. Humanism and Its Aspirations. 2003. MS. N.p.
Bragg, Raymond. "Humanist Manifesto I." 1933. MS. N.p.
Kurtz, Paul, and Edwin Wilson. Humanist Manifesto II. 1973. MS. N.p.
Lamont, Corliss. The Philosophy of Humanism. 8th ed. Washington D.C.: Humanist,
1997. Print.
Noebel, David A. Understanding the Times. Abridged ed. Colorado Springs: ACSI,
1995. Print.