In the book City of God, Saint Augustine posits the existence of two cities or kingdoms. One city, the city of man, is built on the foundation of self-love and the pursuit of material pleasures. The other city, the city of God, is founded on love of God and the perfection of the human person.
In a sense, this two-city perspective exemplifies secular humanism (the city of man) and Catholicism (the city of God). This essential division between self-love and love of God creates a fundamental, irreconcilable opposition, which I will endeavor to show is antithetical to Catholic teaching.
What Is Humanism?
Humanism may be defined as a system of education and a mode of philosophical inquiry that originated in northern Italy during the 13th and 14th centuries and later spread through continental Europe and England.
Today, the term humanism is broadly applied to a variety of Western beliefs, methods, and philosophies that place central emphasis on the secular or human realm at the expense of the spiritual and transcendent realms. At one point, humanism’s influence was so significant that it was considered the driving force of the Renaissance in Europe (approximately 1400-1600 AD).
While it must be admitted that there are variations under the umbrella term of humanism, it is possible to identify fundamental traits.
Humanism emphasizes the scientific method and critical thinking to counter what it sees as a dogmatic approach to the problems humans encounter. In general, humanism claims that all individuals have inherent dignity, freedom, and the capacity for personal growth and creativity.
Within the moral order, humanism asserts that individuals are responsible for their own actions and have a moral obligation to act in ways that benefit others and promote the common good. Morality, according to humanism, is not dictated by external authority but is derived from human reason and compassion.
From the humanistic perspective, the meaning of life is subjective rather than objective. In this sense, they echo Jean-Paul Sartre’s philosophy that humans create their own meaning for their lives.
It takes little imagination to see why humanism is a perfect fit for the secularist and deterministic philosophies so prevalent in the modern world. Nevertheless, secular humanism has not been without its critics, which are explored below.
First, however, a point about language. As mentioned, there exist various forms of humanism (including Christian humanism). This essay will focus on secular humanism.
The Criticisms Of Humanism
It seems strange to find fault with humanism’s emphasis on reason and the scientific method. However, some have found fault even with this aspect.
Philosophers like Sigmund Freud and Martin Heidegger challenged the idea of the human being as purely rational and autonomous. They point to the complexity and occasional irrationality of human nature. In a similar vein, critics have pointed to humanism’s failure to account for the role of emotion, intuition, and the subconscious in human behavior. (Heidegger, Martin. Being and Time. 1962).
Additional criticism came from philosophers like Friedrich Nietzsche, who argued that humanism’s attempt to create a universal morality ignores the diversity of human desires and interests. This, in turn, leads to an oversimplified, artificial view of ethics. This anti-humanist critique suggests that there is no singular definition of a “human” to unify all interests, making universal morality impossible. (Nietzsche, Friedrich. Nietzsche: Beyond Good and Evil. Cambridge University Press, 2002).
The above views represent a strictly philosophical opposition to humanism. What, however, should Catholicism make of secular humanism?
A Catholic Perspective
At the outset, it must be stated that humanism’s secular and deterministic philosophies place it in direct conflict with Catholic dogma. Specifically, there are three points of difference: the existence of God, the nature of the human person, and morality.
God
The most fundamental basis for the Catholic Church’s opposition to secular humanism centers on its rejection of God and the supernatural. This rejection, in turn, leads to fundamental disagreements over cosmology as well as the sources of human dignity, morality, and the ultimate purpose and meaning of life.
By denying the existence of a transcendent God, secular humanism replaces natural law with a morality based on human agency. In contrast, Catholicism asserts that natural law, as the manifestation of the mind of God, is the foundation of morality.
The Human Person
Like its not-so-distant cousins, atheism and scientism, there is a certain shallowness to humanistic philosophy. For example, humanism fails to provide answers to existential questions about the ultimate purpose of life. For this reason, Catholicism must assert that secular humanism’s anthropology is reductionist and insufficient to the human condition.
Additionally, secular humanism fails to address the source of human rights adequately. Perhaps more accurately, it makes human rights an artifact, a construct of the human mind. This position presents problems from the Catholic perspective.
If human beings are the determiners of human rights, then it logically follows that those in power will decide what human rights are and how they will be applied. Those in power can take away the rights granted by those in power.
In contrast to secular humanism, Catholicism asserts that the intrinsic worth and dignity of the human person come from being created in the image and likeness of God (Imago Dei or image of God). They are, as Alexander Hamilton observed, inalienable.
Moreover, at the anthropological level, a human history replete with violence and war stands in stark contrast to the humanist assumption that humans are fundamentally good and capable of ethical behavior. Of course, Catholicism does not deny that humans are ontologically good; however, Catholicism recognizes humanity’s fallen nature, which militates against the kind of utopian worldview advocated by secular humanism.
Morality
As indicated above, there is a stark contrast between Catholicism and secular humanism regarding morality. Because secular humanism denies the existence of God, it must therefore deny a natural law foundation. While humanism claims that human beings have a moral obligation, any such obligation must be of the individual or group’s own devising.
This lack of a universal moral framework makes it difficult to establish consistent ethical standards that apply to all. In a very real sense, humanism’s reliance on human reason and autonomy leads to ethical relativism. Ethical relativism means morality is based on human needs, interests, experience, and judgment. Since the needs, interests, experiences, and judgments differ drastically among individuals, morality becomes dependent on the person and context, often leading to a situation in which human beings serve as arbiters of right and wrong.
In contradicting secular humanism, Catholic teaching asserts that God establishes moral truth for the benefit of humanity. The removal of these divine constraints can lead to anarchy and repression. Historical events such as the French Revolution illustrate the dire consequences of a godless society. Put succinctly, the Catholic critique of secular humanism’s moral philosophy is that in the absence of an objective moral standard, morality becomes synonymous with power—might makes right.
Conclusion
In conclusion, secular humanism’s trust in itself alone stands in contradiction to the biblical call to trust in God first. (E.g., Psalm 37:3).
The ultimate failure of secular humanism is in the fact that, of its very nature, it promises what it cannot fulfill. By encouraging people to put their trust in earthly happiness, it programs them for disillusionment. This is, in large measure, the reason why the history of the modern world has been characterized, intellectually, by philosophies of pessimism like Existentialism and by often rancorous bitterness over various plans for worldly improvement.
For these reasons and more, Catholics must reject humanism as antithetical to our faith.
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