Naturalistic Humanism differs from Secular Humanism in several ways, including the basis for its ethical framework, assumptions about human nature and what motivates human behavior, the nature of its community events, the way it regards faith-based beliefs, and its primary focus.
| Dimension | Secular Humanism | Naturalistic Humanism |
|---|---|---|
| Human Nature | Does not assume that humans are inherently good or evil. | When provided with the developmental and life support essential to fully express their potential, humans are naturally inclined to cooperate, care, participate, and contribute. Anti-social behavior indicates a lack of key developmental elements. In Naturalistic Humanism this perspective is called proanthropy. |
| Cause and Effect in Human Behavior | Secular Humanists often go to extremes to rescue a belief in absolute agency (choices completely detached from prior causes), including elaborate appeals to quantum physics. Those who accept determinism generally take a “compatibilist” position—recognizing that where we wind up is a matter of luck, while maintaining the belief that nothing needs to change. | Humans are not exceptions to the laws of cause and effect that govern our macro universe. While humans are the proximate cause of their behavior and actively make choices, they are not the ultimate cause. This reality profoundly alters how we approach credit and blame, reward and punishment. In Naturalistic Humanism this is called metawareness. |
| Community Events | Generally cerebral affairs, usually involving one or more speakers, or an intellectual panel presentation. Meetings may occasionally include a ritual, such as reading humanist affirmations in unison. | Events are designed to convey core concepts non-intellectually, engaging emotional openness; communication processing and awareness of group dynamics; creativity, playfulness, and fun; and an experimental mindset. Rather than using rituals to reaffirm static truths, gatherings utilize experimental activities to cultivate new awareness, insight, and understanding. |
| Faith-Based Beliefs | Explicitly rejects belief in God, gods, or an afterlife. | Unconcerned with personal faith-based beliefs, such as a deity or an afterlife. What matters the most is how we understand the human experience and treat one another. |
| Ethical Framework | Centers on a belief in common moral decencies and traditional virtue ethics. | Kindness and concern with the welfare of others are a natural expression of human health. Healthy people naturally feel uplifted and pleased when those around them are joyful, and feel diminished when surrounded by pain and sadness. |
| The Primary Concern | Rejects supernatural beliefs and prioritizes the intellectual defense of reason, science, and the separation of church and state. | By promoting a proanthropic and metaware worldview, along with an experimental mindset, Naturalistic Humanism seeks to help transcend the judgmental thinking and blaming that distorts self-image, debilitates relationships, and destroys social cohesion. |