Worldviews: Religious and Non-Religious
What's covered
Key facts
Atheism and Agnosticism
One might be agnostic because the question of God's existence seems too hard to answer with certainty.
Humanism
Humanism centres on human reason and human welfare.
Secular Ethics
Jeremy Bentham founded utilitarianism (late 18th / early 19th century).
What Is a Worldview?
Everyone has a worldview, whether they realise it or not.
Why People Hold Different Worldviews
A society with many worldviews is called diverse.
Atheism and Agnosticism
Agnosticism is being unsure whether God exists.
Humanism
Humanism is a non-religious life stance.
Secular Ethics
Deontology is following moral duties strictly, regardless of consequences.
What Is a Worldview?
Humanism is a non-religious worldview: humanists believe people can live good, meaningful lives using reason and empathy, without religion or belief in a god.
Why People Hold Different Worldviews
Pluralism is an attitude that accepts the diversity of beliefs and worldviews co-existing in a society.
Practice questions with answers
A taste of the 45 questions in this topic, answers marked. Sign up to practise the full set with spaced repetition.
What is atheism?
- •Belief in many gods or spirits
- ✓Belief no god exists
- •Belief that God cannot be known
- •Uncertainty about whether God exists
What is humanism?
- •Belief in one God and human dignity
- •Branch of liberal Christianity
- ✓Non-religious life stance
- •Philosophical defence of sacred texts
What is secular ethics?
- •Ethics approved by a church authority
- •Ethics based on natural law theology
- •Ethics derived from scripture
- ✓Ethics without religion
What is a worldview?
- •a religious text for guidance
- •a scientific method for nature
- •a shared cultural tradition
- ✓How someone sees the world
Does upbringing affect worldview?
- •No: worldview is innate
- •Only in adulthood
- •Only in religious families
- ✓Yes: strongly
What is agnosticism?
- •Accepting all religions as equally true
- •Believing that God definitely does not exist
- •Choosing not to follow any religion
- ✓Not knowing if God exists
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