しばしば「人間至上主義」と訳されるヒューマニズムとは何でしょうか。神の存在なくして道徳を語ることはできるのか。また、宗教なくして、人々の人生は意味あるものたりえるのでしょうか。これらの問いへの答えを導く一冊です。宗教的信仰心の必要性に関する論争を見直し、人生の価値と意味を検証しながら、ヒューマニズムは宗教の代わりを務めることができるのかという大きな問いに挑みます。
   
Awarded the 2011 Morris D. Forkosch Award for Humanist Book of the Year
   

• Explores humanism as a positive alternative to religion
• Examines the history of humanism as a movement up to the present day
• Looks at the role of humanist ceremonies and humanist views on education
• Considers the importance of a secular society
• Explores the idea of leading a purposeful and meaningful life without religion

 
Religion is currently gaining a much higher profile. The number of faith schools is increasingly, and religious points of view are being aired more frequently in the media. As religion's profile rises, those who reject religion, including humanists, often find themselves misunderstood, and occasionally misrepresented. 

Stephen Law explores how humanism uses science and reason to make sense of the world, looking at how it encourages individual moral responsibility and shows that life can have meaning without religion. Challenging some of the common misconceptions, he seeks to dispute the claims that atheism and humanism are 'faith positions' and that without God there can be no morality and our lives are left without purpose. 

Looking at the history of humanism and its development as a philosophical alternative, he examines the arguments for and against the existence of God, and explores the role humanism plays in moral and secular societies, as well as in moral and religious education. Using humanism to determine the meaning of life, he shows that there is a positive alternative to traditional religious belief.