What is a humanist? There are probably as many definitions as there are humanists. In general humanists do not believe that there is a god that takes an active part in what goes on in the world. Most humanists are atheists but many aren’t. The ones that aren’t usually believe that a god or gods set up the universe a long time ago and are watching how it comes out. The important part is that we are the answer to our problems and the force to decide how to run our lives, not a god. Humanism is not a religion. The best reason why I’ve read is that religions believe in things they can’t see while humanists believe in things they can see. There is a wide amount of variation among the other beliefs humanists have. For example, some are vegetarians and others are carnivores. There an interesting debate going on in one of the humanist magazines on whether global warming is overrated. Humanists do share a love of science and other people. Equality among people is another shared value Here’s a Youtube video on Richard Dawkins, a famous atheist writer and speaker on humanism.