ABSTRACT
The aim of this chapter is to remind the reader of what a humanistic approach to religion is all about. By reflecting on the shortcomings of any human life, the sorrows, despairs and feelings of alienation that are a part of almost each and every human life, and the dreams of perfection that grow out of these faults, the author states his view on religion and the scholarly use of this contested term. Basically, in the long tradition of the history of religions, it is argued that religion is a type of culture in which values, preferences, dreams and truth claims are rhetorically stabilised and made trustworthy by references to entities beyond human comprehension. The fact that such a type of culture has profound effects on individuals, cultures and societies makes it worthwhile to delimit religion from culture in general. Thereafter, the liaison between the aims of the humanities and humanism as a cultural project is contemplated. After clarifying this position, the (often covert) criticism of humanism that dodges behind idealist scholars analysing modern religion and politics, surfacing in expression such as “lethal humanism”, is addressed. The chapter is rounded up with a note of the so-called Critical Religion Schools.
