Themes Of Humanism

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The American humanistic tradition places importance on the individual’s personality and personal differences (Wulff 582). The basic themes of humanistic psychology in its analysis of religion are having faith or being in faith. If someone has faith, it means that they have a very clear understanding of what it means to be ultimate truth. God becomes and idol that people give their own characteristics to. In the being mode, faith is not just a set of beliefs but an orientation and attitude. Those being in faith do not accept any authoritarian rule because they rely on themselves to know (Wulff 598). This can be related to Catholicism and varying sects of Christianity.
Wulff then differentiates between philosophical humanism and humanistic psychology. Philosophical humanism leans toward a natural tendency for humans to want a greater good without employing religion (wulff 583). Contrasting philosophy with humanistic psychology, the goal is to keep the personal religious experiences separate from the religious traditions themselves (Wulff 609).
Allport, Fromm, and Maslow hold different understandings of the positive …show more content…

All people see and perceive things in different ways due to conditioning through their culture (Wulff 423). This “personal equation” is very important in terms of subjectivity because every individual’s personal experiences shape the way they think, take in information, and share information (Wulff 423). In looking for better ways to avoid misunderstandings or devaluing the whole of experiences, Jung moves into support of the phenomenological position. This approach gives due importance to the range of possibilities that come from experiencing religion. Jung believed quantifying data and offering explanation was important in understanding religion but the general statements that come from these methods left a lot out of the equation (Wulff

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