Humanism

First off, I must differentiate Humanism from the Humanist Group, for which I cannot speak.
. . In the west, the Humanist philosophy began in the Renaissance as a revolt against medieval religious authority, and pushed back toward empirical reasoning. So now, it centers most on the honor of the human intellect. It includes existentialism. When religion said man is a helpless unworthy worm, the Humanist stood up & said that Man is the measure of all things. I very much disagree, but it was a lot better than what went before.
. . In paintings, The Buddhist tradition showed people centered in the picture. In Taoist tradition, humans are seldom to be seen, and only in a small way. It's nature-centered. Zen is Buddhism filtered thru the Tao, concentrating on the human, to teach him, one at a time, that reality is the center, not him.
. . A dog watched his owner and thought: My human is wonderful. He feeds me, bathes me, cares for my every need and want. There's the proof --He must be a god. / The cat watched his human and thought: the human that hangs around my house is wonderful. He feeds me, pets me, cares for my every need and want. There's the proof --I must be a god!
. . The extreme right saw a fantasy their ancestors dreamed up, and said there's the proof --this is God. The neo-pagans saw a fantasy their ancestors dreamed up and said, this is an exciting ritual. The mid-road people saw the rituals their ancestors dreamed up and said, uhhhhh... I don't care enough to change my routine.
. . The Humanism-ist watched society and thought: Humans are wonderful. Society feeds me, amuses me, cares for my every need and want. There's no need for a god; but I'll behave as if there's a rational one. The scientist watched reality and thot: I can't design an experiment that proves there's a god, so I donno.
. . The Gaian watched nature and thought: Nature is wonderful. It feeds me, awes me, cares for my every need and want. It might be what people personified as a god. The Zen monk watched reality and... well, he just watched.