Key Questions: Why do some people believe in God and some people not?How does faith help people when life gets hard?

Key Vocabulary:

Humanist Humanists do not believe in a god. They believe it is possible to live a good and fulfilling life without following a traditional religion. Find out more here https://www.reonline.org.uk/subject-knowledge/humanism/

Christian Christians believe in one God, that is revealed in three forms: The Father, The Son and the Holy Spirit

Atheism Absence of/having no belief.

Humanism A philosophy or way of thinking about the world. It is a set of ethics or ideas about how people should live and act.

tikkun olam Tikkun Olam means 'repairing the world' and expresses the Jewish desire to encourage harmony in the world.

Zakat The Muslim belief in charity

The Golden Rule This is the principle of treating others as you would want to be treated yourself ‘Golden Rule’ (Matthew 7:12).

What should I already know:

• Some people are non-religious, and Humanists are a visible group of non-religious people in the UK today.

- Christians believe they were made in ‘the image of God’

- Humanists believe humans can be good without a God.

THE GOLDEN RULEChristians believe in Matthew (7:12) ‘Golden Rule’. This is the principle of treating others as you would want to be treated yourself and is a common thread throughout world religions, including non-religious Humanists.

Religious ceremonies

Christianity – adult vs. infant baptisms

Hindus - sacred thread ceremony

Jews - bar/bat mitzvah

We will explore how non-religious people celebrate these milestones and events.

Symbol for Humanism UK

Exciting books to support this topic

Sticky Knowledge- What matters most to Humanists

and Christians? qHumanist are one group of non-religious people.

qMost humanists would agree with the ideas below:

• There are no supernatural beings.• The material universe is the only thing that

exists.

• Science provides the only reliable source of knowledge about this universe.

• We only live this life - there is no after-life, and no such thing as reincarnation.

• Human beings can live ethical and fulfilling lives without religious beliefs.

• Human beings derive their moral code from the lessons of history, personal experience, and thought.

“So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.” Matthew 7:12

We will explore ways in which the world is not a good place, including issues of bullying, environmental destruction and rudeness.