Many humanists (not merely non-theists) and religionists tend to believe that their respective groups are superior to the other. However, both groups seem to forget that we never cease to be human beings, and therefore fallible. The same can also be said of our worldviews, regardless of what promoters of biblical inerrancy might argue to the contrary.
There are good and bad humanists just as there are good and bad religionists. However, though good humanists tend to be as moral as good religionists, bad religionists tend to be worse than bad humanists.
For example, sexist humanists tend to make sexist jokes, sexually harass women, call them derogatory names, use them for sex, etc. However, many sexist religionists tend to be much worse. They advocate Female Genital Mutilation (FGM), deny women the right to drive and vote, commit “honor killings,” kill adulteresses, deny girls the right to an education, throw acid on girls and women they find threatening, dictate how girls and women are to dress, view women as unreliable witnesses in criminal cases, etc.
Bad humanists still advocate democracy. However, many bad religionists advocate theocracy. They want the government to dictate how everyone should live. They oversee governments like that of the Taliban and nations such as Iran, Saudi Arabia, and numerous state governments in Nigeria.
They advocate blasphemy laws, even calling for the death penalty for alleged blasphemers. In the U.S., Christian theocrats advocate government intervention to deny women access to reproductive health. They promote Intelligent Design and other pseudo-scientific ideas, etc.
Bad humanists make homophobic remarks, express homophobic messages in their art and music, feel very uncomfortable around LGBTQI people, do not believe they should be allowed to marry or serve in the military, etc.
However, many bad religionists advocate that LGBTQI people be imprisoned or killed. In parts of Africa, many bad religionists go so far as to say that LGBTQI people should be imprisoned merely for fighting for their rights. Some bad religionists in Africa want to make it a crime for people to refrain from reporting same-sex behavior to the authorities.
Humanists often have major disagreements and organizational splits. However, these do not turn violent. One never even hears of a fist fight among bickering humanists, let alone a full-scale holy war. However, many bad religionists fight and kill in the name of God.
No matter how bad a humanist might be, he or she never advocates or practices chattel slavery. However, bad religionists in Sudan and Mauritania, and to a lesser extent, some Gulf states, still advocate and practice chattel slavery. The Nation of Islam (NOI) has long served as apologists for slave owners in Sudan and Mauritania.
Bad religionists tend to be hardened by the negative teachings of their sacred texts. On the other hand, good religionists tend to be softened by the positive teachings of their sacred texts. Hence the saying, “religion can make a good man better and a bad man worse.” Such is the great paradox of religion.
Good religionists and good humanists have much in common, as do bad humanists and bad religionists. However, bad humanists have greater difficulty uniting with bad religionists, because many bad religionists see all humanists as enemies of God, goodness, and Truth. Good religionists, on the other hand, tend to be more open to people of different religions, or none at all.
Good humanists and good religionists have had great success working together. For example, most people are aware of the strong religious component of the civil rights movement of years past.
However, there were numerous humanist leaders involved in the movement, including James Farmer of the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE), James Forman of the Student Non-violent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), A. Philip Randolph, “the Godfather of the civil rights movement,” and others. Indeed, in Strength to Love, Martin Luther King expressed thanks to the “thousands” of humanists involved with the movement.
Good humanists should always consider working with good religionists. Both groups are concerned with making a better world for all. Both groups are concerned with justice, fairness and other important virtues. Most of them tend to be progressive on many issues. There is no reason that they should be at constant loggerheads. Both groups need to have thick skin and to be their own worst critics.
Humanism tends to have a civilizing effect upon bad humanists. However, religion often makes bad religionists mean, nasty, and callous. After all, bad religionists never have difficulty finding passages in their sacred texts and messages from their bad leaders that condone inhumane behavior. (If God is for it, who can be against it?)
Humanism and more humanistic religions must be the wave of the future if humanity is rise above its present state. Humanism and humanistic ideas can and must make the world a better place.