Humanism has several meanings. In the history of the Renaissance, it refers to a movement of learning that used classical texts, rhetoric and the study of language. In modern ethical humanism, it refers to a way of approaching questions about how to live through reason, experience and concern for others. Those meanings are connected by the importance they give to what people can learn and judge. Their aims become clearer when we look at what a Renaissance scholar did with an old document and what contemporary humanists say about ethical decisions and community. Valla’s treatise on the Donation of Constantine · Declaration of Modern Humanism, 2022 · Greg Epstein’s account at Harvard Divinity School · Christian humanism and classical learning
Renaissance humanism at work in Lorenzo Valla’s reading
The Donation of Constantine purported to record a grant of authority and territory from the Roman emperor Constantine to Pope Sylvester and his successors. In 1440, the Italian scholar Lorenzo Valla argued that the document was a forgery. He asked whether a Roman emperor would have used its vocabulary. For example, the document mentions satraps among Roman officials. Valla compared its phrasing with the way Roman authority was expressed on ancient inscriptions and coins, where the Senate and the Roman people could be named. The comparison gave readers a way to test an authoritative document against other surviving evidence. Valla’s treatise on the Donation of Constantine · Yale’s dated source excerpt
Valla also drew attention to a contradiction. The document treats Constantinople as an established ecclesiastical seat while claiming, in another passage, that Constantine still intended to build the city. His argument requires a reader to put two statements side by side and ask whether the writer could plausibly have lived in the time described. Valla also invokes Christian authorities in making his case. This was an instance of a humanist method at work within a religious and political dispute. It helps explain why Renaissance humanism can include Christian scholars and why the word has more than one historical meaning. Valla’s treatise on the Donation of Constantine · Christian humanism and classical learning
What modern humanists ask of evidence and values
The 2022 Declaration of Modern Humanism from Humanists International bases ethical concern on human capacities such as understanding, compassion and reflection. It connects personal freedom with responsibilities to others, including future generations and other beings capable of feeling. Its account of inquiry also draws a distinction. Evidence helps us understand what different courses of action are likely to achieve. A judgment about what people ought to achieve involves deciding which ends are worth pursuing. The declaration leaves human beings with responsibility for making and examining those judgments. Declaration of Modern Humanism, 2022 · Secular humanism and free inquiry
Consider a city deciding how to use an empty parcel of land. Evidence could help estimate how much shade trees would provide, who could reach a public garden or how much it would cost to build housing there. People would still need to decide which needs deserve priority and whose experience should count. For example, a proposal that benefits most residents might also make a space harder to use for some neighbours. The declaration’s commitments to freedom, welfare and dignity give reasons to take that effect into account and to examine the proposal again as more becomes known. Declaration of Modern Humanism, 2022
The declaration also makes room for imagination and artistic experience. It treats literature, music and the natural world as sources of fulfilment and sees exchange with people of other beliefs as part of shared work. In the land-use example, listening to residents and imagining how a place might be used can reveal questions that the original proposal missed. Inquiry can begin by noticing a need, and evidence can then help people decide how to respond. Declaration of Modern Humanism, 2022
How an ethical outlook becomes a community
In a 2025 Harvard Divinity School discussion, humanist chaplain Greg Epstein described being interested in religion and wanting a community even though he did not identify as religious. He recalled finding an existing humanist chaplaincy and eventually taking up that work himself. His account describes an organised place for people to discuss meaning, purpose and responsibility. Harvard’s chaplains include representatives of religious, spiritual and ethical traditions, so this work takes place alongside chaplaincies grounded in other worldviews. Greg Epstein’s account at Harvard Divinity School · Harvard Chaplains’ statement of mission
The distinction between a label and a practice matters here. An answer to the question of whether someone believes in God can describe part of that person’s outlook. It leaves open questions about whom they turn to when they need to talk, how they work through a decision and what kinds of community they want. The chaplaincy is one institutional answer to those questions. Other humanist organisations put their values into practice through activities such as naming ceremonies and funerals centred on the people involved. Greg Epstein’s account at Harvard Divinity School · Harvard Chaplains’ statement of mission · Humanist naming and funeral ceremonies
Conclusion
Valla’s example shows what close reading can do when a text makes a claim to authority. Modern humanism applies critical inquiry to a wider question about how people can live well together. Its declarations make explicit the values involved, and the example of chaplaincy shows how such values can lead to shared practices. Which meaning of humanism a writer intends depends on the period, the question and the kind of work they are describing. Valla’s treatise on the Donation of Constantine · Declaration of Modern Humanism, 2022 · Greg Epstein’s account at Harvard Divinity School
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