Humanism is a philosophy or belief system and mindset that attaches prime importance to humans rather than divine or supernatural matters. It is any attitude that gives priority to human endeavors; human values, human capacities, human worth, human rights, human interests, human needs, human intelligence, human prowess, human achievements, human exploits and human welfare. The Humanist belief system or school of thought stresses, celebrates, idolizes and venerate the potential value and goodness of human beings. It emphasizes common human needs, and seeks solely rational ways of solving societal problems.

The term humanism is frequently qualified, as in "Renaissance humanism," which is characterized by a love of the achievements of the Greco-Roman world, an optimism that humans are inherently endowed with the natural skills, gifts and talents necessary to reshape, reform and transform the world according to their own needs, and a belief in inherent human dignity. While the Renaissance humanists did not see their enlightened self-interest as a contradiction of their Christianity, a few recent demagogues identify "secular humanism" as a tacitly atheistic preoccupation with human affairs.