Lesson video

Hello, everyone, and welcome to our next RE lesson together.

Today, we're going to continue our learning on humanism.

My name's Miss Harrison, and I'm very excited to be teaching you this unit.

So let's get started with our lesson today.

Now we're going to think about the big question of, what do humanists believe about life and death? Now remember that humanism is a nonreligious worldview.

So their beliefs and views might be different to religions that you've studied in the past.

So let's have a look at what our lesson is going to explore today.

We're going to think about, what humanist beliefs we know so far? So recapping that knowledge that we already have.

We're going to think about, why humanists value life? We're going to look at, what humanists believe happens when we die? And how can this view help us to live our lives fully? Now, before we begin our lesson, today you are going to need a piece of paper or a notepad to write on.

You're going to need a pen or pencil to write with.

And of course, you are going to need your very inquisitive and creative human brain.

Now if you're missing one of those things, or if you just want to find a nice, quiet space to work quietly and to concentrate on our lesson today, then you can pause the video now and make sure you're ready.

Okay, fantastic.

Let's get started.

So we're going to think about what humanist beliefs we've already learned about.

So what do we know so far? So far we know that humanists believe that humans were not created by God, but that we evolved over millions of years and this is based on scientific evidence.

Now lots of people hold this view, even if they do subscribe to a religion.

However, some religions believe, or religious people sometimes believe, that God created those conditions for evolution.

Whereas humanists don't believe in a God at all, they just believe in the science that we evolved over millions of years.

And this is because humanists look to science and evidence to find the truth, rather than a faith in a supernatural power, like a God.

And they also believe that people should reason, use reason and empathy to decide what is right or wrong.

So rather than having set rules that they have to follow and rather than having a religious text, humanists don't have a set text that they follow, but they judge each situation depending on what it is and use reason and empathy to decide what's right or wrong.

So let's have a think about why do humanists value life? That's a big question and let's have a look at what we know so far.

We know that humanists believe that this is our only life.

They don't believe in an afterlife like many religions do.

And they believe that we should make the most of the life we have and live it to the full, however we choose to.

So humanists don't believe that anything is predetermined.

That means they don't believe that things are decided for us by fate or by God, or by any kind of supernatural power.

So they believe that we make our own decisions and we can determine the course of our own lives.

Now because they don't believe in an afterlife, they don't believe that anything happens after we die, that means that we should make the most of our lives because this is the only one that we have, and that might be in different ways.

So it might be spending time with your friends or with your family.

It might be eating foods that you love.

It might be travelling to visit different places.

It might be playing sports.

Or it might be listening to music or playing an instrument.

There are loads of different things that might be special to you and keep you happy in how you live your life to the full.

I want you to have a think about those things now.

So I want you to write a list of at least three things that you really enjoy doing to make the most of your life.

So you've got a sentence stem there of, three things I really enjoy doing are.

Now if I think about my life, three things that I really, really enjoyed doing.

First of all, are travelling.

I love to visit different places around the UK and around the world and see lots of different landscapes, different cultures.

I love secondly, to eat food.

Ah, especially sweet foods like desserts are always my favourite.

And I love spending time with my friends and my family, as well.

I want you to pause the video now and write down three things that you really enjoy doing to make the most of your life.

Have a go.

Okay, fantastic.

So there are lots of things that we can do to make the most of our life.

And that's because humanists believe that this is the only life that we have.

So what do humanists believe happens when we die? Now some religious people believe that when we die, we move into another life.

Now humanism is a nonreligious worldview.

And humanists do not believe in an afterlife.

They believe that death is the natural process that is the end of our existence on Earth.

And that doesn't mean that we shouldn't feel worried or upset by death.

It's okay to feel those feelings.

But what humanists believe is that the lack of an afterlife, so the fact that we don't have an afterlife, means that it gives our life more meaning and makes it more valuable, because we should make the most of the life that we have whilst we're still alive.

And it's okay to feel worried or upset by death.

And we can find ways to cope with the idea of death being the end.

And it need not necessarily make us afraid.

But not being afraid of death doesn't mean we shouldn't try to avoid death or desire to keep living.

So humanists believe that we should make the most of the life we have, because this is the only life that we have.

They don't believe that we go on to somewhere else after death.

So I've got a true or false question to test you on now.

Humanists believe that after we die, we can live on in another afterlife.

Have a think, is that true or is it false? Pause the video now and write down your answer.

Let's see if you managed to get it right.

So the statement was humanists believe that after we die, we can live on in another afterlife.

And the answer was false.

Humanists do not believe that there is an afterlife.

They believe that this is the only life that we have.

Therefore, we should make the most of it.

If you wrote your answer as false, you can give yourself a big tick, well done.

So how can we remember someone after they've died? Sadly, throughout our lives, we might have to experience the death of a friend or a family member.

And that can be something really, really upsetting and make us feel really sad.

But this doesn't mean that we forget that person.

Now humanists believe that a person's memory can live on even after they have died.

And the way that we can remember people after they've died is that we might remember things like photographs, or we might have objects that remind us of that person.

We might remember them through family members.

So if that person had children, or grandchildren, or nieces, or nephews, then their genes might live on.

And we might remember things that they've said, remember things that they've done, remember their actions, thoughts, and ideas.

And those are the things that humanists believe live on, even after a person dies.

And that's the way that we might remember somebody.

So for example, my grandma died a few years ago when I was younger, actually.

And I always remember her for the things that she's taught me and the things that she helped me to do, especially when I was a lot younger, when I was a child.

For example, she's the one that taught me how to tie my shoe laces, which is a skill I use all the time.

And my granny who also sadly has died now, she taught me skills like how to lay the dinner table, or how to prepare different meals, and those are things that I always remember.

So even though those two people aren't with me anymore, they've passed on, I can still remember them through things like that.

So have a think.

I want you to write down one way that humanists remember those who have died.

Pause the video now and write your sentence using the sentence stem on the screen, have a go.

Okay, fantastic.

So you might have written something like one way that humanists remember those who have died is through remembering their thoughts, or their actions, or their ideas, through photographs, or having objects that remind you of that person.

Thinking about things that they might have taught you, or maybe a joke that they've told you, or a story that they've told you, or their genes living on through their family members and their descendants.

Awesome work, everybody, well done.

Now I've got a quotation to share with you, which is from Marcus Aurelius, who was a philosopher, who lived over a thousand years ago.

And he said, "Do not act as if you were going to live for a thousand years.

While you are alive, while it is still possible, become a good person." And this fits in with the humanist view that we only have one life to live.

So it's really important that we make the most of that life, and that we're a good person while we're alive on Earth, that we help other people to also live a good life, as well.

So that fits in quite well with what we're talking about today.

So now that we know what humanists believe about life and death, how can this help us or how can this view help us to live our lives fully? Let's have a look.

So humanists believe that life is finite.

Now that might be a new piece of vocabulary for you.

The word finite means that it will end at some point.

Now this, in humanist opinion, this gives life more structure and more value.

So the life that we have is more precious and more valuable, because it's the only one we're going to have.

And humanists believe that we should live our lives the way that we want to.

And we should find happiness and help others to do the same.

So we shouldn't rely on thinking that there's going to be an afterlife.

The most important thing is that we make the most of the life that we do have on Earth, because humanists believe that is our only life, so we should find happiness and help others to do the same.

Now I want you to relate this back to your life.

And I want you to write down one way that you can live your life fully, and one way to help someone else be happy.

Because it's really important for humanists that we live our lives to the full, and we do those things that make us happy and that make us enjoy our lives.

But also one thing that we can do to make other people happy.

So one way that I can live my life fully and do something that I really enjoy doing is I like to spend my holidays, because as a teacher we're very lucky with having lots of holidays, I can spend my holidays exploring new places, travelling to different places, and learning more about different locations and different cultures.

And I can make somebody else happy by maybe thinking about them, thinking about my friends and my family.

Maybe inviting them to come on my trips with me.

Or by sharing my stories or sharing gifts and things with them, as well.

So have a think about your life.

What's one way that you can live your life fully and make somebody else happy? Pause the video now and write down your sentences.

Okay, well done, everybody.

That brings us to the end of our RE lesson for today.

Well done for all of your hard work.

And I hope you enjoyed and found it interesting to learn about those different beliefs about life and death.

Now if you really enjoyed our lesson today, and if you're super proud of the work that you have done, you might like to share your work with the Oak National team.

And the way you can do that is by asking a parent or carer to take a photo of your work and share it on social media, tagging @OakNational, and with the hashtag #LearnWithOak.

That way some of your teachers might be able to see the wonderful work that you are doing at home.

So well done for your hard work today, everyone.

I will be back next lesson for us to learn more about humanism together.

And I'll see you then.