Friedrich Schleiermacher was competently informed by broad humanistic study. He was schooled in Enlightenment developments but entirely dedicated to his religion.
In fact, Schleiermacher refuted enlightenment critics of Christianity with arguments completely grounded in a broad, humanistic study. So, Schleiermacher, himself a product of the enlightenment and its humanism, found a foundation for his defense of Christianity in his study of the Latin and Greek classics, the philosophies of Aristotle and Kant, and gleanings from German romantic philosophers. This broad influence is easily characteristic of the humanism of the era.
Today, Schleiermacher would probably earn the tag “Christian Humanist,” or “Religious Humanist.” His identification as such would largely come as a result of our current iteration of totally faithless humanism (Dawkins, Harris, Dennett, and Hitchens). Religious Humanism – and more importantly Christian Humanism – picks up where faithless humanism prematurely stops and goes on to suggest that faith itself is also a very, very important aspect and unavoidable feature of our daily human experience(s). So, while there is congruence existing between religious humanism and faithless humanism, as far as the sciences, humanities, and arts are concerned, religious humanism goes further and cites faith and spirituality as an integral components of a holistic and contemporary worldview.
Defined even more specifically, Christian Humanism is: “The belief that human freedom and individualism are intrinsic (natural) parts of, or are at least compatible with, Christian doctrine and practice. It is a philosophical union of Christian and humanist principles” (source).
Some well know Christian Humanists (either by proclimation or action), include very recognizable names, past and present, such as: Tony Campolo, T. S. Eliot, Erasmus, Soren Kierkegaard, Thomas Merton, Blaise Pascal, Dorothy L. Sayers, and Jim Wallis.
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An preacher of the 1960’s says this of Humanism…
“Do you see? Let me epitomize, let me summarize. Christianity says, “The end of all being is the glory of God.” Humanism says, “The end of all being is the happiness of man.” And one was born in Hell, the deification of man; and the other was born in heaven, the glorification of God! And one is a Levite serving Micah, and the other is a heart that’s unworthy serving the living God, because it’s the highest honor in the universe.”
This statement was taken from a sermon preached by Paris Reidhead, the sermon’s name is Ten Shekels and a Shirt. One can listen to it’s entirety by downloading this mp3 file.
http://www.sermonindex.net/modules/mydownloads/visit.php?lid=282
In Christ
Jeff