Man is the measure of all things, proclaimed Protagoras, the Greek philosopher who lived in the fifth century BC. The term humanism has had numerous connotations over the centuries, some positive, some negative. As a movement, in general, the term is usually connected to the Renaissance era (1350-1600), when certain intellectuals began to absorb the literary genius of Greece and Rome, whose writings had been preserved for the most part in Constantinople.

Prior to the conquest of Constantinople by the Muslims in 1453, many Byzantine (Greek) scholars fled to Italy and brought with them the ancient texts of Greek and Roman civilization, including thousands of manuscripts of the New Testament from certain monasteries. In recent years, however, the term humanism has essentially become connected to the movement of secularism (hence, secular humanism) - i.e. those who reject religious belief in general.