121-578: Humanists UK , known from 1967 until May 2017 as the British Humanist Association ( BHA ), is a charitable organisation which promotes secular humanism and aims to represent "people who seek to live good lives without religious or superstitious beliefs" in the United Kingdom by campaigning on issues relating to humanism, secularism , and human rights . It seeks to act as a representative body for non-religious people in
242-478: A common informer against a cinema chain for opening on a succession of Sundays, contrary to the Sunday Observance Act 1780, s.1. Orpen claimed £25,000 against the cinema company and individual members of its board of directors . The claim was based on a forfeit of £200 per performance per defendant . The judge , Mr Justice Rowlatt , expressed some distaste for the proceedings. He found against
363-444: A peer-to-peer support service for people who face difficulties leaving coercive religions and cults; work to promote tolerance and understanding between religious communities and the non-religious; and work to promote understanding of humanism. The current president of Humanists UK is Adam Rutherford and the chief executive is Andrew Copson . The association currently has 70 affiliated regional and special interest groups and claims
484-557: A secular state , which it defines as "a state where public institutions are separate from religious institutions and treat all citizens impartially regardless of their religious or non-religious beliefs." It points to issues such as the joint role of the British monarch (both Supreme Governor of the Church of England and Head of State), the reserved places for bishops in the House of Lords ,
605-676: A suffragist and divorce law campaigner) and the writer and critic Leslie Stephen (father of Virginia Woolf ). Stephen served multiple terms as President of the West London Ethical Society. The Union of Ethical Societies changed its name to the Ethical Union in 1920 and was incorporated in 1928. In 1963 H. J. Blackham became the first executive director, The Ethical Union became the British Humanist Association (BHA) in 1967, during
726-662: A "purely human basis" for morality. The first ethical society along these lines in Britain was founded in 1886. By 1896 the four London societies formed the Union of Ethical Societies, and between 1905 and 1910 there were over fifty societies in Great Britain, seventeen of which were affiliated with the Union. The Union of Ethical Societies would later incorporate as the Ethical Union, a registered charity, in 1928. Under
847-784: A "religious privilege" and reserve particular criticism for the Thought for the Day slot on Radio 4's Today programme . In April 2009 a "breakthrough" in the BHA's campaign saw Andrew Copson invited to participate as a humanist representative in the BBC's short-lived Standing Conference on Religion and Belief when it replaced the Central Religious Advisory Committee. In May 2017, the BHA changed its operating name to Humanists UK. Its chief executive, Andrew Copson, said that
968-666: A 2018 commitment from the UK Government to ban the practice. Its humanist celebrants conducted non-legal partnership/wedding ceremonies for same-sex couples for many decades prior to the law changing. Many of its campaigns are based on free speech and human rights legislation and it has based much of its campaigning on the Human Rights Act 1998. In 2008, the blasphemy law was repealed, an issue over which Humanists UK had long campaigned. It sought unification of existing anti-discrimination legislation and contributed to
1089-628: A Humanist celebrant. The humanist funeral for former Welsh First Minister Rhodri Morgan at the Welsh Assembly was conducted by a Humanists UK celebrant, Lorraine Barrett and was the first national funeral in the United Kingdom to be led by a humanist celebrant. Since 2018, Humanists UK celebrants have been able to conduct legally recognised marriages in Northern Ireland . This came about after Humanists UK supported
1210-715: A Jewish identity will often celebrate most Jewish holidays in a secular manner. Humanists International endorses World Humanist Day (21 June), Darwin Day (12 February), Human Rights Day (10 December) and HumanLight (23 December) as official days of humanist celebration, though none are yet a public holiday. Humanist organisations typically organise events around these dates which draw attention to their programmes of activities. In many countries, humanist celebrants (officiants) perform celebrancy services for weddings, funerals, child namings , coming of age ceremonies , and other rituals. In countries like Scotland and Norway, these are extremely popular. In Scotland, more people have
1331-787: A Supreme Court case in which the court stated it would rule again on a potential declaration of incompatibility between restrictions on the right to die and the Human Rights Act should Parliament fail to legislate decisively. In February 2019 they helped form the Assisted Dying Coalition, a group of like-minded campaign groups seeking to legalise assisted dying for the terminally ill or incurably suffering. Persistent campaigns include defending legal abortion in Great Britain and securing its decriminalisation and its legalisation in Northern Ireland , defending embryonic stem cell research for medical purposes, challenging
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#17327729326391452-564: A belief in science and technology as the best way of understanding the world; evolution; and education as the essential method of building humane, free, and democratic societies. A general outline of Humanism is also set out in the Humanist Manifesto prepared by the American Humanist Association . In the 20th and 21st centuries, members of Humanist organizations have disagreed as to whether Humanism
1573-489: A court case centring around its patrons, couple Laura Lacole and Eunan O'Kane . Humanists UK maintains a network of roughly 150 trained and accredited volunteers in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland who go into hospitals, hospices, prisons, universities, and other settings to provide like-minded comfort and support to non-religious people during times of distress, much like a traditional religious chaplain . This network
1694-523: A further sub-category of the sub-category "No Religion", which typically includes atheist, rationalist and agnostic thought. In England, Wales 25% of people specify that they have 'No religion' up from 15% in 2001 and in Australia, around 30% of the population specifies "No Religion" in the national census. In the US, the decennial census does not inquire about religious affiliation or its lack; surveys report
1815-440: A humanist wedding than are married by any religious denomination, including Scotland's largest churches; over 20% of Scottish weddings are humanist. In Norway, over 20% of young people choose humanist coming-of-age ceremonies every year. The issue of whether and in what sense secular humanism might be considered a religion, and what the implications of this would be, has become the subject of legal maneuvering and political debate in
1936-483: A minority by 2018. Set up in 2010, the Resolution Revolution campaign aims to "[recast] the tired old New Year resolution – so often about breaking a negative habit – as a pledge to do something positive for others". Participation is open to all and not restricted to humanists or the non-religious. New Year is a time for renewal – but beyond diets and gyms, not just for ourselves. Resolution Revolution
2057-635: A nationwide advertising campaign to be launched on 6 January 2009. On 8 January 2009 Christian Voice announced they had made an official complaint to the Advertising Standards Authority asserting that the Atheist Bus slogan broke rules on "substantiation and truthfulness". In total the ASA received 326 complaints about the campaign, with many claiming that the wording was offensive to the religious, however Humanists UK contested
2178-484: A necessity to establish a religion that was a dynamic force to meet the needs of the day. However, this "religion" did not profess a belief in any god. Since then two additional Manifestos were written to replace the first. In the Preface of Humanist Manifesto II, in 1973, the authors Paul Kurtz and Edwin H. Wilson assert that faith and knowledge are required for a hopeful vision for the future. Manifesto II references
2299-774: A new Humanist Heritage website , cataloguing much of its 125-year history and the wider history of humanism in the UK, and received cross-party video messages of congratulations from the Leader of the Opposition and Labour , Sir Keir Starmer ; the First Minister of Scotland and leader of the Scottish National Party , Nicola Sturgeon ; from the leader of the Liberal Democrats , Sir Edward Davey ;
2420-637: A new appointment was made later in 2011; she remained president for a further 18 months until in December 2012 it was announced that physicist Jim Al-Khalili would become president in January 2013. The charity also has a staff member each based in Wales and Northern Ireland, who coordinate its national sections (or branches) Wales Humanists and Northern Ireland Humanists. These officers are in turn supported by national committees of volunteers whose advice assists
2541-582: A non-faith school option local to her. Humanists UK also support humanist volunteers on the local Standing Advisory Council on Religious Education which currently determine the Religious Education syllabus for each local authority. Educational issues have always featured prominently in Humanists UK campaigns activities, including efforts to abolish compulsory daily collective worship in schools and to reform Religious Education so that it
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#17327729326392662-429: A non-religious philosophy or approach to life. Generally speaking, all humanists, including religious humanists, reject deference to supernatural beliefs; promote the practical, methodological naturalism of science; and largely endorse the stance of metaphysical naturalism . The result is an approach to issues in a secular way. Humanism addresses ethics without reference to the supernatural as well, attesting that ethics
2783-501: A person's non-religious views, comes with no obligation to celebrate or revere specific days in the year as a religion would. As a result, individual humanists choose of their own accord whether to take part in prevailing national holidays where they live. For example, humanists in Europe and North America typically celebrate holidays, such as Christmas , but as secular holidays rather than Christian festivals. Other humanists choose to mark
2904-414: A philosophy of utilitarianism , ethical naturalism , or evolutionary ethics , and some advocate a science of morality . Humanists International , founded by Julian Huxley and Jaap van Praag , is the world union of more than one hundred humanist, rationalist , irreligious, atheist , Bright , secular , Ethical Culture , and freethought organizations in more than 40 countries. The " Happy Human "
3025-475: A promotional billboards across Belfast emblazoned, 'Love wins for everybody', advertising humanist ceremonies . The charity has been consistently supportive of LGBT rights across its history. It was also among the first organisations to protest Section 28 in the late 1980s, and was one of the most vocal and longstanding advocates of a ban on gay conversion therapy , which it denounces as "religious pseudoscience" with harmful consequences. This eventually led to
3146-468: A rival centre, Newton Hall, in a courtyard off Fleet Street. The New York City version of the church was established by English immigrant Henry Edger . The American version of the "Church of Humanity" was largely modeled on the English church. Like the English version, it was not atheistic and had sermons and sacramental rites. At times the services included readings from conventional religious works like
3267-593: A section on religion and states traditional religion renders a disservice to humanity. Manifesto II recognizes the following groups to be part of their naturalistic philosophy: "scientific", "ethical", "democratic", "religious", and "Marxist" humanism. In 2002, the IHEU General Assembly unanimously adopted the Amsterdam Declaration 2002 which represents the official defining statement of World Humanism. All member organisations of
3388-572: A series of lectures for the general public entitled "Sunday Evenings for the People". This was fiercely opposed by the Lord's Day Observance Society (LDOS), who had the lectures cancelled after only four had been given. This was done by threatening the management of St Martin's Hall with legal action as lectures were forbidden under the Act. In 1931, Millie Orpen , a solicitor's clerk , brought an action as
3509-510: A situation where "public policy in matters of religion and belief will unduly favour religious lobbies and discriminate against people who do not live their lives under religion". Posters for the campaign which used the slogan "If you're not religious, for God's sake say so" were refused by companies owning advertising hoardings in railway stations following advice from the Advertising Standards Authority who believe
3630-432: A threat to the values set out in their sacred texts. In recent years, humanists such as Dwight Gilbert Jones and R. Joseph Hoffmann have decried the over-association of Humanism with affirmations of non-belief and atheism. Jones cites a lack of new ideas being presented or debated outside of secularism, while Hoffmann is unequivocal: "I regard the use of the term 'humanism' to mean secular humanism or atheism to be one of
3751-488: A total of approximately 100,000 members and supporters. Humanists UK also has sections which run as staffed national humanist organisations in both Wales and Northern Ireland. Wales Humanists and Northern Ireland Humanists each have an advisory committee drawn from the membership and a development officer. Wales Humanists and Northern Ireland Humanists campaign on devolved issues in Cardiff and Belfast and work to expand
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3872-518: A voluntary or employed non-religious carer. In 2018, Lindsay van Dijk was appointed as the first humanist to lead an NHS chaplaincy team at the Buckinghamshire Healthcare NHS trust, which includes the world-renowned spinal injuries unit at Stoke Mandeville hospital. The current chair of NRPSN is Amy Walden. Young Humanists is the organisation's youth wing , which launched early in 2015 with a number of events in cities across
3993-484: Is "Objective, Fair and Balanced" (the title of an influential 1975 booklet) and includes learning about humanism as an alternative life stance. The organisation opposes the teaching of creationism in schools. In September 2011, Humanists UK launched their "Teach evolution, not creationism" campaign, which aimed to establish statutory opposition to creationism in the UK education system. The Department for Education amended
4114-429: Is Secular Humanism". So, this determination was left up to local school boards. The provision provoked a storm of controversy which within a year led Senator Hatch to propose, and Congress to pass, an amendment to delete from the statute all reference to secular humanism. While this episode did not dissuade fundamentalists from continuing to object to what they regarded as the "teaching of Secular Humanism", it did point out
4235-546: Is a philosophy , belief system, or life stance that embraces human reason , logic , secular ethics , and philosophical naturalism , while specifically rejecting religious dogma , supernaturalism , and superstition as the basis of morality and decision-making. Secular humanism posits that human beings are capable of being ethical and moral without religion or belief in a deity . It does not, however, assume that humans are either inherently good or evil , nor does it present humans as being superior to nature. Rather,
4356-471: Is a human enterprise (see naturalistic ethics ). Accounts of humanism are also careful not to treat secular humanism analogously with religions, which implies a community who strictly attempt to adhere to the same obligations or beliefs. Holding a secular humanist philosophy does not prescribe a specific theory of morality or code of ethics. As stated by the Council for Secular Humanism, Secular Humanism
4477-452: Is a humanist social action initiative, turning good intentions outwards to others. The more people that get involved, even in a small way, the bigger the impact is. Spending cuts don't make a cohesive society, but generous actions do. In 2014, Humanists UK launched two public awareness campaigns. The first, called "That's Humanism!", was an Internet-based campaign revolving around four videos on humanist responses to ethics, happiness, death, and
4598-496: Is a religion. They categorize themselves in one of three ways. Religious (or ethical) humanism , in the tradition of the earliest humanist organizations in the UK and US, attempts to fulfil the traditional social role of religion. Contemporary use of the word "religious" did not have the same connotations as its today. Secular humanism considers all forms of religion, including religious humanism, to be superseded. However, distinctions between "ethical" and "secular" humanists are for
4719-431: Is consistent with IHEU's general practice and recommendations for promoting a unified Humanist identity. To further promote Humanist identity, these words are also free of any adjectives, as recommended by prominent members of IHEU. Such usage is not universal among IHEU member organizations, though most of them do observe these conventions. Historical use of the term humanism (reflected in some current academic usage),
4840-644: Is known as the Non-Religious Pastoral Support Network . The project was initiated by data evidence which suggested that non-religious patients and inmates often refused support from a chaplain if they were themselves non-religious. Since 2014, the National Offender Management Service has recognised the legal right of prisoners to access non-religious pastoral carers, and since 2015, NHS England has recommended that every hospital in England offers
4961-530: Is not theistic , and it does not accept supernatural views of reality. To promote and unify "Humanist" identity, prominent members of the IHEU have endorsed the following statements on Humanist identity: According to the Council for Secular Humanism, within the United States, the term "secular humanism" describes a world view with the following elements and principles: A Secular Humanist Declaration
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5082-476: Is not more religion but a richer notion of the nature of morality. Humanists Andrew Copson and Alice Roberts , in their casual introduction to humanism The Little Book of Humanism , propose that a distinctive aspect of humanist morality is its recognition that every moral situation is in some sense unique, and so potentially calls for different approach than the last (i.e. the ability to vacillate situationally between consequentialism and virtue ethics ). In
5203-588: Is not so much a specific morality as it is a method for the explanation and discovery of rational moral principles. Secular humanists affirm that with the present state of scientific knowledge, dogmatic belief in an absolutist moral or ethical system (e.g. Kantian, Islamic, Christian) is unreasonable. However, it affirms that individuals engaging in rational moral/ethical deliberations can discover some universal "objective standards". We are opposed to absolutist morality, yet we maintain that objective standards emerge, and ethical values and principles may be discovered, in
5324-481: Is recognized as the official symbol of humanism internationally, used by secular humanist organizations in every part of the world. The term itself is not uncontested. "Secular humanism" is not a universally used phrase, and is most prevalent in the United States. Most member organisations of Humanists International, for example, use simply the term " humanism " to refer to this concept, with some commentators remarking that "'hyphenated humanism' easily becomes more about
5445-479: Is related to the writings of pre-Socratic philosophers . These writings were lost to European societies until Renaissance scholars rediscovered them through Muslim sources and translated them from Arabic into European languages. Thus the term humanist can mean a humanities scholar, as well as refer to The Enlightenment / Renaissance intellectuals, and those who have agreement with the pre-Socratics, as distinct from secular humanists. In 1851 George Holyoake coined
5566-458: Is typically portrayed as a vast evil conspiracy, deceitful and immoral, responsible for feminism, pornography, abortion, homosexuality, and New Age spirituality. In certain areas of the world, Humanism finds itself in conflict with religious fundamentalism, especially over the issue of the separation of church and state . Many Humanists see religions as superstitious, repressive and closed-minded, while religious fundamentalists may see Humanists as
5687-499: Is uncertainty because of the lack of universal definition throughout censuses. Humanism is a non-theistic belief system and, as such, it could be a sub-category of "Religion" only if that term is defined to mean "Religion and (any) belief system ". This is the case in the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights on freedom of religion and beliefs . Many national censuses contentiously define Humanism as
5808-600: The Book of Isaiah . It was not as significant as the church in England, but did include several educated people. Another important precursor was the ethical movement of the 19th century. The South Place Ethical Society was founded in 1793 as the South Place Chapel on Finsbury Square , on the edge of the City of London , and in the early nineteenth century was known as "a radical gathering-place". At that point it
5929-486: The Center for Inquiry and in 2015 both ceased separate operations, becoming CFI programs) gave secular humanism an organisational identity within the United States; but no overall organisation involved currently uses a name featuring "secular humanism". However, many adherents of the approach reject the use of the word secular as obfuscating and confusing, and consider that the term secular humanism has been "demonized by
6050-482: The Conway Hall Ethical Society . Today Conway Hall explicitly identifies itself as a humanist organisation, albeit one primarily focused on concerts, events, and the maintenance of its humanist library and archives. It bills itself as "The landmark of London's independent intellectual, political and cultural life." In America, the ethical movement was propounded by Felix Adler , who established
6171-545: The Education Act 1944 's clauses on religion in schools and it was active in the campaign to legalise abortion and homosexuality. It supported repeal of Sunday Observance laws and the end of theatre censorship, the provision of family planning on the NHS and other reforms. More generally the BHA aimed to defend freedom of speech , support the elimination of world poverty and remove the privileges given to religious groups. It
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#17327729326396292-596: The Fair Admissions Campaign which has a more limited scope because "it furthers our aims of ending religious discrimination and segregation in state schools; and secondly because we know how important this particular topic is." The organisation campaigns for reform of Religious Education in the UK including a reformed subject covered by the national curriculum which is inclusive of non-religious viewpoints, such as "Belief and Values Education". They believe that "all pupils in all types of school should have
6413-606: The International Humanist and Ethical Union are required by bylaw 5.1 to accept the Minimum Statement on Humanism : Humanism is a democratic and ethical life stance, which affirms that human beings have the right and responsibility to give meaning and shape to their own lives. It stands for the building of a more humane society through an ethic based on human and other natural values in the spirit of reason and free inquiry through human capabilities. It
6534-646: The New York Society for Ethical Culture in 1877. By 1886, similar societies had sprouted up in Philadelphia, Chicago and St. Louis. These societies all adopted the same statement of principles: In effect, the movement responded to the religious crisis of the time by replacing theology with unadulterated morality. It aimed to "disentangle moral ideas from religious doctrines , metaphysical systems, and ethical theories, and to make them an independent force in personal life and social relations." Adler
6655-571: The functional , cohesive role that supernatural religion once served. Although Comte's religious movement was unsuccessful in France, the positivist philosophy of science itself played a major role in the proliferation of secular organizations in the 19th century in England. Richard Congreve visited Paris shortly after the French Revolution of 1848 where he met Auguste Comte and was heavily influenced by his positivist system. He founded
6776-479: The winter and summer solstices and the equinoxes . European humanists may often emphasise the fact that human beings have found reasons to celebrate at these times in the Northern Hemisphere for thousands of years before the arrival of Christianity. Humanists may also identify culturally with religious traditions and holidays celebrated in their family in the community. For example, humanists with
6897-488: The 1960s and 1970s the term was embraced by some humanists who considered themselves anti-religious, as well as those who, although not critical of religion in its various guises, preferred a non-religious approach. The release in 1980 of A Secular Humanist Declaration by the newly formed Council for Democratic and Secular Humanism (CODESH, later the Council for Secular Humanism , which with CSICOP in 1991 jointly formed
7018-531: The 2011 census (as opposed to writing in either a joke religion like " Jedi " or ticking the religion one grew up in). Humanists UK believed the question was worded in such a way as to increase the number of currently non-religious or nominally religious people who list the religion they grew up in rather than their current religious views, and thus the results would have been skewed to make the country seem more religious than it actually is. Humanists UK believes that this supposed overstatement of religious belief creates
7139-482: The BBC, and businesses to make it possible for teachers and school leaders to put on "inclusive assemblies" on diverse topics – including the environment, mental health, and public holidays – as opposed to the collective worship required by law. Through its education website Understanding Humanism, the charity also provides resources to teachers who want to include humanist perspectives and information about humanism in lessons. The organisation campaigns for
7260-827: The BHA at the time) and the National Secular Society approached the Scouts Association about a conflict between the claims of inclusivity on their website and their oath. In February 2008 journalists Bryan Appleyard and Deborah Orr criticised both Humanists UK and the National Secular Society for the (ultimately successful) campaign to end discrimination against non-religious children in the Scouts' Oath of Allegiance . In April 2008 Jonathan Petre, The Daily Telegraph religious affairs journalist, countered this position pointing out that
7381-683: The Discrimination Law Review which developed the Equality Act 2006 and then the Equality Act 2010 . The BHA's thorough research helped many of us to make informed and better-argued contributions to debates, particularly on complex ethical issues which arise in this House by the year. In the field of human rights, the BHA also helped us to refine the Racial and Religious Hatred Bill , the Equality Act 2006 and, of course,
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#17327729326397502-424: The Human Rights Act and the freedom to instigate judicial review from threats of being watered down or repealed. It assembled a large civil society coalition of charities, trade unions, and human rights organisations speaking in defence of the present settlement. On 21 October 2008, Humanists UK lent its official support to Guardian journalist Ariane Sherine as she launched a fundraising drive to raise money for
7623-790: The Humanist life stance, such as the humanist subgroup of the Unitarian Universalist Association , do not belong to the IHEU. Although the European Humanist Federation is also separate from the IHEU, the two organisations work together and share an agreed protocol. Starting in the mid-20th century, religious fundamentalists and the religious right began using the term "secular humanism" in hostile fashion. Francis A. Schaeffer , an American theologian based in Switzerland, seizing upon
7744-686: The International Humanist and Ethical Union (IHEU) of the capitalization of the word Humanism , and the dropping of any adjective such as secular , is quite recent. The American Humanist Association began to adopt this view in 1973, and the IHEU formally endorsed the position in 1989. In 2002 the IHEU General Assembly unanimously adopted the Amsterdam Declaration , which represents the official defining statement of World Humanism for Humanists. This declaration makes exclusive use of capitalized Humanist and Humanism , which
7865-798: The London Positivist Society in 1867, which attracted Frederic Harrison , Edward Spencer Beesly , Vernon Lushington , and James Cotter Morison amongst others. In 1878, the Society established the Church of Humanity under Congreve's direction. There they introduced sacraments of the Religion of Humanity and published a co-operative translation of Comte's Positive Polity. When Congreve repudiated their Paris co-religionists in 1878, Beesly, Harrison, Bridges, and others formed their own positivist society, with Beesly as president, and opened
7986-638: The Presidency of philosopher A. J. Ayer . This transition followed a decade of discussions which nearly prompted a merger of the Ethical Union with the Rationalist Press Association and the South Place Ethical Society . In 1963 the first two went as far as creating an umbrella Humanist Association of which Harold Blackham was the executive director. In the 1960s, the organisation campaigned for reform of
8107-405: The Scout Oath of Allegiance was discriminatory. After consultation with Humanists UK over a five-year period, Girlguiding UK in June 2013 and eventually the UK Scout Association in October 2013 recognised the discrimination and amended their oaths to accommodate non-religious young people from 1 January 2014. In the 2020s, Humanists UK was one of the charities at the forefront of campaigns to defend
8228-524: The UK . The charity also supports humanist and non-religious ceremonies in England and Wales , Northern Ireland , and the Crown dependencies and maintains a national network of accredited celebrants for humanist funeral ceremonies, weddings, and baby namings , in addition to a network of volunteers who provide like-minded support and comfort to non-religious people in hospitals and prisons. Its other charitable activities include providing free educational resources to teachers, parents, and institutions;
8349-509: The UK which require all schools to hold school assemblies "of a broadly Christian character". In 2019, the charity backed two parents to take a human rights challenge to those laws, arguing that the state had a duty to treat non-religious pupils equally and by effectively isolating those who withdraw from compulsory worship, discrimination occurs. Later that year, Humanists UK launched a new website, Assemblies for All , which compiles school assembly resources from NGOs, charities, government sources,
8470-441: The UK's first atheist advertising campaign, the Atheist Bus Campaign . The campaign aimed to raise funds to place the slogan "There's probably no God. Now stop worrying and enjoy your life" on the sides of 30 London buses for four weeks in January 2009. Expecting to raise £5,500 over six months, the atheist author Richard Dawkins agreed to match donations up to £5,500 to make £11,000 total. The campaign raised over £153,000, enabling
8591-599: The UK. Numerous prominent people from the worlds of science, philosophy, the arts, politics, and entertainment are publicly aligned with Humanists UK, including Professor Alice Roberts , Tim Minchin , Stephen Fry , Matty Healy , Sandi Toksvig , Philip Pullman , and Dan Snow . In the 20th century, key members of Humanists UK's "advisory council" included Karl Popper , Vanessa Redgrave , Harold Pinter , E M Forster , Bertrand Russell , John Maynard Smith , Harry Kroto , Ludovic Kennedy , Jacob Bronowski , and Barbara Wootton . Secular humanism Secular humanism
8712-472: The UK. Humanists UK had been providing same-sex wedding ceremonies for decades, and had strongly supported legalising same-sex marriage years in advance of eventual UK and Scottish legislation. In 2013, it secured an amendment to the same sex-marriage bill to require UK Government to consult on letting humanist celebrants conduct legal marriages. Though the consultation result strongly indicated that legalisation should go ahead, ministers have so far declined to use
8833-445: The UK; over 8,000 funerals are carried out by humanist celebrants in England and Wales each year. Between 600 and 900 weddings and 500 baby namings per year are also conducted by Humanists UK-accredited celebrants. In England and Wales, a humanist wedding or partnership ceremony must be supplemented by a process of obtaining a civil marriage or partnership certificate through a Register Office to be legally recognised, but can be led by
8954-424: The Union of Ethical Societies which had been founded by Stanton Coit in 1896. Humanists have put together various Humanist Manifestos , in attempts to unify the Humanist identity. The original signers of the first Humanist Manifesto of 1933, declared themselves to be religious humanists . Because, in their view, traditional religions were failing to meet the needs of their day, the signers of 1933 declared it
9075-679: The United States. The first reference to "secular humanism" in a US legal context was in 1961 , although church-state separation lawyer Leo Pfeffer had referred to it in his 1958 book, Creeds in Competition . The Education for Economic Security Act of 1984 included a section, Section 20 U.S.C.A. 4059, which initially read: "Grants under this subchapter ['Magnet School Assistance'] may not be used for consultants, for transportation or for any activity which does not augment academic improvement." With no public notice, Senator Orrin Hatch tacked onto
9196-490: The adjective than its referent". The meaning of the phrase secular humanism has evolved over time. The phrase has been used since at least the 1930s by Anglican priests , and in 1943, the then Archbishop of Canterbury , William Temple , was reported as warning that the "Christian tradition... was in danger of being undermined by a 'Secular Humanism' which hoped to retain Christian values without Christian faith." During
9317-409: The adverts had "the potential to cause widespread and serious offence". The Census results for England and Wales showed that 14.1 million people, about a quarter of the entire population (25%), stated they had no religion at all, a rise of 6.4 million since the 2001 census. Humanists UK said the fall in the number of Christians from 72% to below 60% was "astounding", and calculated that they could be in
9438-507: The believers". Greg M. Epstein states that, "modern, organized Humanism began, in the minds of its founders, as nothing more nor less than a religion without a God". Many humanists address ethics from the point of view of ethical naturalism , and some support an actual science of morality . Secular humanist organizations are found in all parts of the world. Those who call themselves humanists are estimated to number between four and five million people worldwide in 31 countries, but there
9559-450: The book, they quote from Kristen Bell 's advocacy of moral particularism as developed by Jonathan Dancy . Humanism is compatible with atheism , and by definition usually entails at least a form of weak or agnostic atheism , and agnosticism, but being atheist or agnostic does not automatically make one a humanist. Nevertheless, humanism is diametrically opposed to state atheism . According to Paul Kurtz , considered by some to be
9680-452: The change followed "a long, evidence-driven process with focus groups of non-religious people across the UK and research involving over 4,000 of our supporters... Humanists UK represents not just a new logo, but a totally new, friendly look that captures the essence of humanism: open, inclusive, energetic, and modern, with people and their stories placed first and foremost...". In 2021, Humanists UK celebrated its 125th anniversary. It launched
9801-669: The charity's service delivery in those countries, strategic litigation , and lobbying on devolved issues at the Northern Ireland Assembly and Senedd . Humanist equivalents of otherwise religious celebrations are conducted by humanist celebrants , trained and accredited by Humanists UK across England, Wales and Northern Ireland, while the Humanist Society Scotland performs similar ceremonies in Scotland. Non-religious funerals are legal within
9922-489: The cinema chain, awarding Orpen £5,000, with costs , but found for the individual directors on the grounds that there was no evidence that they were guilty on any particular Sunday. Costs were awarded to the directors against Orpen. The judge granted a stay pending an appeal by the company. Later in the year, Orpen brought a claim against another chain, but was thwarted by a change in the law legalising Sunday opening for cinemas before her case could be decided. This Act
10043-760: The co-leader of the Green Party of England and Wales , Siân Berry ; and a warm letter of thanks from the Conservative UK Government. Humanists UK, the Rationalist Association and the South Place Ethical Society (now Conway Hall Ethical Society ) remain separate entities today. The organisation opposes faith schools because "The majority of the evidence [...] points towards their being an unfair and unpopular part of our state education system which
10164-407: The complaint and commented on the plausibility of the ASA making a claim as to the "probability of God's existence". Robert Winston criticised the campaign as "arrogant". The ASA ruled that the slogan was not in breach of advertising code. In 2011, Humanists UK campaigned to get atheists, agnostics and other non-believers to tick the "no religion" box in response to the optional religion question in
10285-562: The course of ethical deliberation. Many humanists adopt principles of the Golden Rule . Some believe that universal moral standards are required for the proper functioning of society. However, they believe such necessary universality can and should be achieved by developing a richer notion of morality through reason, experience and scientific inquiry rather than through faith in a supernatural realm or source. Fundamentalists correctly perceive that universal moral standards are required for
10406-584: The creation of a president of the Union of Ethical Societies in 1918, and that of chair in 1916, several others held the equivalent role of Chair of the Annual Congress. The very first of these was a woman, the philanthropist and activist Lady Elizabeth Swann , who was the wife of a prominent liberal MP . She presided over the founding Congress of the Union in 1896. Other early chairs of the Annual Congress included then-future Prime Minister Ramsay MacDonald (1900-1901 and again in 1903). In April 2011, it
10527-435: The current Equality Bill , which I trust will be passed in the last days of this Parliament without too much compromise. Some noble Lords with whom we have differed may feel that we humanists have had too much to say in controversies about education, but we make no apology for trying to improve the teaching on sex in schools, nor for our opposition to the teaching of creationism as science. In January 2008 Humanists UK (known as
10648-645: The exclusion of the divine from most humanist writings, argued that rampant secular humanism would lead to moral relativism and ethical bankruptcy in his book How Should We Then Live: The Rise and Decline of Western Thought and Culture (1976). Schaeffer portrayed secular humanism as pernicious and diabolical, and warned it would undermine the moral and spiritual tablet of America. His themes have been very widely repeated in Fundamentalist preaching in North America. Toumey (1993) found that secular humanism
10769-428: The figure at roughly 13%. In the 2001 Canadian census, 16.5% of the populace reported having no religious affiliation. In the 2011 Scottish census, 37% stated they had no religion up from 28% in 2001. One of the largest Humanist organizations in the world (relative to population) is Norway 's Human-Etisk Forbund , which had over 86,000 members out of a population of around 4.6 million in 2013 – approximately 2% of
10890-519: The founder of the American secular humanist movement, one of the differences between Marxist–Leninist atheists and humanists is the latter's commitment to "human freedom and democracy" while stating that the militant atheism of the Soviet Union consistently violated basic human rights. Kurtz also stated that the "defense of religious liberty is as precious to the humanist as are the rights of
11011-508: The funding agreement for free schools to allow the withdrawal of funding if they teach creationism as established scientific fact. In 2019, Humanists UK's Wales Humanists branch revived the campaign in partnership with David Attenborough after the Welsh Department of Education omitted to include similar safeguards against teaching creationism in schools. Humanists UK has long campaigned in opposition to collective worship laws in
11132-457: The greatest tragedies of twentieth century movementology, perpetrated by second-class minds and perpetuated by third-class polemicists and village atheists. The attempt to sever humanism from the religious and the spiritual was a flatfooted, largely American way of taking on the religious right. It lacked finesse, subtlety, and the European sense of history." Humanism, as a term which describes
11253-538: The humanist life stance emphasizes the unique responsibility facing humanity and the ethical consequences of human decisions. Fundamental to the concept of secular humanism is the strongly held viewpoint that ideology—be it religious or political—must be thoroughly examined by each individual and not simply accepted or rejected on faith. Along with this, an essential part of secular humanism is a continually adapting search for truth, primarily through science and philosophy . Many secular humanists derive their moral codes from
11374-513: The humanist movement by that name to the public in 1933, following work at the University of Chicago across the 1920s. The American Humanist Association was incorporated as an Illinois non-profit organization in 1943. The International Humanist and Ethical Union was founded in 1952, when a gathering of world Humanists met under the leadership of Sir Julian Huxley . The British Humanist Association took that name in 1967, but had developed from
11495-565: The law allowing gay civil partnerships ) was also developed and continues today as Humanist Ceremonies. Social concerns persisted in the BHA's programme. The BHA was a co-founder in 1969 of the Social Morality Council (later transmuted into the Norham Foundation ), which brought together believers and unbelievers concerned with moral education and with finding agreed solutions to moral problems in society. The BHA
11616-552: The leadership of Harold Blackham , it renamed itself the British Humanist Association in 1967. It became the Humanists UK in 2017. In the 1930s, "humanism" was generally used in a religious sense by the Ethical movement in the United States, and not much favoured among the non-religious in Britain. Yet "it was from the Ethical movement that the non-religious philosophical sense of Humanism gradually emerged in Britain, and it
11737-430: The leadership of American-born Stanton Coit . The Union brought together the numerous ethical societies existing in Britain. Amongst the important founding figures were Harry Snell , Frederick Gould , George O'Dell and Lady Elizabeth Swann (who presided over the inaugural conference). Other figures included the feminist writer Zona Vallance (its first Secretary), executive committee member May Seaton-Tiedeman (also
11858-445: The majority of people in Britain want them phased out." In addition, they argue that faith schools are "exclusive, divisive and counter intuitive to social cohesion" and blame religious admissions procedures for "creating school populations that are far from representative of their local populations in religious or socio-economic terms." While the organisation is opposed to faith schools receiving any state funding whatsoever, it supports
11979-440: The most part historical, and practically meaningless in the present day or to contemporary individuals who identify with humanism. Since the mid-20th century, the development of new concepts such as the " life stance " (which encompasses both humanist views and religious outlooks) has defused this conflict. Most humanist organisations identify with "humanism" without a pre-modifier (such a "secular" or "ethical") and assert humanism as
12100-519: The opportunity to consider philosophical and fundamental questions, and that in a pluralist society we should learn about each other's beliefs, including humanist ones". Humanists UK President-elect Alice Roberts was criticised for sending her child to a faith school, despite Humanists UK's campaign against state-funded religious schools. She responded that this was the very point of the campaign: that she, like many other parents, had little choice over where to send her child and that she would have preferred
12221-702: The order-making powers to effect the change. It also campaigns for same-sex and humanist marriages in Northern Ireland. In 2017, it supported a humanist couple to challenge Northern Ireland's refusal to give legal recognition to humanist marriages through the High Court in Belfast, which resulted in legalisation of humanist marriages in Northern Ireland in June 2017. After campaigning to legalise same-sex marriage in Northern Ireland, it celebrated its success with
12342-458: The population. The International Humanist and Ethical Union (IHEU) is the worldwide umbrella organization for those adhering to the Humanist life stance. It represents the views of over three million Humanists organized in over 100 national organizations in 30 countries. Originally based in the Netherlands , the IHEU now operates from London. Some regional groups that adhere to variants of
12463-408: The proper functioning of society. But they erroneously believe that God is the only possible source of such standards. Philosophers as diverse as Plato , Immanuel Kant , John Stuart Mill , George Edward Moore , and John Rawls have demonstrated that it is possible to have a universal morality without God. Contrary to what the fundamentalists would have us believe, then, what our society really needs
12584-580: The proposed exclusionary subsection the words "or for any course of instruction the substance of which is Secular Humanism". Implementation of this provision ran into practical problems because neither the Senator's staff, nor the Senate's Committee on Labor and Human Resources , nor the Department of Justice could propose a definition of what would constitute a "course of instruction the substance of which
12705-462: The provision of humanist ceremonies, pastoral care, and support for teachers in those countries. The organisation's Articles of Association sets out its aims as: The organisation also wishes to build itself as a sustainable and nationally-recognised organisation as a voice for non-religious people. The organisation traces its origins to the Union of Ethical Societies , which was founded in 1896 under
12826-656: The question "What's it all for?" The campaign intended to be a positive introduction to Humanism for commuters, as well as to highlight the exclusion of humanist voices from BBC slots such as Thought for the Day . After announcing that it intended to replicate it in other UK cities, the campaign moved to bus posters in Birmingham, Manchester and Liverpool for four weeks in November and December 2014, this time depicting humanist responses from Jim Al-Khalili , Jawaharlal Nehru , Natalie Haynes and Russell once again. Prior to
12947-459: The religious right... All too often secular humanism is reduced to a sterile outlook consisting of little more than secularism slightly broadened by academic ethics. This kind of 'hyphenated humanism' easily becomes more about the adjective than its referent". Adherents of this view, including Humanists International and the American Humanist Association , consider that the unmodified but capitalized word Humanism should be used. The endorsement by
13068-599: The scientific method, as narrated by its distinguished supporter, Stephen Fry . The videos, which were widely shared on social media, were intended to introduce non-religious people who were humanist in their outlook to the existence of a community of like-minded people living their lives on the basis of reason and empathy. The second campaign, called "Thought for the Commute", was a London Underground campaign featuring posters depicting humanist responses from Virginia Woolf , George Eliot , Bertrand Russell and A.C. Grayling to
13189-607: The state funding of homeopathy through the National Health Service , and calling for consistent and humane law on the slaughter of animals. It has also campaigned for 'opt-out' organ donor registers to improve the availability of life-saving organs in the UK; Wales became the first part of the UK to adopt such a register in 2015. Jersey followed in 2019, to be followed by England in 2020. The organisation also campaigns on marriage laws, demanding full equality for same-sex and humanist marriage ceremonies throughout
13310-450: The status of the Church of England (the officially established church), and other "discriminations based on religion or belief within the system" such as those in education and Public Services. Humanists UK has supported the rights for those who need assistance in ending their own lives , and lobbied parliament for a change in the law, on behalf of Tony Nicklinson and Paul Lamb, in their 'Right to Die' legal cases. In 2014, it intervened in
13431-541: The term "secularism" to describe "a form of opinion which concerns itself only with questions, the issues of which can be tested by the experience of this life". The modern secular movement coalesced around Holyoake, Charles Bradlaugh and their intellectual circle. The first secular society, the Leicester Secular Society , dates from 1851. Similar regional societies came together to form the National Secular Society in 1866. Holyoake's secularism
13552-563: The vagueness of the claim. Sunday Observance Act 1780 The Sunday Observance Act 1780 ( 21 Geo. 3 . c. 49) was an Act of the Parliament of Great Britain . Originally eight sections long, only sections 1 to 3 were still in force after the 1960s. These sections prohibited the use of any building or room for public entertainment or debate on a Sunday . During November 1865, the National Sunday League (NSL) held
13673-404: Was a Unitarian chapel, and that movement, like Quakers, supported female equality. Under the leadership of Reverend William Johnson Fox , it lent its pulpit to activists such as Anna Wheeler , one of the first women to campaign for feminism at public meetings in England, who spoke in 1829 on "rights of women". In later decades, the chapel changed its name to the South Place Ethical Society, now
13794-528: Was active in arguing for voluntary euthanasia and the right to obtain an abortion . It has always sought an " open society ". It is credited with substantially popularising the salience and use of the concept in Britain. In 1969 it held an influential conference, Towards an Open Society, at the Royal Festival Hall . The BHA claimed that the rules on religious programming within the BBC constitute
13915-652: Was affected by sections 1(1) and (3) of the Common Informers Act 1951 . Its provisions were tightened by the Fairs and Markets Act 1850 . Its provisions were excluded in relation to certain activities by: The following cases were decided in relation to the Act: Sections 1 to 3 were repealed by the Licensing Act 2003 (with effect from 24 November 2005). Sections 4 and 5 were repealed by
14036-613: Was also particularly critical of the religious emphasis on creed, believing it to be the source of sectarian bigotry. He therefore attempted to provide a universal fellowship devoid of ritual and ceremony, for those who would otherwise be divided by creeds. Although the organisation was overwhelmingly made up of (and entirely led by) atheists, and were many of the same people as in the secular movement, Ethical organisations at that time publicly avoided debate about religious beliefs, publicly advocating neither atheism nor theism , agnosticism nor deism , instead stressing "deed without creed" and
14157-520: Was announced that Professor A.C. Grayling would succeed Polly Toynbee as president of Humanists UK in July 2011. However, in June Humanists UK announced that Professor Grayling had decided not to take up that position, because of what he described as "controversy generated by activities in another area of my public life." Humanists UK stated that Polly Toynbee would continue as president until
14278-466: Was claimed in 1977 that the BHA aimed "to make humanism available and meaningful to the millions who have no alternative belief." The local ethical societies united in 1896 had (mainly during the 1950s) renamed themselves as humanist groups and their number grew over time, becoming today's network of affiliated local humanist groups. A network of celebrants able to conduct non-religious funerals, weddings, naming ceremonies and same sex affirmations (before
14399-594: Was from the convergence of the Ethical and Rationalist movements that this sense of Humanism eventually prevailed throughout the Freethought movement". As an organised movement in its own right, humanism emerged from vibrant non-religious movements of the 18th and 19th centuries such as the Owenites, Ethical Culture, the freethinkers, secularists, and positivists, as well as a few non-religious radical Unitarian congregations. The first Humanist Manifesto announced
14520-414: Was issued in 1980 by the Council for Secular Humanism's predecessor, CODESH. It lays out ten ideals: Free inquiry as opposed to censorship and imposition of belief; separation of church and state; the ideal of freedom from religious control and from jingoistic government control; ethics based on critical intelligence rather than that deduced from religious belief; moral education; religious skepticism; reason;
14641-475: Was strongly influenced by Auguste Comte , the founder of positivism and of modern sociology . Comte believed human history would progress in a " law of three stages " from a theological phase, to the " metaphysical ", toward a fully rational "positivist" society. In later life, Comte had attempted to introduce a " religion of humanity " in light of growing anti-religious sentiment and social malaise in revolutionary France . This religion would necessarily fulfil
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