Defining Humanism at the Institute

Religious humanists, secular humanists and atheists can all agree that this life in this world is our central and defining focus. Each one of us is responsible for human affairs, other beings, and the resources of our shared planet. Our vision for a democratic world is one in which every individual's worth and dignity is respected, nurtured and supported, and where human freedom and behaving responsibly are natural aspirations for ourselves and expectations of one another.

As humanists of diverse types, we are all deeply concerned by these matters, and the onus for the challenges we face can not be passed on to "higher powers". Deities, good and bad, are human creations; ideas that may have helped their believers to feel secure in this ambiguous world, but that have often been the source of tribal, national and global conflicts and violence. We are the heirs of the historic Enlightenment, who continue to cherish values of freedom, reason and tolerance, and it is our responsibility to develop this heritage for ensuing generations.

In 1982 several of our forward thinking leaders invited individuals from various humanist groups to come together to address the then-current assault on humanism. At that time these founders felt we needed to explain, in popular language, the unique humanist answers to many basic questions about truth and morality. They also saw the need to organize humanist communities, and nurture them for mutual support and joint action. The writings and stories of the creators of the humanist tradition needed to be made available to future generations. Leaders and spokespersons needed to be trained and educated to mobilize humanists, and to represent us in the public arena. Today, we believe it is more than ever important to develop a unified strategy to defend and spread the humanist message, and these are still our goals.

Thus the Humanist Institute was created by individuals who belonged to one or more humanist organizations. These groups range from a strictly secular to a religious humanist perspective. Current students at the Institute continue to be drawn from all the viewpoints in this continuum. These organizations define humanism from their own points of view, and many have issued declarations and manifestoes over the years. By studying the histories and life-stances of these various organizations, students experience the spectrum of humanist philosophy in all its forms, in a respectful environment. Following is a list of our constituent groups and their web sites for your exploration. Differences exist among our various organizations in defining humanism, and there is no one single definition of humanism that pervades the program at The Humanist Institute. Yet there are some things we hold in common that are more important than that which distinguishes us as separate groups. We see these principles as binding and central to mission of the larger humanist movement.

As Faculty Chair and Dean Emeritus, Bob Tapp once said: "A consistent theme is the centrality of ethics, for both individuals and for societies. Humans are responsible for their destinies in an evolutionary universe. Our ethical choices stem from our genetic structures as well as from the cultures that we have created. Reason and critical intelligence are the best guides in these choices, and the sciences are our best source of knowledge. Artistic and emotional experiences are important in expanding our visions and our joys, and in suggesting new possibilities for human flourishing; and in expanding the common good. Humanists make their ethical choices by weighing the consequences. From earliest statements, humanists have included caring, social well-being, empathy and compassion among their ethical values."

As we enter our second quarter century, today's Humanist Institute draws support from, and serves, a variety of groups and organizations throughout the movement. Our students learn to appreciate our common heritage, as well as the many diverse interpretations that exist within the larger community of humanism, and work together for the health and integrity of our shared future.

Carol Wintermute and Kendyl Gibbons
Co-Deans, The Humanist Institute
2/1/07

American Ethical Union

http://www.aeu.org/

Formed in 1876, the Ethical Culture movement has issued periodic statements:

http://www.aeu.org/8commit.html

Periodical journal Dialogue is online

http://www.aeu.org/_dialogue/

American Humanist Association

http://www.americanhumanist.org/

Formed in 1941, AHA has issued three manifestoes. The current one, III, appeared in 2003:

http://www.americanhumanist.org/3/HumandItsAspirations.htm

Atheist Alliance International

http://www.atheistalliance.org/

Campus Freethought Alliance

http://www.campusfreethought.org/

Council for Secular Humanism

http://www.secularhumanism.org/

Formed in 1980, CSH has issues various declarations, most recently a Humanist Manifesto 2000. A briefer version is:

http://www.secularhumanism.org/intro/affirmations.html

Freedom From Religion Foundation

http://ffrf.org/index.php

Founded in 1978, the Foundation publishes books and a journal, Freethought Today:

http://ffrf.org/fttoday/

Institute for Humanist Studies

http://www.humaniststudies.org/index.html

Founded in 1999, a statement of humanist philosophy is at:

http://www.humaniststudies.org/humphil.html

International Humanist and Ethical Union

http://www.iheu.org/

Founded in 1952, the IHEU issued a new statement in 2002:

http://www.iheu.org/adamdecl.htm

Secular Coalition for America

http://secular.org/

Secular Student Alliance

http://www.secularstudents.org/

Secular Web

http://www.infidels.org/index.shtml

Society for Humanistic Judaism

http://www.shj.org/

Founded in 1963, SHJ describes itself:

http://www.shj.org/member.html

Unitarian Universalist Association

http://www.uua.org/main.html

Unitarians and Universalists played major roles in the development of US humanism, and probably a majority of members of the Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA) today would identify themselves as humanists. Currently fostering humanism within the UUA is HUUmanists

http://www.huumanists.org/

Selected articles from their journal, Religious Humanism, are on their web site

http://www.huumanists.org/rh/

The Humanist Institute

http://www.humanistinstitute.org/

Founded in 1982, the Institute offers a 3-year leadership curriculum and publishes Humanism Today.

http://www.humanismtoday.org/