In the 1920s, Professor Eustace Hayden hosted discussion meetings at the School of Divinity at the University of Chicago. These gatherings attracted preachers and philosophers. Their explorations won the support of a rabbi, an atheist and a sociologist. All agreed that a new approach to thinking about religious issues was called for. Not metaphysics (the existence of things) but ethics (the right way to live and to know what goodness is) is Humanism's focus.
They knew that Renaissance thinkers like Erasmus had sought to shine light on affairs of this earthly life, making a break with the past emphasis on other-worldly theological interests and claims.
Those Renaissance thinkers coined the term "Humanist", so when the Chicago group published a newsletter they called it NEW HUMANIST. "In the Renaissance the basis for knowledge was the classics," they said, "and today it is science."
NEW HUMANIST started out at the University of Chicago as a mimeographed newsletter. It grew to become a professionally-produced magazine, THE HUMANIST, published from Dayton, Ohio, edited by Edwin H. Wilson, and ever more widely circulated.
NEW HUMANIST and then THE HUMANIST is the forerunner of all the many Humanist publications worldwide today in a number of languages. You can see THE HUMANIST by following the link provided on this site.
In 1941 the American Humanist Association (AHA) was organized. The AHA was the first Humanist organization, soon emulated worldwide, and now a truly catholic movement, more catholic (universal) than the church that claims that word as its name. The AHA is democratically governed by a board elected by its membership. Other organizations promote Humanist goals, but the AHA is dedicated to Humanism, not just to freethought or freedom of inquiry, and is the largest national body in America promoting Humanism. It is growing rapidly as more and more people hear the message of Humanism and say - that's for me.
The term "Humanist" was first used in America, so far as we know, in February 1877, by the New York Daily Graphic, in application to Felix Adler, the founder of Ethical Culture, which is a Humanist religion. But Adler did not welcome the word "Humanist". Then in 1917, Unitarian minister Curtis Reese, at a church conference, discussed the point of view he called "the religion of democracy." The name "Humanist" was suggested by John Dietrich. "In a convergence of minds." Check it out - it's only one page long. Take a look!
In 1952, Europe was recovering from World War 2. A number of Western European freethinkers found each other, and soon linked up with the American Humanists and the Ethical Culture Societies.
Under the leadership of Sir Julian Huxley, they founded the International Humanist and Ethical Union, at first based in the Netherlands. Today, the IHEU is based in London. The IHEU coordinates the interests of Humanists worldwide. You can visit their site at
The Humanist movement, born in America's heartland, has become a worldwide movement devoted to human freedom. It attracts more and more people who honor humanity rather than belittling mankind as inherently lost, as needy or helpless without external rescue. Humanists know that life is a do-it-yourself job.
Like
Humanist Albert Einstein, Humanists affirm the significance of
human life as the place to look when seeking to identify values.
Humanism builds on solid ground, a verifiable source for moral inquiry,
not on imaginative speculations of alleged supernatural revelation or
the delusions of those who, like Joan of Arc, commune with imagined
personalities. Evidence, not faith in the unseen, is the foundation.
Humanism is practical, down to earth, feet firmly on the ground.
Are you a Humanist too? Join us!
Membership in the Humanist Fellowship of San Diego is $30 ($40 couple; $20 student)
