What is a Naming Ceremony? A humanist naming ceremony typically welcomes a baby or young child into a family, but the ceremony can be held for children of all ages. There is typically less emphasis on the actual naming of a child, and more emphasis on the child’s role within the family. Naming ceremonies can […]
The past year and a half have radically shifted the ways in which so many of us view the world. It’s been a wild 15 months – from a pandemic and raging wildfires to the dozens of species that are now extinct due to human impact. New humanism is linked to environmental sustainability in so […]
Divorce rates are on the decline as external pressures to marry decrease. However, some marriage demographics have higher rates of divorce than others. Marriage and divorce data from Scotland in 2019 reveals that couples married in humanist ceremonies are four times less likely to get divorced. Humanists UK used a freedom of information request to […]
Somewhere along the way we started valuing youth While this might start off as a general and abmiguous complaint about “people not respecting their elders” I promise I won’t stay here too long. I guess I am old now, but when I was young, you didn’t mess with teachers or adults or you’d find out […]
There are many areas in which secularist ideas are well developed, but the challenging of a public view of religion in general and Christianity as a benign force is not. Unless we explain why we oppose religion, the general public, writers and broadcasters will remain apathetic to, confused, and unconvinced by secularism and humanism. Atheists and agnostics spend […]
During the reporting of earthquakes in Turkey and Iran, mosques, with their delicate decoration withstood the earthquake, modern buildings around them crumbled. At about the same time it was reported that in Italy buildings including blocks of flats, put up in the last thirty years were found to be in imminent danger of collapse, as […]
The current emergence of a rational appraisal of Cannabis is long overdue. Several aspects of the relationship between physical and mental health and religion, have been raised recently; the relative merits of conventional psychiatric treatment, versus counselling, ‘alternative therapies’, ‘spiritual’ healing and prayer; and whether the well are well, because of, or despite religious belief […]
Many older people seem suspicious of computers and the Internet, considering it only relevant to the young and economically active, games, travel information, buying tickets & trading on-line, not to mention pornography. It is as though the invention of the printing press had been dismissed as only useful to produce comics, tabloid papers, junk mail […]
We wanted to add a new element to this site in the form of more editorialized musings on social roles today in light of our ongoing mission to explore how the tenets of New Humanism manifest themselves today. Specifically, I wanted to talk about something I refer to as “nagging wife syndrome” and why I […]
A new report, commissioned by the Humanist Society of Scotland, reveals that a substantial majority of Scottish people do not hold religious or spiritual beliefs. This majority—around 59 percent—is a significant portion of the population. The research, performed by survey, polled over 1,000 Scottish residents about a range of issues relating to their religious affiliations […]
Late last month, The Guardian published an article decrying the banality of the average civil ceremony. Dry, white, and traditional, the piece argues that these weddings symbolize intolerance; planning one of these ceremonies is about as special as filling in a tax return. The author writes, “When standing in front of 100 friends and family, being married […]
In June, the Belfast Court of Appeals ruled that humanist marriages must be legally recognized. Two months later, Northern Ireland saw its first humanist marriage. Let’s start with what it means to have a humanist marriage. This wedding is a non-religious ceremony that is often deeply personal and conducted by a humanist celebrant. The ceremony […]
Source: The Blade Shawn Meagley and Douglas Berger have co-organized an organization called Secular Humanists of Western Lake Erie, or SHoWLE. Berger brings years of experience in leadership within the Humanist Community of Central Ohio. Though there are currently organized groups for atheists and skeptics in the area, the region has yet to see a secular humanist organization. […]
Source: WalesOnline June 21st marked World Humanism Day. In Wales, former Counsel General Mick Antoniw argued that the ideology is an important, even necessary source of values for Wales, which is becoming increasingly secular. In his essay, published by WalesOnline, he envisions Humanism as the ideology that will unite the country. According to Antoniw, the […]
Every once in a while, I do a Google News search for the terms “Humanism” and “New Humanism.” I am almost always disappointed—not because humanists around the world are behaving poorly (we’re not, I promise), but because of the misuse of the word itself. Journalists and columnists use the term “Humanism” to describe the phenomenon […]
Jason Heap has been denied the opportunity to join the Chaplain Corps. Despite receiving a recommendation from the Navy Chaplain Appointment and Retention Eligibility Advisory Board, the Navy rejected the application amid strong pushback from congressional Republicans. In early March, the United States Navy received a letter written by Senator Roger Wicker (RMS) and 22 […]
Steven A. Pinker, professor of psychology at Harvard University, has received the Outstanding Lifetime Achievement Award in Cultural Humanism. He accepted the prestigious award at a ceremony produced by the Humanist Hub at the Harvard Community of Humanists, Atheists, and Agnostics earlier in March. Pinker has worked with HCHAA and the Humanist Hub for several […]
Because Humanism emphasizes the importance of human agency and critical thought, proponents of the outlook believe that humans must claim responsibility for ongoing global conflict, be it physical or political. Nothing is left to chance; everything that has happened—from political election results to the outcome of wars and battles—is the result of human action, not […]
Still not totally sure what it means to be a Humanist? Here is a quick list of things we believe in: Civil liberties Human rights Church-state separation (secularism) Participatory democracy in government, the workplace, and education Global consciousness International exchange of thoughts and products Open discussion of social problems The International Humanist and […]