The American Humanist Association (AHA) is an educational organization in the United States that advances Humanism. "Humanism is a progressive philosophy of life that, without theism and other supernatural beliefs, affirms our ability and responsibility to lead ethical lives of personal fulfillment that aspire to the greater good of humanity". AHA advocates Humanism as defined by the International Humanist and Ethical Union (IHEU), a multinational coalition of which it is a founding member. The American Humanist Association publishes a bi-monthly magazine called ''The Humanist''.

The AHA was founded in 1941 as a successor to the Humanist Press Association, which was itself successor to the Humanist Fellowship founded in 1928. The official symbol of the AHA is the Happy Human.

David Niose is the current President of the American Humanist Association. Roy Speckhardt is the executive director.

History

A formal, unified Humanist movement originated in the United States during the end of the nineteenth and early part of the twentieth century. Liberal Unitarians, who were slowly moving away from theism, began to discuss the possibility of freeing one’s philosophy from the traditional constraints of theistic belief. Organized in 1867, under the leadership of Ralph Waldo Emerson, the Free Religious Association appealed not only to those theological reformers within the Unitarian church, but also to non-Christian religious liberals. The organization proposed a concept they called humanistic theism, a precursor to religious humanism, which failed to move much beyond that stance and ceased to exist before World War I. In 1876, Felix Adler also established the New York Society for Ethical Culture. It prompted the creation of similar ethical societies in Chicago, Philadelphia, and St. Louis. The Ethical Culture movement fostered the founding of such reform efforts as the Legal Aid Society and the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), as well as helping establish Humanism as a modern term. Beginning in 1927 a number of Unitarian professors and seminarians at the University of Chicago organized the Humanist Fellowship to pursue Humanism in a popular fashion, and as a group began publishing the New Humanist.

Around the same time, Charles Francis Potter founded the First Humanist Society of New York. Formerly a Baptist and then a Unitarian minister, Potter began the society with the intent of it being a religious organization, calling Humanism “a new faith for a new age.” Shortly thereafter, he wrote a book entitled Humanism: A New Religion, outlining the basic premise and points of what he termed: religious humanism. His philosophy openly rejected the traditional Christian belief system and replaced it with one incorporating various aspects of naturalism, materialism, rationalism, and socialism.

Humanism was designed to be ever evolving and compatible with the social schema of the humanity of the day. Potter’s intent was to offer a philosophy to replace Christianity, a more progressive approach to living and the common good. Therefore Potter’s definition of religion differed from that commonly accepted in his time.

A major Humanist milestone was achieved through the collaboration and agreement of thirty-four national leaders, including John Dewey, when in 1933 A Humanist Manifesto was written. This manifesto was a publicly signed document detailing the basic tenants of Humanism. By 1935 the Humanist Fellowship had become the Humanist Press Association, replacing the New Humanist with the Humanist Bulletin. With the help of Curtis Reese (a well-known Unitarian minister and Humanist,) and along with John H. Dietrich, the Humanist Press Association reorganized itself in 1941, forming the American Humanist Association. The goal was not to establish a religion, as Potter had originally intended, but instead to recognize the secular nature of Humanism, organize the vast members of its adherents, and align the organization for the mutual education of both its religious and non-religious members. In that light, the American Humanist Association is the oldest Humanist organization in the United States.

Along with its reorganization, the AHA began printing the Humanist as the successor to the Humanist Bulletin. The magazine set out to explore modern day social and political issues through a Humanist point of view.

Early on the AHA was headquartered in Yellow Springs, Ohio, with connections to Antioch College. Over time the organization grew in size and prominence, first moving to San Francisco, California, and then to Amherst, New York. Finally, continuing with a trend toward increasing advocacy, the AHA moved to Washington, D.C., to better affect national policy and increase its social impact.

Into the 1940s and 1950s many Humanists that fought for Humanist values and ideals were not yet aware that such an organization as the AHA existed. Nevertheless, the AHA chose to support individual Humanist thinkers and activists, and gradually grew in significance. The foremost of these was Humanist philosopher Corliss Lamont. Lamont, perhaps the most influential Humanist thinker of his time and author of The Philosophy of Humanism, considered the standard guide to modern Humanist philosophy, spent much of the 1940s and 50s up against Senator Joseph McCarthy and the House Un-American Activities Committee. Lamont held to the position that despite the prevailing “Red Scare” anti-communist attitude, the United States should try to maintain a productive relationship with the Soviet Union. As a result of his position, he became a target of government, was stripped of his property and passport, but fought back and won.

At the end of the 1940s the AHA was supportive of Vashti McCollum in her fight against mandatory Bible study in public schools. The mother of two boys, McCollum argued that religious instruction in public schools violated the principle of separation of church and state. Her case traveled all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court. The Court ruled in her favor in 1948 stating that American public schools must uphold a policy of religious neutrality. McCollum went on to serve as AHA president from 1962 to 1965.

In 1952 the AHA became a founding member of the International Humanist and Ethical Union (IHEU) in Amsterdam, Netherlands. As an international coalition of Humanist organizations, the IHEU stands today as the only international umbrella group for Humanism, claiming millions of members from over one hundred organizations, large and small, throughout the world. The IHEU acts as a Humanist clearinghouse. With memberships in the United Nations, the U.N. Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), the U.N. International Children’s Educational Fund (UNICEF), the Council of Europe, and the European Union, the IHEU aims to create growth and support for Humanism through interaction and cooperation with its member organizations.

It was at this time, in the mid 1950s, that then AHA president Nobel Laureate Harman J. Muller suggested that the AHA could be the American Association for the Advancement of Science’s philosophical branch, but the AAAS declined the proposal claiming that the AHA’s membership did not include enough individuals with PhDs.

Throughout the 1960s the AHA became actively involved in challenging the illegality of abortion and was the first national membership organization to support abortion rights. Humanist leaders were prominent in the founding of pro-choice organizations, including the Religious Coalition for Abortion Rights (now the Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice) and the National Association for the Repeal of Abortion Laws (now NARAL Pro-Choice America). These organizations continue to defend and support elective abortion rights.

Around the same time, the AHA joined hands with the American Ethical Union (AEU) to help establish the rights of nontheistic conscientious objectors to the Vietnam War. This time also saw Humanists involved in the creation of the first nationwide memorial societies, giving people broader access to cheaper alternatives than the traditional mortuary controlled burial. Today cremation and humanistic memorial services are more widely available and affordable than ever before.

Status

The AHA was founded as an educational organization in 1941, was incorporated in Illinois in 1943, and secured an educational tax exemption shortly thereafter. In the late 1960s the AHA also secured a religious tax exemption in support of its celebrant program, allowing Humanist celebrants to legally officiate at weddings, perform chaplaincy functions, and in other ways enjoy the same rights as traditional clergy. In 1991, however, the AHA took control of the Humanist Society, a religious Humanist organization founded in 1939, and moved its celebrant program over to it. After that, the AHA commenced the process of jettisoning its religious tax exemption and resuming its exclusively educational status—a change that finally took effect January 1, 2003. Today, therefore, the AHA is recognized by the U.S. Internal Revenue Service as a nonprofit, tax exempt, 501 (c)(3), publicly supported educational organization.

Mission

The mission of the American Humanist Association is to promote the spread of Humanism, raise public awareness and acceptance of Humanism, and encourage the continued refinement of the Humanist philosophy.

The AHA is also the supervising organization for the Appignani Humanist Legal Center (AHLC), a legal advocacy and aid group, the Appignani Bioethics Center (ABC), a group focused on bioethical issues, an education arm called the Kochhar Humanist Education Center, offering classes and continuing education on humanist issues, and the Feminist Caucus of the American Humanist Association, a group advocating for women's rights.

As a member organisation of the IHEU, the AHA fully endorses the Amsterdam Declaration 2002.

Definitions of Humanism

AHA's definition of Humanism

The AHA's definition from its website:

"''Humanism is a progressive lifestance that, without supernaturalism, affirms our ability and responsibility to lead ethical lives of personal fulfillment that aspire to the greater good of humanity''." —Humanism and Its Aspirations

IHEU's minimum statement on Humanism

All member organisations of the IHEU are required by IHEU bylaw 5.1 to accept the IHEU 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 is not theistic, and it does not accept supernatural views of reality.''

Unofficial definitions

Kurt Vonnegut, former Honorary President of the AHA, wrote in God Bless You, Dr. Kevorkian, “I am a humanist, which means, in part, that I have tried to behave decently without any expectation of rewards or punishments after I'm dead.”

AHA's role in Humanism

The AHA strives to be vocal on issues of major concern to Humanists; reaching out to media and opinion leaders as well as keeping its members informed about the issues of the day. It currently has groups in more than 30 states and publishes the ''Humanist'' magazine and the philosophical journal, ''Essays in the Philosophy of Humanism''. The AHA is also the publisher of the Humanist Manifestos I, II, and III. The AHA along with the Washington Area Secular Humanists host a website for the National Day of Reason.

Famous Awardees

The American Humanist Association has named a "Humanist of the Year" annually since 1953. It has also granted other honors to numerous leading figures, including Salman Rushdie(Outstanding Lifetime Achievement Award in Cultural Humanism 2007), Oliver Stone (Humanist Arts Award, 1996), Katharine Hepburn (Humanist Arts Award 1985), John Dewey (Humanist Pioneer Award, 1954), Jack Kevorkian (Humanist Hero Award, 1996) and Vashti McCollum (Distinguished Service Award, 1991).

== AHA's Humanists of the Year ==

Rebecca Goldstein - 2011

Bill Nye - 2010

PZ Myers - 2009

Pete Stark - 2008

Joyce Carol Oates - 2007

Steven Pinker - 2006

Murray Gell-Mann - 2005

Daniel Dennett - 2004

Sherwin T. Wine - 2003

Steven Weinberg - 2002

Stephen Jay Gould - 2001

William F. Schulz - 2000

Edward O. Wilson - 1999

Barbara Ehrenreich - 1998

Alice Walker - 1997

Richard Dawkins - 1996

Ashley Montagu - 1995

Lloyd Morain - 1994

Mary Morain - 1994

Richard D. Lamm - 1993

Kurt Vonnegut - 1992

Lester R. Brown - 1991

Ted Turner - 1990

Gerald A. Larue - 1989

Leo Pfeffer - 1988

Margaret Atwood - 1987

Faye Wattleton - 1986

John Kenneth Galbraith - 1985

Isaac Asimov - 1984

Lester A. Kirkendall - 1983

Helen Caldicott - 1982

Carl Sagan - 1981

Andrei Sakharov - 1980

Edwin H. Wilson - 1979

Margaret E. Kuhn - 1978

Corliss Lamont - 1977

Jonas E. Salk - 1976

Betty Friedan - 1975

Henry Morgentaler - 1975

Mary Calderone - 1974

Joseph Fletcher - 1974

Thomas Szasz - 1973

B.F. Skinner - 1972

Albert Ellis - 1971

A. Philip Randolph - 1970

R. Buckminster Fuller - 1969

Benjamin Spock - 1968

Abraham H. Maslow - 1967

Erich Fromm - 1966

Hudson Hoagland - 1965

Carl Rogers - 1964

Hermann J. Muller - 1963

Julian Huxley - 1962

Linus Pauling - 1961

Leó Szilárd - 1960

Brock Chisholm - 1959

Oscar Riddle - 1958

Margaret Sanger - 1957

C. Judson Herrick - 1956

James P. Warbasse - 1955

Arthur F. Bendley - 1954

Anton J. Carlson - 1953

See also

John Dewey

Bertrand Russell

References

External links

The American Humanist Association

GuideStar - American Humanist Association Information in GuideStar, national database of nonprofit organizations

"Humanist Tax Exemption" by Roy Speckhardt, ''Humanist Network News''.

Edwin H. Wilson Papers of the American Humanist Association, 1913-1989 at Southern Illinois University Carbondale, Special Collections Research Center

United States Category:Humanist associations Category:Organizations established in 1941 Category:Secularism in the United States

de:American Humanist Association fr:American Humanist Association it:American Humanist Association ru:Американская гуманистическая ассоциация

Fred Edwords, born July 19, 1948, in San Diego, California, is a longtime agnostic (or ignostic) humanist leader in Washington DC.

Currently national director of the United Coalition of Reason, he is the former director of communications and director of planned giving for the American Humanist Association, an organization he earlier served as editor of its national magazine, the ''Humanist'', from 1995 to 2006, as executive director from 1984 to 1999, and as national administrator from 1980 to 1984. He was also editor of the association's membership newsletter ''Free Mind'' from 2002 to 2006 and editor of the ''Creation/Evolution'' journal from 1980 to 1991.

Edwords was president of Camp Quest, Inc., from 2002 to 2005 and on the staff of the Ohio camp from 1998 to 2008. He was also vice president of the North American Committee for Humanism from 1990 to 1992 and president of the Humanist Association of San Diego in 1978. He has served on the boards of the International Humanist and Ethical Union (1986–1999), the New York Council for Evolution Education (1982–1994), and the National Center for Science Education (1982–1992). He was chair of the American Humanist Association's Humanist Manifesto III Drafting Committee from 2002 to 2003. On August 7, 1985, he became a co-plaintiff in the successful U.S. District Court lawsuit, ''Asimov v. United States'', against the U.S. Department of Education, brought by the National Emergency Civil Liberties Committee re: magnet schools in the Math/Science bill.

Edwords was named Rationalist of the Year by the American Rationalist Federation in 1984, received the Humanist Pioneer Award of the American Humanist Association in 1986, and was named a HumCon Pioneer by the Alliance of Humanist, Atheist, and Ethical Culture Organizations of Los Angeles County in 1992.

Today, in addition to his work for the United Coalition of Reason, Edwords serves on the faculty of the Humanist Institute and is an advisory board member of the Secular Student Alliance. He is widely published, frequently quoted in news stories, and has lectured throughout the United States and Canada as well as in India, Mexico, and Russia.

He has been married to Mary Caroll Murchison-Edwords since June 1980. The couple have two children: Livia born in 1984 and Julia born in 1986.

See also

American Humanist Association

Camp Quest

United Coalition of Reason

References

External links

Creation/Evolution journal online 1980-1996 (full run)

"What Is Humanism?" by Fred Edwords

Category:American humanists Category:Nonprofit executives Category:American activists Category:American agnostics Category:People from San Diego, California Category:1948 births Category:Living people

name	Roy Speckhardt
birth date	January 24, 1973
birth place	Carmel, New York
death date
occupation	Executive director of the American Humanist Association }}

Roy Speckhardt, born January 24, 1973, in Carmel, New York, is executive director of the American Humanist Association, a non-profit civil liberties organization in Washington DC.

Biography

Speckhardt earned a Bachelor of Arts in sociology from Mary Washington College and a Master of Business Administration, with a concentration in information systems management, from George Mason University. In addition to his college education, he received specialized training in nonprofit tax law, financial management, grassroots organizing, fundraising, and dispute resolution.

Early in his career, Speckhardt was a fundraiser for various causes, including AIDS research and wildlife conservation, and worked on the "World Difference Campaign" of the Anti-Defamation League. He worked for The Interfaith Alliance from 1995 to 2001 as deputy director in charge of staff. Speckhardt worked as the director of membership and programs of the American Humanist Association for four years, and began his present position as executive director in 2005. The American Humanist Association is the oldest and one of the largest groups of humanists and atheists in the United States.

Other activities

Speckhardt serves on the boards of directors of the Humanist Institute, the Institute for Humanist Studies, the United Coalition of Reason, and the Secular Coalition for America. He is also an advisory board member of the Secular Student Alliance.

Speckhardt has appeared on CNN ''Headline News'', Fox News' ''Fox and Friends'', ''Good Morning America'', and National Public Radio. He currently writes a regular column for The Huffington Post and Patheos.

External links

Biography at the American Humanist Association.

Speckhardt's Column on The Huffington Post.

June 28, 2007 MP3 of Interview of Speckhardt on the syndicated Lizz Brown Show.

The Hill (newspaper)'s Congress Blog">June 27, 2007 guest blog on The Hill (newspaper)'s Congress Blog.

Article in September/October 2005 issue of the Humanist.

April 28, 2006 – Speckhardt's humanist perspective about religion and politics on PBS NOW.

Category:American activists Category:American humanists Category:People from Fredericksburg, Virginia Category:University of Mary Washington alumni Category:Living people Category:1973 births