List of secularist organizations

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Conway Hall Humanist Centre, home of the South Place Ethical Society, the oldest freethought community in the world. (Established 1793)

Secularist organizations promote the view that moral standards should be based solely on concern for the good of humanity in the present life, without reference to supernatural concepts, such as God or an afterlife, any desire for doing good as a reward after death, or any fear of punishment for not believing after death. The term secularism, as coined and promulgated by George Jacob Holyoake, originally referred to such a view.^[1] Secularism may also refer to the belief that government should be neutral on matters of religion, and that church and state should be separate. The term is here used in the first sense, though most organizations listed here also support secularism in the second sense.

Background

Secularists, and their organizations, identify themselves by a variety of terms, including agnostic, atheist, bright, freethinker, humanist, nontheist, naturalist, rationalist, or skeptic.^[2][3] Despite the use of these various terms, the organizations listed here have secularist goals in common. Note that, while most of these organizations and their members consider themselves irreligious, there are certain exceptions (Ethical Culture, for example).

In some jurisdictions, a provincial or national humanist society may confer upon Humanist officiants the ability to conduct memorial services, child naming ceremonies or officiate marriage — tasks which would be carried out by clergy in most organised religions.^[4][5][6]

List

International

• Atheist Alliance International^[7]
• The Brights' Net is a nonprofit educational organization dedicated to "building a constituency" and "constructively address[ing] the marginalized situation of persons who have a naturalistic worldview."^[8]
• European Humanist Federation is a union of "numerous humanist organisations from most European countries" whose purpose is to promote humanism and secularism in Europe.^[9]
• International Humanist and Ethical Union (IHEU) is "the sole world umbrella organisation embracing Humanist, atheist, rationalist, secularist, skeptic, laique, [sic]^[10] ethical cultural, freethought and similar organisations world-wide." IHEU is a union of over 100 Humanist or secularist organizations in more than 40 countries. It is an international NGO (Non-governmental organization) with special consultative status with the United Nations.^[11]
  • International Humanist and Ethical Youth Organisation (IHEYO), IHEU's youth wing
• International League of Humanists
• International League of non-religious and atheists
• Rationalist International
• Sunday Assembly

Australia

• Atheist Foundation of Australia
• Council of Australian Humanist Societies
• Rationalist Society of Australia
• The Secular Party of Australia

Belgium

• Willemsfonds

Brazil

• Brazilian Association of Atheists and Agnostics (ATEA)
• Sociedade da Terra Redonda
• Secular Humanist League of Brazil

Canada

• Centre for Inquiry Canada
• Freethought Association of Canada
• Humanist Association of Canada
• Mouvement laïque québécois
• Toronto Secular Alliance

Germany

• Central Council of Ex-Muslims
• German Freethinkers League
• Giordano Bruno Foundation (Giordano Bruno Stiftung)
• International League of non-religious and atheists
• Humanistischer Verband Deutschlands

Iceland

• Sidmennt - Icelandic Ethical Humanist Association

India

• Indian Rationalist Association
• Atheist Center
• Dakshina Kannada Rationalist Association
• Federation of Indian Rationalist Associations
• Hyderabad Rationalist Forum
• Indian Humanist Union
• Kerala Yukthivadi Sangham

Indonesia

• Indonesian Atheists

Ireland

• Atheist Ireland
• Humanist Association of Ireland
• Humani

Italy

• Italian Union of Rationalist Atheists and Agnostics (UAAR)

Kuwait

• Youth Association of Kuwait (yakuwait)

Luxembourg

• Allianz vun Humanisten, Atheisten an Agnostiker (AHA!)^[12]
• Association luxembourgeoise des professeurs d’éthique^[12]
• Fédération Générale des Instituteurs Luxembourgeois^[12]
• Liberté de conscience^[12]
• Libre Pensée Luxembourgeoise^[12]
• Ligue Luxembourgeoise de l’Enseignement^[12]
• Syndikat Erzéiung a Wëssenschaft am OGBL^[12]

Netherlands

• De Vrije Gedachte (DVG, "The Free Thought")
• Humanistisch Verbond (HV, "Humanist Association")

New Zealand

• Humanist Society of New Zealand
• New Zealand Association of Rationalists and Humanists
• New Zealand Skeptics

Northern Ireland

• Humani

Norway

• Human-Etisk Forbund HEF has over 78,000 members,^[13] making it "the largest group [in Norway] outside the State Church."^[14]
• Norwegian Heathen Society

Philippines

• Filipino Freethinkers

Scotland

• Humanist Society Scotland
• Scottish Secular Society, founded in 2012, identifies itself as Scotland's largest secular group.*

Singapore

• Humanist Society of Singapore

Sweden

• Swedish Humanist Association

United Kingdom

• British Humanist Association
• Conway Hall Ethical Society, founded in 1793, identifies itself as "the oldest freethought community in the world." Conwall Hall^[15]
• Gay and Lesbian Humanist Association
• Humani
• Humanist Society of Scotland
• Leicester Secular Society, founded in 1851, bills itself as the "oldest secular society in the world."^[16]
• National Secular Society
• North East Humanists
• Rationalist Association
• Scottish Secular Society

United States

Freedom From Religion Foundation billboard

American Atheist bench and "Ten Commandments" display (Bradford County, Florida).

• American Atheists - dedicated to separation of church and state issues
• American Ethical Union - a federation of about 25 Ethical Societies representing the Ethical Culture movement founded in 1876 by Felix Adler.
• American Humanist Association, The first and largest organization promoting Humanism in the US. The American Humanist Association strives to bring about a progressive society where being good without gods is an accepted way to live life. We are accomplishing this through our defense of civil liberties and secular governance, by our outreach to the growing number of people without traditional religious faith, and through a continued refinement and advancement of the humanist worldview.
• American Secular Union
• Americans United for Separation of Church and State is a nonpartisan organization dedicated to preserving church-state separation to ensure religious freedom for all Americans.
• The Atheist Agenda
• Atheist Community of Austin (TX)
• Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty, "The Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty" represents multiple Baptist groups (but not the Southern Baptist Convention) in supporting religious liberty and the separation of church and state.
• Camp Inquiry, a summer camp run by the Center for Inquiry.
• Camp Quest, "The Secular Summer Camp", is the first residential summer camp in the United States for the children of those who hold a naturalistic world view.
• Center for Inquiry The mission of the Center for Inquiry is to foster a secular society based on science, reason, freedom of inquiry, and humanist values. The Center for Inquiry holds that evidence-based reasoning, in which humans work together to address common concerns, is critical for modern world civilization. CFI also maintains that values are properly the subject of study and discussion as much as empirical claims. CFI, and its affiliates, the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry and the Council for Secular Humanism, also carry out their work through education, publishing, advocacy, and social services, especially through their dozens of regional centers and communities, and programs in many different countries.
• City Congregation for Humanistic Judaism
• Council for Secular Humanism is a non-profit educational association and, according to its website, "North America's leading organization for non-religious people." The Council aims to "meet the needs of people who find meaning and value in life without looking to a god." CSH publishes Free Inquiry.
• Fellowship of Humanity
• First Humanist Society of New York
• Freedom From Religion Foundation, according to its website, is the "largest group of atheists and agnostics in North America." The Foundation represents the interests of freethinkers, with an emphasis on gender equality and reproductive rights, and the separation of church and state. It publishes Freethought Today, "the only freethought newspaper in North America."
• The Humanist Institute
• Institute for Humanist Studies
• Internet Infidels is "a nonprofit educational organization dedicated to defending and promoting a naturalistic worldview on the Internet."
• Military Association of Atheists & Freethinkers
• North Texas Church of Freethought
• Practice What You Preach Foundation is a "non-profit organization that builds bridges between faith communities and secular organizations in the Greater Los Angeles Area."
• Rational Response Squad
• The Reason Project
• Richard Dawkins Foundation for Reason and Science
• Secular Coalition for America
• Secular Student Alliance
• Society for Humanistic Judaism offers cultural and secular Jews a non-theistic alternative in contemporary Jewish life. It defines Judaism as the cultural and historical experience of the Jewish people. Humanistic Judaism embraces a human-centered philosophy that combines rational thinking with a deep connection to the Jewish people and its culture.
• United Coalition of Reason

See also

• List of skeptical organizations
• Lists of secularists: Agnostics, Atheists, Humanists, Nontheists, Skeptics

Notes and references

1. "Secularism". Oxford English Dictionary, Second Edition. Oxford University Press, 1989.
2. The Secular Coalition for America, which has been identified by Brights.net as representing the interests of "secularist organizations", describes its constituency as "nontheistic Americans", including those who go by the labels "atheist, humanist, freethinker, agnostic, skeptic, bright, ignostic, materialist, and naturalist, among others." Who does the Secular Coalition for America represent? at the Secular Coalition for America website (Accessed 5 April 2008)
3. Some less common secularist labels include: apatheist, godless (in the non-pejorative, literal sense), ignostic, infidel (or unbeliever), heathen, materialist, or realist.
4. Humanist Canada: Humanist Weddings
5. American Humanist Association: Humanists Stand Ready to Perform Same-Sex Marriage Ceremonies
6. The Humanist Society Listing of Humanist Celebrants
7. Atheist Alliance International website, 2008 (Accessed 9 April 2008)
8. The Movement, The Brights' Network, 2008 (Accessed 9 April 2008)
9. Presentation, European Humanist Federation website, 2006 (Accessed 10 April 2008)
10. Laïque (French): "secular"
11. About IHEU, IHEU website (Accessed 5 April 2008)
12. "Les non-religieux veulent aussi être consultés". L'essentiel (in French) (Edita SA). 18 January 2015. Retrieved 21 November 2015.
13. The Norwegian Humanist Association, Human-Etisk Forbund website (English version), 2011 (Accessed 5 February 2011)
14. Membership, Human-Etisk Forbund website (English version), 2004 (Accessed 9 April 2008)
15. South Place Ethical Society website (Accessed 5 April 2008)
16. Leicester Secular Society website (Accessed 5 April 2008)

External links

• Organizations lists at the Secular Web.