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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. 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 ought to be neutral on matters of religion, and that church and state ought to be separate. The term is here used in the first sense, though most organizations listed here also support secularism in the second sense.
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).
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List
International
- Atheist Alliance International[4]
- 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."[5]
- European Humanist Federation is a union of "numerous humanist organisations from most European countries" whose purpose is to promote humanism and secularism in Europe.[6]
- International Humanist and Ethical Union (IHEU) is "the sole world umbrella organisation embracing Humanist, atheist, rationalist, secularist, skeptic, laique, [sic][7] 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.[8]
- International League of Humanists
- International League of non-religious and atheists
- Rationalist International
Australia
- Atheist Foundation of Australia
- Council of Australian Humanist Societies
- Rationalist Society of Australia
- The Secular Party of Australia
Brazil
Canada
- Humanist Association of Canada
- Humanist Fellowship of Montreal
- Mouvement laïque québécois
- Society of Ontario Freethinkers
- Toronto Secular Alliance
Croatia
- Coalition for Secularism
Germany
- Central Council of Ex-Muslims
- German Freethinkers League
- Giordano Bruno Foundation (Giordano Bruno Stiftung)
- International League of non-religious and atheists
Iceland
India
- Atheist Center
- Bihar Buddhiwadi Samaj (Bihar Rationalist Society)
- Dakshina Kannada Rationalist Association
- Federation of Indian Rationalist Associations
- Hyderabad Rationalist Forum
- Indian Humanist Union
- Kerala Yukthivadi Sangham
- People's Science Center
- Science and Rationalists' Association of India
- Indian National Congress
Ireland
Italy
New Zealand
Norway
- Human-Etisk Forbund HEF has over 72,000 members,[9] making it "the largest group [in Norway] outside the State Church."[10]
- Norwegian Heathen Society
Sweden
Turkey
United Kingdom
- British Humanist Association
- Gay and Lesbian Humanist Association
- Humanist Academy, Scotland
- Humanist Society of Scotland
- Leicester Secular Society, founded in 1851, bills itself as the "oldest secular society in the world."[11]
- National Secular Society
- North East Humanists
- Rationalist Association
- Richard Dawkins Foundation for Reason and Science
- South Place Ethical Society, founded in 1793, identifies itself as "the oldest freethought community in the world."[12]
United States
- American Atheists
- American Humanist Association, according to its website, is the "first and largest organization promoting Humanism in the US."[13]
- American Secular Union
- The Atheist Agenda
- Atheist Community of Austin (TX) is a nonprofit educational corporation to develop and support the atheist community, promote secular viewpoints, encourage positive atheist culture, to defend the first amendment principle of state-church separation, and fight anti-atheist discrimination. It broadcasts and streams online The Atheist Experience, a weekly general-interest atheist television program.[14]
- 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.[15]
- Center for Inquiry
- Church of Reality
- 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.[16]
- 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."[17]
- The Humanist Institute
- The City Congregation for Humanistic Judaism
- Institute for Humanist Studies
- Internet Infidels is a "a nonprofit educational organization dedicated to defending and promoting a naturalistic worldview on the Internet."[18]
- Military Association of Atheists & Freethinkers
- North Texas Church of Freethought
- Rational Response Squad
- The Reason Project
- Secular Coalition for America
- Secular Student Alliance
- Secular Alliance of Indiana University
See also
References
- ^ "Secularism". Oxford English Dictionary, Second Edition. Oxford University Press, 1989.
- ^ 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)
- ^ Some less common secularist labels include: apatheist, godless (in the non-pejorative, literal sense), ignostic, infidel (or unbeliever), heathen, materialist, or realist.
- ^ Atheist Alliance International website, 2008 (Accessed 9 April 2008)
- ^ The Movement, The Brights' Network, 2008 (Accessed 9 April 2008)
- ^ Presentation, European Humanist Federation website, 2006 (Accessed 10 April 2008)
- ^ Laïque (French): "secular"
- ^ About IHEU, IHEU website (Accessed 5 April 2008)
- ^ The Norwegian Humanist Association, Human-Etisk Forbund website (English version), 2004 (Accessed 9 April 2008)
- ^ Membership, Human-Etisk Forbund website (English version), 2004 (Accessed 9 April 2008)
- ^ Leicester Secular Society website (Accessed 5 April 2008)
- ^ South Place Ethical Society website (Accessed 5 April 2008)
- ^ Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) about the American Humanist Association, American Humanist Association website, 2005 (Accessed 8 April 2005)
- ^ Atheist Community of Austin website, 2009 (Accessed 16 August 2009)
- ^ "Camp Quest is the first residential summer camp in the history of the United States for the children of Atheists, Freethinkers, Humanists, Brights, or whatever other terms might be applied to those who hold to a naturalistic, not supernatural world view." Camp Quest website (Accessed 5 April 2008)
- ^ Council for Secular Humanism website, 2008 (Accessed 8 April 2008)
- ^ Freedom From Religion Foundation website (Accessed 5 April 2008)
- ^ About Us, Internet Infidels, 2008 (Accessed 9 April 2008)
External links
- Organizations lists at the Secular Web.
- Google Directory lists of secularist organizations:
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