As you will note, there is some redundancy in the following lists of resources. This is a realization that many, many Humanists are recognized by numerous sources for their contribution to the betterment of humankind.
Famous Freethinking and Humanists
More Famous Freethinkers and Humanists
Resources from the Freedom From Religion Foundation
The Council for Secular Humanism: Humanist Hall of Fame
Famous Humanists: prominent influential people whose “religion” was Humanism
List of Humanists from Wikipedia
Signers of Humanist Manifesto III – Humanism and Its Aspirations (2003)
Freethinkiners
Famous Dead Nontheists
Who are some of your favorite Humanists, and why?
Compiled by Fred Edwords, AHA Director of Communications
John Adams. John Adams was a Harvard graduate and lawyer who became a leader among the patriots who were opposing British tyranny against the American colonies. He led the protest against the Stamp Act and was a member of the Continental Congress. He was also part of the committee that drafted the Declaration of Independence and he was the one who first said that George Washington should be made commander in chief of the American troops. Later, he was one of the people who wrote the Treaty of Paris that ended the American Revolution. He became vice president of the United States under President George Washington and was later elected as the second U.S. president. He and Thomas Jefferson died on the same day, July 4, 1826, the 50th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence.
John Adams is particularly important to humanists because he strongly supported the separation of church and state. Back in his day, some states passed laws that punished people for criticizing the Bible. John Adams was against those laws. Adams wrote: “We should begin by setting conscience free. When all men of all religions . . . shall enjoy equal liberty, property, and an equal chance for honors and power . . . we may expect that improvements will be made in the human character and the state of society.” Today many people try to say that the United States is a Christian nation. But in his Treaty with Tripoli, a Muslim country in North Africa, John Adams said that "the government of the United States is not, in any sense, founded on the Christian religion . . ."
Steve Allen. Have you ever heard of the "Tonight Show" with Jay Leno? Well, before Jay Leno, the "Tonight Show" was run by Johnny Carson. And before him it was run by Jack Paar. And before him it was run by Steve Allen. Steve Allen started the show. He was and is a great comedian who was really popular on TV in the 1960s. I used to watch him as a kid. Steve Allen is also a famous pianist and musical composer. One of his songs is "South Rampart Street Parade."
Well, Steve Allen is a humanist. And he says so, writing books on how to think clearly and rationally. Humanist organizations have given him awards and he has spoken, told jokes, and played the piano at many humanist conferences over the years. In the 1970s he went on radio and told millions of listeners that they should learn more about humanism.
Isaac Asimov. One of the greatest science fiction writers of all time was Isaac Asimov. He wrote the Foundation series, "Nightfall," "I, Robot," Fantastic Voyage, and many other famous science fiction works. But he also wrote factual books about science, the arts, history, and all sorts of other things. He wrote so much -- over 477 books -- that he was called "the greatest explainer of the age" and was listed in the Guiness Book of World Records as the author who wrote the most books on the greatest number of subjects. At least one of his books is in every Dewey Decimal System category, the cataloging system that many libraries use. Asimov was born in Russia but came with his family to the United States when he was three. In college he studied biochemistry and later became a professor of the subject. He was very honest and public in telling people that he was an atheist and a humanist. From 1985 until his death in 1992, he was the president of the American Humanist Association. One of his most popular books is Asimov's Guide to the Bible, which shows that the Bible is a book myth, legend, and a little history but not the word of God. In 1989, when writing about humanism, Asimov said: “We humanists celebrate humanity, want humanity to survive, and recognize that, if humanity does survive, it will be by its own efforts. Never can we sit back and wait for miracles to save us. Miracles don't happen. Sweat happens. Effort happens. Thought happens. And it is up to us humanists to help -- to expend our sweat, our effort, and our thought. Then there will be hope for the world.”
Charles Darwin. Charles Darwin was born in England on the same day and in the same year as Abraham Lincoln was born in the United States. So humanists celebrate both of these men's birthdays together. When Darwin went to college in England, he started out studying to be a minister. But then he found that he liked studying nature better. During a voyage around the world on a ship called the Beagle, in which he examined fossils and living animals, he got into a lot of arguments with the captain of the ship, Robert Fitzroy. Fitzroy believed that God made all the animals and plants and put them here just a few thousand years ago. But Darwin was gathering facts that showed how animals evolved naturally. Later, in 1859, Darwin published his book On the Origin of Species. That book changed science forever; the theory of evolution became the major principle of biology. And, over time, Darwin gave up all belief in religion and a god, seeing the universe as natural. Today, however, many people (called creationists) don't want students to learn about Charles Darwin or evolution. They are afraid that such scientific information will cause people to give up religion just the way Darwin did. That's why it's often hard for kids to learn much about evolution in school.
Clarence Darrow. The most famous lawyer in American history was Clarence Darrow. Although he made a lot of money, one day he decided to give up his prosperous career and devote his life to defending the "underdog." Thus he defended labor union organizers and fought against capital punishment. He saved over 100 people from being executed and not one of his clients was ever sentenced to death. One of his biggest cases was the Scopes "Monkey Trial" in which he opposed William Jennings Bryan. In this trial, many people in Dayton, Tennessee, wanted to keep kids from learning about evolution in school. So they sent a school science teacher named John Scopes to jail. Clarence Darrow became Scopes' lawyer and, in his trial he got many people all over the United States to see how silly it was to try and outlaw the teaching of Charles Darwin's theory of evolution. Clarence Darrow, who was born in Ohio, was an outspoken agnostic who wrote pamphlets arguing that there was no way anybody can know if there is a God or not. He was very popular with freethinkers and social reformers but very unpopular with fundamentalist Christians.
Frederick Douglass. Born into slavery, Frederick Douglass was the son of a black woman, Harriet Bailey, and an unknown white man. In 1838, he managed to escape his enslavement. It was then that he gave himself the name Douglass, inspired by the hero in Sir Walter Scott's novel The Lady of the Lake. In 1841, after giving a stirring public speech against slavery, he became a leading abolitionist. In 1847 he became editor of the North Star, an abolitionist newspaper. During the Civil War, Douglass helped organize two black regiments in Massachusetts. After the war was over, he worked in the South to promote civil rights for African Americans. He later secured important positions as marshal of Washington, D.C. and minister to Haiti. Frederick Douglass was a freethinker who knew that getting black people to become Christians was one of the ways white slave owners had kept blacks under control. Douglass was a good friend of America's most famous 19th century freethinker, Robert G. Ingersoll.
Albert Einstein. Albert Einstein is recognized as one of the greatest physicists of all time. He developed the theory of relativity and won the Nobel Prize in physics in 1921. Though born in Germany, he had to leave the country when Hitler and the Nazis took over. So he became a professor at Princeton University in New Jersey and was made a U.S. citizen. He later contributed to the development of quantum mechanics. Though he was against war, he wrote a letter to President Roosevelt warning him that the Nazis were on the verge of developing an atom bomb and so the United States would need to go to work on such a project in order to win World War II. Among Einstein's books is one called Essays in Humanism and he was a member of the American Humanist Association. He saw no reason to believe that there was a personal god running the universe. Though he sometimes looked upon all of nature as God, most of the time he didn't believe in a God at all. His greatest hope was that all of the nations of the world would get together to form a single world government that would bring lasting peace.
George Eliot. Back in the 1800s, women weren't supposed to have careers and most publishers wouldn't publish any book written by a woman. That's why Marian Evans changed her name to George Eliot. It allowed her to become a famous author! She wrote great novels like Silas Marner and Middlemarch and is considered the first modern English novelist. Though she was raised a strict evangelical Christian, she later rebelled against that faith and became a strong freethinker. Although in each of her books the lives of the women and men seem determined by circumstance, she was primarily interested in the responsibility that people take for their lives and with the moral choices that they must make.
In addition, Fred Edwords compiled a short list of Humanists that included: Isaac Asimov, scientist; Margaret Atwood, author and literary freedom activist; Brock Chisholm, physician and first Director-General of the World Health Organization; Albert Einstein, physicist; Betty Friedan, feminist activist; R. Buckminster Fuller, futurist and inventor; Julian Huxley, philosopher and first Director-General of UNESCO; Richard Leakey, anthropologist; Abraham Maslow, psychologist; John Boyd Orr, the first Director-General of the Food and Agriculture Organization; A. Philip Randolf, human rights activist; Carl Rogers, psychologist; Bertrand Russell, mathematician and philosopher; Jonas Salk, physician and developer of the polio vaccine; Margaret Sanger, founder of Planned Parenthood; Andrei Sakharov, physicist and human rights activist; and Gloria Steinem, feminist activist.
Corliss Lamont, a prolific author and significant philosopher of Humanism, wrote sixteen books, hundreds of pamphlets and thousands of letters to newspapers on significant social issues during his life-long campaign for peace and civil rights. In 1935 he published The Illusion of Immortality, which was a revised version of his Ph.D. dissertation. His most famous work is the 1949 book, The Philosophy of Humanism, currently in its eighth edition. Lamont's political views were Marxist and socialist for much of his life. In 1953 he wrote Why I Am Not a Communist. Lamont served as a director of the American Civil Liberties Union from 1932 to 1954 and, until his death in 1995 at the age of 93, as chairperson of the National Emergency Civil Liberties Committee, which successfully challenged Senator Joseph McCarthy's senate subcommittee.
Following the deaths of his parents, Lamont became a philanthropist. He funded the collection and preservation of manuscripts of American philosophers, particularly George Santayana. He became a substantial donor to both Harvard and Columbia, endowing the latter's Corliss Lamont Professor of Civil Liberties. Lamont was president emeritus of the American Humanist Association, and in 1977 was named Humanist of the Year. In 1981 he received the Gandhi Peace Award. In 1998 Lamont received a posthumous Distinguished Humanist Service Award from the International Humanist and Ethical Union. The Humanist Society of Metropolitan New York is named the Corliss Lamont Chapter of the American Humanist Association in recognition of his lifelong devotion to and explanation of Humanism.
Robert Green Ingersoll (1833-1899), a champion of free thought and a dynamic orator. During the Civil War, he served in the Union Army as a colonel. After the war, he resumed his law career and became a champion of freethinking and a defender of the scientific ideas of Darwin and T. H. Huxley. Ingersoll proudly claimed to be an agnostic, a word newly coined, and he was known as the "great agnostic." Such an identity prevented his seeking political office, for there was much opposition to freethinkers among the electorate (as there continues to be). He was able to contribute something to politics, however, by speaking out for candidates. Ingersoll's lectures on religion and science, combined with discourses on literary and historical subjects, made his tours very popular. He moved to Washington in 1879 and continued his lectures on "The Gods," "Some Mistakes of Moses," and "About the Holy Bible." His oratory became legendary and he was sought out by patrons who endorsed his position and clients eager to find legal protection behind the magic of his courtroom presence. Ingersoll quotes are legendary. Here are just a few examples. For more, see: www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/r/robert_green_ingersoll.html
--- An honest God is the noblest work of man.
--- Few nations have been so poor as to have but one god. Gods were made so easily, and the raw material cost so little, that generally the god market was fairly glutted and heaven crammed with these phantoms.
--- Happiness is the only good. The time to be happy is now. The place to be happy is here. The way to be happy is to make others so.
--- If a man would follow, today, the teachings of the Old Testament, he would be a criminal. If he would follow strictly the teachings of the New, he would be insane. --- It is a blessed thing that in every age some one has had the individuality enough and courage enough to stand by his own convictions.
--- Let us put theology out of religion. Theology has always sent the worst to heaven, the best to hell.
--- Reason, observation, and experience; the holy trinity of science.
--- The Church has always been willing to swap off treasures in heaven for cash down.
--- The inspiration of the Bible depends upon the ignorance of the gentleman who reads it.
---There is no slavery but ignorance.
James Randi (born in 1928) known as The Amazing Randi is a stage magician, skeptic, and opponent of pseudoscience. His interest in debunking the paranormal** started when, as a teenager, he attended a show of a magician who asked for someone to help him with his performance. Randi wanted to do that, having started with magic tricks himself. When Randi raised his hand, the magician said “Ah, young man, you're a magician yourself aren't you?'” much to Randi's amazement. After the show, Randi asked the man how he knew this. The man told Randi he didn't. It was part of the routine. Whenever he turned out to be right, he'd credit his “magical powers”; when he was wrong, he'd turn it into a joke. [** Paranormal is defined as “not within the range of normal experience or scientifically explained phenomena.”]
Randi worked as a professional stage magician since the 1950s. He entered the international spotlight in the 1970s when he challenged the claims of “magician” Uri Geller. Randi accused Geller of being nothing more than a charlatan who uses standard "magic" tricks to accomplish his paranormal feats and he backed up his claims in the book, The Magic of Uri Geller. Geller responded by filing a number of lawsuits against Randi. The rivalry has continued for more than three decades.
Randi has been instrumental in exposing frauds who exploit this field for personal gain. He also serves as an expert witness and consultant to lawyers in the field of paranormal claims. He is perhaps most famous for the One Million Dollar Paranormal Challenge in which the James Randi Educational Foundation will award a prize of $1,000,000 to anyone who is able to show evidence of any paranormal, supernatural, or occult power or event under test conditions agreed to by both parties. (No one has.)
A. Philip Randolph (1889 – 1970), the son of a Methodist minister, was greatly influenced by Karl Marx and the Socialist Party’s vision of the nobility of the masses. In 1917, as editor of The Messenger, he called on black men to refuse military service, leading President Woodrow Wilson to call him the most dangerous Negro in America. Although never a porter himself, Randolph became the formidable chief of the International Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters and won wage increases and shorter hours for the porters.
In 1941 when Randolph announced that he would lead tens of thousands of his constituents in a protest march on the White House, President Roosevelt told him, “Questions like this have sociological implications. They can’t be gotten at with hammer and tongs. They can’t be settled with marches.” Randolph remained unswayed. “You can’t bring 100,000 Negroes to Washington. We can’t have that,” said Roosevelt. Randolph again remained unswayed. So Roosevelt sighed, picked up a pen and signed an order establishing the Fair Employment Practices Commission, arguably the single most important decree since the 13th Amendment which officially abolished slavery in the United States.
According to sources, Randolph may have listed himself in Who’s Who as a Methodist, but he did so to avoid public criticism of his outlook of secularism and humanism. “We consider prayer as nothing but a fervent wish,” he once declared. Randolph signed the Humanist Manifesto II. In 1970, the American Humanist Association named him Humanist of the Year for his tireless work to advance the rights of African-Americans.
Eugene Wesley [Gene] Roddenberry (1921 – 1991) was best known as the creator of the science fiction “universe” Star Trek. He was sometimes referred to as the "Great Bird of the Galaxy" in reference to his role in the series. Although raised as a Southern Baptist, Roddenberry did not embrace that faith, coming to blame organized religions for many wars and much suffering in human history Instead, he became a Humanist.
Following his graduation from Los Angeles City College, Roddenberry attended several colleges but later transferred his academic interest to aeronautical engineering. He joined the Army Air Corps and was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross and the Air Medal. After leaving the service, he became a commercial pilot for Pan American World Airways. Roddenberry left Pan Am to pursue TV writing. However, in order to provide for his family, he joined the Los Angeles Police Department. In 1956 he resigned from the police force to concentrate on his writing career.
Roddenberry developed his idea for Star Trek after looking for material to rival two early space fictional characters, Buck Rogers and Flash Gordon. The series premiered in 1966 and ran for three seasons. Although it was canceled due to low ratings, the series gained wide popularity in syndication. Beginning in 1975, Roddenberry developed a sequel Star Trek TV series. Ultimately the project was reworked into a feature film. As a result of Star Trek: The Motion Picture, several pictures and a new TV series, Star Trek: The Next Generation, were created. Star Trek also spawned the TV series Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Star Trek: Voyager, and Star Trek: Enterprise.
Roddenberry's life and work has been chronicled in several works including one by Susan Sackett, a Humanist leader in Phoenix, called Inside Trek: My Secret Life with Star Trek Creator Gene Roddenberry. Sackett was his close associate for 17 years. Roddenberry died in 1991. Several years later, a lipstick-sized capsule of his ashes was sent into space to orbit Earth for approximately six years, after which it burned up in Earth's atmosphere.. The asteroid 4659 Roddenberry and an impact crater on Mars are both named in his honor. The El Paso Independent School District Planetarium was renamed the Gene Roddenberry Planetarium. One of the buildings on the Paramount studio lot is the Gene Roddenberry building. The Science Fiction Museum in Seattle inducted Roddenberry into their Science Fiction Hall of Fame.
Patrick Stewart stated in an interview that a reporter questioned the choice of Stewart as the captain of the new series, saying "Look, it doesn't make sense. You got a bald actor playing this part. Surely, by the 24th century, they have found the cure for baldness." According to Stewart, Gene Roddenberry replied, "By the 24th century, no one will care".
Sir Arthur C. Clarke (1917 – 2008) was a British science fiction author, inventor and futurist, most famous for the novel 2001: A Space Odyssey. As a boy Clarke enjoyed stargazing and reading American science fiction pulp magazines. During World War II he served in the Royal Air Force as a radar specialist and was involved in the early warning radar defense system. In the postwar years, Clarke became the chairman of the British Interplanetary Society from 1947 to 1950 and again in 1953. He also wrote several non-fiction books describing the technical details and societal implications of rocketry and space flight.
Along with his writing, Clarke briefly worked as assistant editor of Science Abstracts before devoting himself to writing full-time from 1951 onward. His first three published novels were written for children. Many of his later works feature a technologically advanced but prejudiced mankind being confronted by a superior alien intelligence. Many readers and critics consider Childhood's End to be his best novel.
Early in his career Clarke had a fascination with the paranormal and stated that it was part of the inspiration for his novel Childhood's End. Although he eventually distanced himself from nearly all pseudoscience, he continued to advocate research into psycho-kinesis (moving inanimate objects through psychic powers).
Themes of religion and spirituality appear in much of Clarke's works. Although his writings were not explicitly religious [“Any path to knowledge is a path to God — or Reality, whichever word one prefers to use”.] In 2000, Clarke stated that "I don't believe in God or an afterlife," and identifies himself as an atheist. He was honored as a Humanist Laureate in the International Academy of Humanism. He has also described himself as a "crypto-Buddhist", insisting that Buddhism is not a religion. Clarke said that he could not forgive religions for the atrocities and wars over time. His famous quote is often cited: "The greatest tragedy in mankind's entire history may be the hijacking of morality by religion"
Clarke received many honors and other recognition for his 11 novels, six short story collections, and three works of non-fiction.
Carl Sagan (1934 - 1996) was perhaps the world's greatest popularizer of science, reaching millions of people through newspapers, magazines and TV broadcasts. He is perhaps best known for his work on the PBS series Cosmos, the award-winning show that became the most watched series in public TV history. The accompanying book, Cosmos was on The New York Times bestseller list for 70 weeks and was the best-selling science book ever published in English.
Carl Sagan, who earned a doctorate in astronomy and astrophysics from the University of Chicago, taught at both Harvard and Cornell universities. He played a leading role in NASA's Mariner, Viking, Voyager and Galileo expeditions to other planets. He received NASA Medals for Exceptional Scientific Achievement and twice for Distinguished Public Service and the NASA Apollo Achievement Award. He also was the recipient of numerous awards in addition to his NASA recognition. He received 22 honorary degrees from American colleges and universities for his contributions to science, literature, education and the preservation of the environment and many awards for his work on the long-term consequences of nuclear war and reversing the nuclear arms race. In addition to his awards in science, the American Humanist Association recognized him as the Humanist of the Year in 1981.
An interesting side note is that the Humanist of Florida Association (HFA) named their public charter school after him. The Carl Sagan Academy, a public charter school in Tampa, was chartered by the HFA in collaboration with the Hillsborough County School District. The school serves middle school students in an impoverished neighborhood near Tampa. Any child living in the district is eligible to attend for free. It is the first publicly-funded Humanist school in the United States and a most fitting tribute to this scientist and humanist.
Stephen Jay Gould (1941 - 2002) was a prominent paleontologist, evolutionary biologist, and historian of science. He also was one of the most influential and widely read writers of popular science. Gould spent most of his career teaching at Harvard and working at the American Museum of Natural History in New York.
When Gould was five, his father took him to the Hall of Dinosaurs in the American Museum of Natural History where he first encountered Tyrannosaurus rex. "I had no idea there were such things -- I was awestruck," he once recalled. It was then that he decided to become a paleontologist. Raised in a secular Jewish home, Gould did not formally practice religion and preferred to be called an agnostic.
Gould's greatest contribution to science was his theory of "punctuated equilibrium" which he developed with Niles Eldredge in 1972. The theory proposes that most evolution is marked by long periods of evolutionary stability which is later punctuated by rare instances of branching evolution. The theory was contrasted against the idea that evolutionary change is marked by a pattern of smooth and continuous change in the fossil record.
Throughout his career and writings he spoke out against cultural oppression in all its forms, especially what he saw as pseudoscience in the service of racism and sexism. Gould campaigned against creationism and proposed that science and religion should be considered two distinct fields, or "magisteria," whose authority does not overlap.
His scientific essays for Natural History frequently refer to his nonscientific interests. As a boy he collected baseball cards and was a huge baseball fan throughout his life. As an adult he was fond of science fiction movies but lamented that many of them were poor, not just in their science but in their storytelling.
Gould also became a noted public face of science, often appearing on television. He once voiced a cartoon version of himself on a Simpsons episode. Gould also was featured prominently as a guest in Ken Burns' PBS documentary Baseball, PBS's Evolution series, CNN's Crossfire, and NBC's The Today Show. He also was on the Board of Advisers to the Children's TV Workshop show, 3-2-1 Contact, where he made frequent guest appearances.
Along with other researchers, Gould's works were sometimes deliberately taken out of context by creationists as a "proof" that scientists no longer understood how organisms evolved. In 2001, the American Humanist Association named him the Humanist of the Year for his lifetime of work.
Elizabeth Cady Stanton (1815-1902) was an American social reformer who, along with Susan B. Anthony, led the struggle for women's rights. She fought against slavery and opposed the Christian Church and the Bible because she realized that they served as stumbling blocks to woman's emancipation.
Her parents had 11 children, most of whom did not survive to adulthood. In her autobiography, Eighty Years and More, Stanton related her father's feelings at having lost all his male heirs. Elizabeth attempted to console him, but his reaction was to tell her, "Oh, my daughter, I wish you were a boy." The experience made her determined to be the equal of any male. She tried hard to please her father by excelling in areas normally reserved for men -- learning Greek and horsemanship.
As a young woman, Elizabeth studied at the Troy Female Seminary which offered strong academic studies in addition to the typical educational options for women at that time, namely, developing social skills. While at Troy, she experienced a nervous collapse after experiencing a religious conversion that filled her with fears that she would go to hell. After this experience, she developed an intense dislike toward organized religion.
In 1840 she married the abolitionist (a person who is against slavery) leader Henry B. Stanton. At the wedding ceremony she insisted (and Stanton agreed) that she would not give the wife's traditional promise to "obey" her husband. Keeping her maiden name as Elizabeth Cady Stanton, rather than going by the name of Mrs. Henry B. Stanton also was unusual at the time.
In 1848 she organized America's first woman's rights convention in Seneca Falls, New York. She also composed a declaration of principles which described the history of humankind as one in which men had repeatedly and intentionally suppressed the rights of women in order to establish "absolute tyranny" over them. Despite opposition, she persuaded the convention to approve a resolution calling for women's right to vote.
During the Civil War, Stanton and Susan B. Anthony created the National Woman's Loyal League to build support for what became the 13th Amendment to the Constitution which ended slavery in the US. In 1890, the National American Woman Suffrage Association was formed with Stanton as the group's president.
A witty writer, she worked with Susan B.Anthony and Matilda Gage on the first three volumes of the massive collection History of Woman Suffrage. With Anthony, she is recognized today as one of the most important figures in the early movement to gain women's rights in the United States
Harold Blackham (1903 -- 2009) , one of the prime movers of the Humanist movement in Britain, devoted his entire life to serving his fellow human beings. After graduating from the University of Birmingham, he spent two years teaching divinity, history and English at a grammar school and also worked with a Christian group during World War I that was dedicated to building a fairer society in the local mining community.
After a lengthy intellectual crisis, he rejected not only the strict faith of his Congregationalist family but all forms of supernatural religion, although he retained an intensely moral view of the world. In 1933 he concentrated his efforts on the Ethical Culture movement and five years later helped organize a conference of the World Union of Freethinkers.
During World War II, he was involved in bringing Jewish refugee children from Austria to England to escape Nazi persecution. After the war he became secretary of the Ethical Union and set out to revive the free thought movement under the wider rubric of "Humanism". In 1952 his efforts, together with those of the Dutch humanist Jaap van Praag, led to forming the International Humanist and Ethical Union of which he was the first secretary. Blackham represented the Union in its dialogue with the Vatican Secretariat for Non-Believers. At the same time he worked to bring together the Ethical and Rationalist organizations in Britain and in 1963 his efforts led to the formation of the British Humanist Association of which he was the first director. The association is best known for its work in education and campaigning for a secular state. Working with other humanists, he contributed to pioneering practical work in sheltered housing, adoption and counseling.
Blackham worked equally with religious and non-religious individuals and organizations on the basis of the common values of all people of good will. He also wrote and edited a number of books on humanism and other humanist leaders. In Objections to Humanism he wrote: "Faith without works is not Christianity, and unbelief without any effort to help shoulder the consequences for mankind is not humanism." In his later years, he continued to serve as president of the British Humanist Association and honorary lecturer of the South Place Ethical Society. He earned great admiration during his long career. He never sought or received any official honors but was presented with a bronze bust of himself when he retired in 1968 and he was given the international Humanist of the Year award in 1974.
Margaret Sanger (1879 - 1966) was educated as and worked as a nurse in her early years. In her work with poor women on the Lower East Side of New York, she became aware of the effects of unplanned and unwelcome pregnancies. Her mother's health had suffered as she bore 11 children. Sanger, thus, came to believe in the importance to women's lives and women's health of the availability of birth control, a term which she is credited with inventing.
At the age of 33, Sanger gave up nursing to dedicate herself to the distribution of birth control information. However, the Comstock Act of 1873 was used to forbid distribution of birth control devices and information. She wrote articles on health, for example, What Every Girl Should Know and What Every Mother Should Know.
In 1913 she went to Europe and, on her return, founded a paper, Woman Rebel. She was indicted for "mailing obscenities," fled to Europe, and the indictment was withdrawn. A year later, she founded the National Birth Control League which was taken over by others while Sanger was in Europe. Soon after, Sanger set up the first birth control clinic in the United States, and was sent to the workhouse for "creating a public nuisance." Her many arrests and prosecutions, and the resulting outcries, helped lead to changes in laws giving doctors the right to give birth control advice (and later, birth control devices) to patients.
In 1927, Sanger helped organize the first World Population Conference in Geneva. In 1942, after several organizational mergers and name changes, Planned Parenthood Federation came into being. Sanger wrote many books and articles on birth control, marriage and an autobiography. Today, organizations and individuals which oppose abortion and, sometimes, birth control, have charged Sanger with eugenicism and racism. Sanger supporters consider the charges false.
Eugenicism or, more simply, eugenics is the study of methods of improving the human race, especially through selective breeding, i.e., the "careful selection of parents." Its "lofty goals" have generally been to "create healthier, more intelligent people, and lessen human suffering," but some proposed means of achieving these goals have focused on eliminating "undesirable traits" within certain populations. The resulting discrimination and human rights violations have included forced sterilization, castration and, at times, genocide of individuals perceived as inferior.
Sanger's contribution to humanity was very different; it was advocating birth control and women's health and for that she will be remembered.
Sherwin Wine (1928 - 2007) founded the first congregation of Humanistic Judaism in 1963 in Farmington Hills, Michigan and, in 1969, the Society for Humanistic Judaism (SHJ). He later was a founder of several organizations related to Humanistic Judaism, a humanist movement that emphasizes secular Jewish culture and history rather than belief in God as sources of Jewish identity. Wine also was the founder of several humanist organizations that are not specifically Jewish, such as the Humanist Institute for training humanist leaders. The American Humanist Association named him Humanist of the Year for 2003.
Despite his movement away from theism, Wine decided to join the clergy and enrolled in the rabbinic program at Reform Judaism's Hebrew Union College. He later volunteered for service as an Army chaplain and was stationed in Korea.
A disaffected group from Temple Beth El in Detroit asked his help in forming a new congregation which would develop language which reflected their beliefs. Wine eventually decided to eliminate the word "God" from the services and use liturgy that extolled Jewish history, culture, and ethical values. Controversy arose when it became known that Wine was leading a congregation that did not recognize God. A Detroit newspaper ran an article with the headline "Suburban Rabbi: 'I Am an Atheist.'" Wine explained that his views were not precisely atheistic. He stated that since it was not possible to prove or disprove the existence of God, the concept was meaningless. He referred to this as "ignosticism".
The Torah scroll was placed in the library rather than the sanctuary. The sanctuary contained a sculpture with the Hebrew word Adam ("man" or "people") rather than Adonai (God). Wine served as the rabbi until he retired in 2003, at which time he began devoting his efforts to his work as Provost of the International Institute for Secular Humanistic Judaism as well as lecturing on a wide range of topics.
As the practices of the Temple attracted people in other locations, Wine assumed the responsibility for founding several organizations designed to link these adherents together. The SHJ now has over 30 constituent congregations in the US and Canada as well as individual members unaffiliated with these congregations.
Wine concluded that a congregational format, emphasizing culture and history rather than theism, could attract nonreligious Jews not served by other Jewish organizations. The goal was to provide members with a sense of community and all of the services provided by congregational life -- but consistent with the non-theistic outlook. Wine emphasized keeping words consistent with beliefs. This meant that references to a deity were excluded from the liturgy. Wine also composed a poem considered to be the central expression of Humanistic Judaism: Where is my light? My light is in me. Where is my hope? My hope is in me. Where is my strength? My strength is in me - and in you.
Many of the Jewish holidays have been maintained in Humanistic Judaism, but the interpretations have been changed. Rosh Hashanah is now viewed as a time for renewal and reflection, focusing on the affirmation of human power and human dignity. Yom Kippur is now viewed as a celebration of inner strength and a time of self-forgiveness. No prayers or references to God. The Torah and other traditional Jewish religious texts were, for Wine, important historical documents that need to be evaluated scientifically to determine their origins and degree of factuality. For him, writings of the Jews of the past 250 years have more philosophical and ethical validity than ancient writings because they are more likely to be infused with values of both the Jewish and Western enlightenments.
Wine wrote numerous books and articles. Judaism Beyond God describes the history and outlook of Humanistic Judaism. Celebrations: A Ceremonial and Philosophic Guide for Humanists and Humanistic Jews is a compendium of his liturgical writings and "meditations" for use at holiday and life cycle events.
On July 21, 2007, Wine and his longtime partner Richard McMains were in a taxi in Morocco when it was struck by another vehicle. Both Wine and the taxi driver were killed. McMains survived although he was seriously injured.
The memory of Sherwin Wine will, for all Humanists, surely be a blessing - not in the traditionally religious use of the word but in the sense that the world is a better place for having Sherwin Wine as part of it.
R. Lester Mondale (1904 - 2003), a Unitarian minister and noted Humanist, was the only person to sign each of the three Humanist Manifestos of 1933, 1973 and 2003.Although his family was Methodist, he converted to Unitarianism while earning his B.A. from Hamline University. His younger half-brother was Walter Mondale, Vice-President of the United States under President Carter.
In 1933, he was the youngest to sign A Humanist Manifesto; at age 99, he was the oldest to sign to the 2003 Humanism and Its Aspirations. He died shortly afterwards. Mondale was a member of the American Humanist Association since its inception and received its Humanist Pioneer award in 1973 and the Humanist Founder award in 2001.
He was very active with the American Humanist Association, the American Ethical Union and served as president of the Fellowship of Religious Humanists in the 1960s and 1970s.
Lester Mondale also was an accomplished author, mostly of philosophical, religious, and scholarly books. His 3-room study/workshop burned down in May 2007, which was a terrible thing for his family because it contained many family pictures and valuable records, his sermons, and his correspondences with notably historical figures of the 20th century. All was gone. Nothing was left but ruined metal and ash. However, his memory, his work, and his contributions to Humanism live on.
Gloria Steinem (born in 1934) is a feminist icon, journalist, and social and political activist. Rising to national prominence in the 1970s, she became a leading political leader of the decade and one of the most important heads of the women's rights movement. Because of her mother's mental illness and the apathy of doctors treating her, along with the social punishments for career-driven women, early in her life Steinem became convinced that women badly need social and political equality.
Esquire magazine gave her what she later called her first "serious assignment". Her article about the way in which women are forced to choose between a career and marriage preceded Betty Friedan's book The Feminine Mystique by one year. In 1972, Steinem co-founded the feminist-themed Ms. magazine. It began as a special edition of New York Magazine and generated an astonishing 26,000 subscription orders and over 20,000 reader letters within weeks. Steinem would continue to write for the magazine until it was sold in 1987.
In the 1970s she began her active political activities which have continued throughout the years and has included membership in the Democratic Socialists of America. Steinem co-founded the Coalition of Labor Union Women in 1974 and participated in the National Conference of Women in 1977. She became Ms. magazine's consulting editor when it was revived in 1991 and was inducted into the National Women's Hall of Fame in 1993.
Throughout the years, she has been on the cutting edge of a wide range of issues such as women's health, alcohol and drug education, and AIDS. In 1992, she co-founded Choice USA, a non-profit organization that mobilizes and provides ongoing support to a younger generation that lobbies for reproductive choice. Steinem's social and political views cover many aspects of feminism - and humanism.
Mary and Lloyd Morain
When you visit the office of the American Humanist Association in Washington, DC, you will notice a plaque on the door with the names of Mary and Lloyd Morain. Mary (1911 to 1999) and Lloyd are the authors of the widely read and popular book, Humanism As The Next Step, now in a newly revised edition published in 2008 by the Humanist Press.
Mary's interest in social reform led her to leaving professional social work and college teaching to become a full-time volunteer serving on the boards of many non-profit organizations. For many years she participated in pioneering world conferences and meetings on family planning. Past president of the International Society for General Semantics, she edited four books in the field. Both she and Lloyd served as Fellows if the World Academy of Art and Science.
Lloyd, a former president of the American Humanist Association and editor of The Humanist, was a founding director if the International Humanist and Ethical Union. He has worked in various capacities for industrial mining, motion pictures, and utility companies. He also has served on the boards of many non-profit organizations including the Planned Parenthood Federation of America.
Their book is must reading for all Humanists, new members and old timers. Here is what two reviewers of the book had to say about it:
"Humanism As the Next Step is clear, direct, and comprehensive. It is a useful and readable introduction to humanism by two people whose life work has helped to make humanism what it is today. Anyone looking for a relevant and constructive way of living in the modern world will find it truly helpful in his/her search." -- Howard Radest, philosopher and founder of The Humanist Institute
"In Humanism As the Next Step, Lloyd and Mary Morain have performed an invaluable service, not only by competently defining humanism, but also by masterfully answering virtually every conceivable important question about a philosophy to which they have dedicated their lives. Whenever I think of humanism, I think of the Morains -- two individuals of uncommon decency, integrity, intelligence, tolerance, and courage." -- Werner Fornos, president of The Population Institute
Mary and Lloyd were jointly recognized and honored as the American Humanist Association's Humanists of the Year in 1994.
Jonas Salk (1914 - 1995)
Many of us who are old enough to remember life in the late 1940s and 1950s will recall that summertime was a time of fear and anxiety for parents and children alike. It was the season when children by the thousands became infected with the crippling disease, poliomyelitis or polio. This burden of fear was lifted when it was announced that Dr. Jonas Salk had developed a vaccine against the disease. Salk became world-famous overnight, but his discovery was the result of many years of painstaking research.
Jonas Salk was born in New York City. His parents were Russian-Jewish immigrants who, although they lacked formal education, were determined to see their children succeed and encouraged them to study hard. Jonas was the first member of his family to go to college. He entered the City College of New York intending to study law but soon became intrigued by medical science.
While attending medical school at New York University, Salk was invited to spend a year researching influenza. The virus that causes flu had only recently been discovered and young Salk was eager to learn if the virus could be deprived of its ability to infect while still giving immunity to the illness. Salk succeeded in this attempt, which became the basis of his later work on polio.
After completing medical school, Salk returned to the study of the flu virus. World War II had begun and public health experts feared a replay of the flu epidemic that had killed millions of people after World War I. The development of vaccines controlled the spread of flu after the war and the epidemic of 1919 did not recur.
In 1947, Salk accepted an appointment to the University of Pittsburgh Medical School. While working with the National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis, he saw an opportunity to develop a vaccine against polio, and devoted himself to this work for the next eight years. In 1955 his years of research paid off. Human trials of the vaccine effectively protected the subject from the polio virus. When news of the discovery was made public, Salk was hailed as a miracle worker. He further endeared himself to the public by refusing to patent the vaccine. He had no desire to profit personally from the discovery but wished to see the vaccine disseminated as widely as possible.
Salk's vaccine was composed of "killed" polio virus which retained the ability to immunize without running the risk of infecting the patient. A few years later, a vaccine made from live polio virus was developed, which could be administered orally, while Salk's vaccine required injection. Further, there was some evidence that the "killed" vaccine failed to completely immunize the patient. Public health authorities elected to distribute the "live" oral vaccine instead of Salk's. Tragically, the preparation of live virus infected some patients rather than immunizing them. Since the introduction of the original vaccine, the few new cases of polio reported were probably caused by the "live" vaccine which was intended to prevent them.
In countries where Salk's vaccine has remained in use, the disease has been virtually eradicated. In 1963, he founded the Jonas Salk Institute for Biological studies, an innovative center for medical and scientific research. Salk continued to conduct research and publish books, some in collaboration with one or more of his sons who are also medical scientists. Salk's last years were spent searching for a vaccine against AIDS.
The list of scientists who have been members of the American Humanist Association is legion: Stephen Jay Gould, Richard Leakey, E.O. Wilson, Francis Crick, Isaac Asimov, and, of course, Jonas Salk.Bertrand Russell (1872 - 1970), a British philosopher, mathematician, historian, and social reformer was a prominent anti-war activist, championing free trade between nations and anti-imperialism. He was imprisoned for his pacifist activism during World War I, campaigned against Adolf Hitler, for nuclear disarmament, criticized Soviet totalitarianism and the United States' involvement in the Vietnam War. In 1950, Russell was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature, "in recognition of his varied and significant writings in which he champions humanitarian ideals and freedom of thought." He wrote on many topics relating to ethics, mathematics, logic and much more. For our purpose, we will focus on his views on religion.
Russell maintained that religion is little more than superstition and, despite any positive effects that religion might have, it is largely harmful to people. He believed religion and the religious outlook (he considered communism and other systematic ideologies to be forms of religion) serve to impede knowledge, foster fear and dependency, and are responsible for much of the war, oppression, and misery that have beset the world. In his 1949 speech, "Am I an Atheist or an Agnostic?" Russell expressed his difficulty over whether to call himself an atheist or an agnostic.
Russell's views on religion can be found in his book, Why I Am Not a Christian and Other Essays on Religion and Related Subjects. The book contained several essays in which Russell considers (and dismissed) a number of arguments for the existence of god, including the first cause argument, the natural-law argument, the argument from design, and moral arguments. He also discussed specifics about Christian theology. His conclusion:
Religion is based, I think, primarily and mainly upon fear. It is partly the terror of the unknown and partly, as I have said, the wish to feel that you have a kind of elder brother who will stand by you in all your troubles and disputes.... A good world needs knowledge, kindliness, and courage; it does not need a regretful hankering after the past or a fettering of the free intelligence by the words uttered long ago by ignorant men..
Another valuable web site is -- www.ffrf.org/ When you are at the site, go to the “Freethought of the Day” which, in turn, will lead you to “Famous Freethinkers & Secular Stars.” When you further “click” on the names, you will find pictures and biographical information on many people, some historical and some contemporary, for example: Susan B. Anthony, Lance Armstrong, Johannes Brahms, Luther Burbank. George Carlin, Andrew Carnegie, Georges Clemenceau, George Clooney, Marie Curie, Simone de Beauvior, Harrison Ford, Jodie Foster, Sigmund Freud, Lorraine Hansberry, Katherine Hepburn, David Hume, Robert Ingersoll, Jack London, H.L. Mencken, John Stuart Mill, Friedrich Nietzsche, Bertrand Russell, Andy Rooney, Carl Sagan, Margaret Sanger, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Julia Sweeney, Guiseppe Verdi, Alice Walker, and Mary Wollstonecraft.
When you return to the “Freethought of the Day,” you will find that it is a daily freethought calendar that highlights birthdates, quotes, and “other historic tidbits.” Check your dates of interest, for example, a “date of interest” to the compiler of this resource is November 15th. (I see that I share a birthday with Gora, the Indian atheist philosopher born in 1902 – only a mere 30 years before I became a very young freethinker!)
The "Humanist Hall of Fame" is edited by Timothy S. Binga, Chief Librarian of the Center for Inquiry Libraries, which includes the world's largest collection of freethought and humanist literature. Commenting on the new Hall of Fame, Mr. Binga stated that "Some of the greatest philosophers, artists, scientists, and social reformers in history did not believe in god or the supernatural. They believed this was the only life we had, and that we all have a responsibility to make the best of it for ourselves and for future generations. These freethinkers challenged tradition and went beyond orthodox beliefs to expand human understanding and improve society. The Humanist Hall of Fame honors these great pioneers and explains the principles that motivated their lives and works.
The following comprehensive biographical statements can be found at the Council for Secular Humanism’s web site: February's Humanist of the Month - Robert Green Ingersoll; March -- Giordano Bruno; April -- Matilda Joslyn Gage; May – Voltaire; June – Thomas Paine; July – David Hume; August – Frances Wright.
[Note: Mr. Binga is seeking nominations for outstanding humanists, agnostics, atheists and freethinkers to be featured in coming months. Both historic and contemporary figures will be considered. Nominations for candidates, with an explanation of why they should be honored, should be sent to Mr. Binga at: tbinga@centerforinquiry.net.]
Many Humanists … openly and clearly declared that Humanism is their religion. (Obviously the word "religion" is used by these Humanists in its general and sociological sense, meaning "ultimate concern" or "principle motivational philosophy" and not in any sort of specific sectarian or theological sense….) (Other) Humanists prefer to avoid identifying Humanism as a "religion," as they primarily associate the word … with a religion that they were raised in and now wish to distance themselves from or with religions that they disagree with. Links to a number of people (who names are underlined) can be found.
A partial list of both secular and religious humanists. Links to additional information are noted:
Others are listed on the following humanist organization pages: -- British Humanist Association. See also -- Lists of secularists -- Agnostics, Atheists, Nontheists and List of secularist organizations
21 Nobel laureates signed the statement:
Thomas Paine, political writer (1737-1809). This remarkable political philosopher and freethinker influenced the Founding Fathers of the American Revolution and the French Revolution. Paine condemned the practice of slavery in his "African Slavery in America" and published his most famous work, "Common Sense" in 1776 just six months before the issuance of the Declaration of Independence. He also wrote "Rights of Man," "Age of Reason," and "The American Crisis."
Thomas Jefferson, scientist, statesman, and 3rd President of the U.S. (1743-1826): American revolutionary leader, scientist, skeptic, political philosopher, and third president of the United States. The freethinker Jefferson expressed exponents of the Enlightenment that emphasized human reason, science, and education. He established the University of Virginia and authored the Declaration of Independence, and the Statute of Virginia for Religious Freedom.
Robert Green Ingersoll, agnostic writer and thinker (1833-1899): American lawyer, freethinker and orator, known as the Great Agnostic because of his antireligious views. He wrote many anti-orthodox lectures and his talks scandalized the clergy.
Elizabeth Cady Stanton, woman's rights (1815-1902): American social reformer who, along with Susan B. Anthony, led the struggle for the rights of women. She fought against slavery and helped form the National Woman's Loyal League in 1863. She opposed the Christian Church and the Bible because she realized that it served as a stumbling block in the way of woman's emancipation.
Bertrand Russell, scientist and philosopher (1872-1970): British philosopher, mathematician and Nobel laureate, who emphasized logical thinking instead of superstition. He realized that the Christian religion, as organized in the churches, "has been and still is the principle enemy of moral progress in the world."
Richard Feynman, physicist (1918-1988): American physicist, Nobel laureate, and great teacher. Feynman ceaselessly questioned scientific "truths." He held many varied interests. His curiosity moved well beyond science as he rejected superstition and dogma.
Isaac Asimov, scientist, writer, historian (1920-1992): The 20th century's most recognized one-man encyclopedist, with 477 published titles by his own count. Asimov explored what interested him: science, science fiction, the Bible, literature, history, and human nature. One of the most influential science fiction writers, he also wrote many science books which explained complex physics with easy to understand terms. Asimov as a freethinker also wrote a guide to the Bible, Old and New testaments. He illuminated the events in historical terms, exposed the many problems with the Bible and laid bare the supernatural claims.
Carl Sagan, scientist and writer (1934-1996): Sagan served as a professor of Astronomy and Space Sciences and Director of the Laboratory for Planetary Studies at Cornell University. A Pulitzer Prize winner, Dr. Sagan received the highest award of the National Academy of Sciences. He had the ability to convey the wonder, and excitement of scientific discovery. His clear vision and honor to science has led him to see the problems with irrationality and superstition.
Stephen J. Gould, scientist and writer (1941-2002): An evolutionary biologist, writer, humanist, and freethinker, Gould provides an exceptional example of a scientist and freethinker who had the ability to explain complex subjects and to correct the misconceptions of history. Many of his books explain the complexities of Darwinian evolution and why Creationism fails as a science.
Paul Kurtz, professor, writer , publisher, secular humanist: President of Prometheus Books, Professor of Philosophy at the State University of New York at Buffalo, Editor-in-Chief of Free Inquiry magazine, editor of Skeptical Inquirer magazine and Chairman of the Committee for the Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal. Paul Kurtz has perhaps done more through the publishing industry to promote reason and science than anyone in the 20th century.
Daniel C. Dennett, scientist and philosopher: Computer scientist, philosopher, freethinker, and writer, Dennett's first book, Content and Consciousness, appeared in 1969, followed by Brainstorms (1978), Elbow Room (1984), The Intentional Stance (1987), Consciousness Explained (1991), Darwin's Dangerous Idea (1995), Kinds of Minds (1996), Brainchildren (1996) and Freedom Evolves (2003). He co-edited The Mind's I with Douglas Hofstadter in 1981. He has authored of over 100 scholarly articles on various aspects on the mind, published in journals ranging from Artificial Intelligence and Behavioral and Brain Sciences to Poetics Today and the Journal of Aesthetics and Art Criticism.
Richard Dawkins, scientist and writer: Biological scientist, evolutionist, and writer, Dawkins explains evolution in terms of replicating information, that indeed, all living things give example of vehicles of information. He explains the nature of scientific reasoning and exposes the dangers of religious dogma. A brilliant writer.
Michael Shermer, skeptic, writer, publisher. Publisher of Skeptic magazine, director of the Skeptics Society, Adjunct Professor of History of Science at Occidental College. Michael Shermer gives lectures and appears on television and radio shows, describing the problems of belief systems.
James Randi, paranormal investigator, conjuror, and a breath of rational fresh air: An internationally known investigator of the paranormal and occult, Randi has exposed some of the greatest paranormal fakes in modern history. Randi not only has steel bravery, but intelligence, compassion, and a healthy sense of humor. He has written numerous books including Flim-Flam!, The Truth About Uri Geller, An Encyclopedia of Claims, Frauds, and Hoaxes of the Occult and SupernaturalThis is a very lengthy list of famous dead people who have rejected God and religion. They are “people throughout history who have advocated living life without deference to a transcendent power. The list is in order of birth date.” (Since the list is so long, we will not reproduce it but rather direct you to the web site: corvallissecular.org/links-index.html.
Scroll down to “Famous Freethinkers” where you will find this list. The purposes, according to the list’s compilers, “are to combat the pervasive myth that atheists are terrible, immoral people and to convince the undecided that it is OK to be an atheist. Just like any other large group of people, some of these people lived exemplary lives and others did not. The point is not that these people are all heroes, but simply to notice that there are more non-theists out there than most people realize.” For a list of living celebrity atheists, the compilers recommend Reed Esau's Celebrity Atheist List. A link to this lengthy list also is provided.
Freethought Quotations. Also see this list of quotations from famous freethinkers, both historical and recent. We can’t begin to list them all so turn to the web site where you will find them: www.geocities.com/athens/cyprus/2478/quotes.html.
However, here are just two brief examples:
"I believe in god, (only) I spell it nature" -- Frank Lloyd Wright
A Research Activity. A fun and an educational experience for you and your family is to “google” the following people and write up short statements describing their lifestance: Ethan Allen, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Benjamin Franklin, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Thomas Hobbes, Thomas Jefferson, John Locke, John Lennon and Yoko Ono, James Madison, Christopher Marlowe, George Bernard Shaw, Percy Bysshe Shelly, Socrates, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Henry David Thoreau, Mark Twain, and Walt Whitman.
