Humanists UK

Humanists UK

Humanists UK logo
Formation	1896(1896)
Location	United Kingdom Channel Islands Isle of Man
Members(2021)	100,000 members and supporters
President	Adam Rutherford
Chief Executive	Andrew Copson
Affiliations	Humanists International
Website	humanists.uk
Formerly called	Union of Ethical Societies (1896–1928) Ethical Union (1928–1967) British Humanist Association (1967–2017)

Humanists UK,known from 1967 until May 2017 as theBritish Humanist Association(BHA), is a charitable organisation which promotessecular humanismand aims to represent "people who seek to live good lives without religious or superstitious beliefs" in theUnited Kingdomby campaigning on issues relating to humanism,secularism,andhuman rights.It seeks to act as a representative body fornon-religious people in the UK.

The charity also supports humanist and non-religiousceremoniesinEngland and Wales,Northern Ireland,and theCrown dependenciesand maintains a national network ofaccredited celebrantsfor humanist funeral ceremonies, weddings, andbaby namings,in addition to a network of volunteers who provide like-mindedsupport and comfortto non-religious people in hospitals and prisons. Its other charitable activities include providing free educational resources to teachers, parents, and institutions; apeer-to-peer support servicefor people who face difficulties leaving coercive religions and cults; work to promote tolerance and understandingbetweenreligious communities and the non-religious; and work to promote understanding of humanism. The current president of Humanists UK isAdam Rutherfordand the chief executive isAndrew Copson.The association currently has 70 affiliated regional and special interest groups and claims a total of approximately 100,000 members and supporters.

Humanists UK also has sections which run as staffed national humanist organisations in both Wales and Northern Ireland.Wales HumanistsandNorthern Ireland Humanistseach have an advisory committee drawn from the membership and a development officer. Wales Humanists and Northern Ireland Humanists campaign ondevolved issuesin Cardiff and Belfast and work to expand the provision of humanist ceremonies, pastoral care, and support for teachers in those countries.

Aims

The organisation's Articles of Association sets out its aims as:

• The advancement of Humanism, namely a non-religious ethical lifestance the essential elements of which are a commitment to human wellbeing and a reliance on reason, experience and a naturalistic view of the world.
• The advancement of education and in particular the study of and the dissemination of knowledge about Humanism and about the arts and science as they relate to Humanism.
• The promotion of equality and non-discrimination and the protection of human rights as defined in international instruments to which the United Kingdom is party, in each case in particular as relates to religion and belief.
• The promotion of understanding between people holding religious and non-religious beliefs so as to advance harmonious cooperation in society.

The organisation also wishes to build itself as a sustainable and nationally-recognised organisation as a voice for non-religious people.

History

The organisation was founded in 1896 by AmericanStanton Coitas theUnion of Ethical Societies,which brought together existingethical societiesin Britain. Other important founding figures includedElizabeth Schwann(who presided over the inaugural conference), and the feminist writerZona Vallance(its first Secretary).The writer and criticLeslie Stephen,father ofVirginia Woolf,was also a founding figure; he had been president of one of the societies which federated as the Union of Ethical Societies. It changed its name to theEthical Unionin 1920 and was incorporated in 1928. In 1963H. J. Blackhambecame the first executive director,and the society became the British Humanist Association in 1967, during the Presidency of philosopherA. J. Ayer.

This transition followed a decade of discussions which nearly prompted a merger of the Ethical Union with theRationalist Press Associationand theSouth Place Ethical Society.In 1963 the first two went as far as creating an umbrella Humanist Association of whichHarold Blackham(later to become a president of Humanists UK) was the executive director. However, Humanists UK, theRationalist Associationand the South Place Ethical Society (now Conway Hall Ethical Society) remain separate entities today and in 1967 the Union of Ethical Societies alone became the British Humanist Association.

In the 1960s, the organisation campaigned for reform of the1944 Education Act's clauses on religion in schools and it was active in the campaign to legalise abortion and homosexuality. It supported repeal ofSunday Observancelaws and the end of theatre censorship, the provision of family planning on the NHS and other reforms. More generally Humanists UK aimed to defendfreedom of speech,support the elimination of world poverty and remove the privileges given to religious groups. It was claimed in 1977 that Humanists UK aimed "to make humanism available and meaningful to the millions who have no alternative belief."

BHA supporters, includingAndrew CopsonandPolly Toynbee,taking part in a No Prayer Breakfast event at the Labour Party Conference in 2012

The local ethical societies united in 1896 had (mainly during the 1950s) renamed themselves as humanist groups and their number grew over time, becoming today Humanists UK's network of affiliated local humanist groups. A network ofcelebrantsable to conduct non-religious funerals, weddings, naming ceremonies and same sex affirmations (before the law allowing gaycivil partnerships) was also developed and continues today as Humanist Ceremonies.

Social concerns persisted in Humanists UK's programme. Humanists UK was a co-founder in 1969 of the Social Morality Council (later transmuted into theNorham Foundation), which brought together believers and unbelievers concerned with moral education and with finding agreed solutions to moral problems in society. Humanists UK was active in arguing forvoluntary euthanasiaand the right to obtain anabortion.It has always sought an "open society".It is credited with substantially popularising the salience and use of the concept in Britain. In 1969 it filledRoyal Festival Hallfor an influential conference onTowards an Open Society.

Humanists UK claimed that the rules on religious programming within theBBCconstitute a "religious privilege"and reserve particular criticism for theThought for the Dayslot on Radio 4'sToday programme.In April 2009 a "breakthrough" in Humanists UK's campaign sawAndrew Copsoninvited to participate as a humanist representative in the BBC's short-lived Standing Conference on Religion and Belief when it replaced the Central Religious Advisory Committee.

In May 2017, the organisation changed its operating name from the British Humanist Association to Humanists UK. Its chief executive, Andrew Copson, said that the change followed "a long, evidence-driven process with focus groups of non-religious people across the UK and research involving over 4,000 of our supporters... Humanists UK represents not just a new logo, but a totally new, friendly look that captures the essence of humanism: open, inclusive, energetic, and modern, with people and their stories placed first and foremost...".

In 2021, Humanists UK celebrated its 125th anniversary. It launched a newHumanist Heritage website,cataloguing much of its 125-year history and the wider history of humanism in the UK,and received cross-party video messages of congratulations from theLeader of the OppositionandLabour,SirKeir Starmer;theFirst Minister of Scotlandand leader of theScottish National Party,Nicola Sturgeon;from the leader of theLiberal Democrats,SirEdward Davey;the co-leader of theGreen Party of England and Wales,Siân Berry;and a warm letter of thanks from theConservativeUK Government.

Campaigns

Schools

The organisation opposesfaith schoolsbecause "The majority of the evidence [...] points towards their being an unfair and unpopular part of our state education system which the majority of people in Britain want them phased out."In addition, they argue that faith schools are "exclusive, divisive and counter intuitive to social cohesion" and blame religious admissions procedures for "creating school populations that are far from representative of their local populations in religious or socio-economic terms."

While the organisation is opposed to faith schools receiving any state funding whatsoever, it supports theFair Admissions Campaignwhich has a more limited scope because "it furthers our aims of ending religious discrimination and segregation in state schools; and secondly because we know how important this particular topic is."The organisation campaigns for reform ofReligious Educationin the UK including a reformed subject covered by the national curriculum which is inclusive of non-religious viewpoints, such as "Belief and Values Education". They believe that "all pupils in all types of school should have the opportunity to consider philosophical and fundamental questions, and that in a pluralist society we should learn about each other's beliefs, including humanist ones".

Humanists UK President-elect Alice Roberts was criticised for sending her child to a faith school,despite Humanists UK's campaign against state-funded religious schools. She responded that this was the very point of the campaign: that she, like many other parents, had little choice over where to send her childand that she would have preferred a non-faith school option local to her.

Humanists UK also support humanist volunteers on the localStanding Advisory Council on Religious Educationwhich currently determine theReligious Educationsyllabus for each local authority. Educational issues have always featured prominently in Humanists UK campaigns activities, including efforts to abolish compulsory dailycollective worshipin schools and to reform Religious Education so that it is "Objective, Fair and Balanced" (the title of an influential 1975 booklet) and includes learning about humanism as an alternative life stance.

The organisation opposes the teaching ofcreationismin schools. In September 2011, Humanists UK launched their "Teach evolution, not creationism" campaign,which aimed to establish statutory opposition tocreationismin theUKeducation system.TheDepartment for Educationamended the funding agreement for free schools to allow the withdrawal of funding if they teach creationism as established scientific fact.In 2019, Humanists UK's Wales Humanists branch revived the campaign in partnership withDavid Attenboroughafter theWelsh Department of Educationomitted to include similar safeguards against teaching creationism in schools.

Humanists UK has long campaigned in opposition tocollective worshiplaws in the UK which require all schools to hold school assemblies "of a broadly Christian character". In 2019, the charity backed two parents to take a human rights challenge to those laws, arguing that the state had a duty to treat non-religious pupils equally and by effectively isolating those who withdraw from compulsory worship, discrimination occurs.Later that year, Humanists UK launched a new website,Assemblies for All,which compiles school assembly resources from NGOs, charities, government sources, the BBC, and businesses to make it possible for teachers and school leaders to put on "inclusive assemblies" on diverse topics – including the environment, mental health, and public holidays – as opposed to thecollective worshiprequired by law.

Through its education website Understanding Humanism, the charity also provides resources to teachers who want to include humanist perspectives and information about humanism in lessons.

Constitutional reform

The organisation campaigns for asecular state,which it defines as "a state where public institutions are separate from religious institutions and treat all citizens impartially regardless of their religious or non-religious beliefs."It points to issues such as the joint role of theBritish monarch(both Supreme Governor of the Church of England and Head of State), the reserved places for bishops in theHouse of Lords,the status of theChurch of England(the officially established church), and other "discriminations based on religion or belief within the system" such as those in education and Public Services.

Ethical issues

Richard Dawkinsaccepting the Services to Humanism award at Humanists UK Annual Conference in 2012

Humanists UK has supported therights for those who need assistance in ending their own lives,and lobbied parliament for a change in the law,on behalf of Tony Nicklinson and Paul Lamb, in their 'Right to Die' legal cases.In 2014, it intervened in a Supreme Court case in which the court stated it would rule again on a potentialdeclaration of incompatibilitybetween restrictions on the right to die and theHuman Rights Actshould Parliament fail to legislate decisively.In February 2019 they helped form the Assisted Dying Coalition, a group of like-minded campaign groups seeking to legalise assisted dying for the terminally ill or incurably suffering.

Persistent campaigns include defending legalabortionin Great Britain and securing its decriminalisation and its legalisation inNorthern Ireland,defendingembryonic stem cell researchfor medical purposes,challenging the state funding ofhomeopathythrough theNational Health Service,and calling for consistent and humane law on the slaughter of animals.It has also campaigned for 'opt-out'organ donorregisters to improve the availability of life-saving organs in the UK; Wales became the first part of the UK to adopt such a register in 2015.Jersey followed in 2019, to befollowed by Englandin 2020.

The organisation also campaigns on marriage laws, demanding full equality for same-sex and humanist marriage ceremonies throughout the UK. Humanists UK had been providing same-sex wedding ceremonies for decades, and had strongly supported legalising same-sex marriage years in advance of eventual UK and Scottish legislation.In 2013, it secured an amendment to the same sex-marriage bill to require UK Government to consult on letting humanist celebrants conduct legal marriages. Though the consultation result strongly indicated that legalisation should go ahead, ministers have so far declined to use the order-making powers to effect the change. It also campaigns for same-sex and humanist marriages in Northern Ireland.In 2017, it supported a humanist couple to challenge Northern Ireland's refusal to give legal recognition to humanist marriages through the High Court in Belfast,which resulted in legalisation of humanist marriages in Northern Ireland in June 2017.After campaigning to legalise same-sex marriage in Northern Ireland, it celebrated its success with a promotional billboards across Belfast emblazoned, 'Love wins for everybody', advertisinghumanist ceremonies.

The charity has been consistently supportive ofLGBT rightsacross its history. It was also among the first organisations to protestSection 28in the late 1980s, and was one of the most vocal and longstanding advocates of a ban ongay conversion therapy,which it denounces as "religious pseudoscience" with harmful consequences. This eventually led to a 2018 commitment from the UK Government to ban the practice.Its humanist celebrants conducted non-legal partnership/wedding ceremonies for same-sex couples for many decades prior to the law changing.

Many of its campaigns are based onfree speechandhuman rightslegislation and it has based much of its campaigning on the Human Rights Act 1998.In 2008, theblasphemy lawwas repealed, an issue over which Humanists UK had long campaigned.It sought unification of existing anti-discrimination legislation and contributed to the Discrimination Law Review which developed the Equality Act 2006 and then theEquality Act 2010.

The BHA's thorough research helped many of us to make informed and better-argued contributions to debates, particularly on complex ethical issues which arise in this House by the year. In the field of human rights, the BHA also helped us to refine theRacial and Religious Hatred Bill,theEquality Act 2006and, of course, the currentEquality Bill,which I trust will be passed in the last days of this Parliament without too much compromise. Some noble Lords with whom we have differed may feel that we humanists have had too much to say in controversies about education, but we make no apology for trying to improve the teaching on sex in schools, nor for our opposition to the teaching of creationism as science.

— Lord Macdonaldexpresses gratitude for the BHA in Parliament, 18 March 2000

In January 2008 Humanists UK (known as the BHA at the time) and the National Secular Society approached the Scouts Association about a conflict between the claims of inclusivity on their website and their oath.In February 2008 journalistsBryan AppleyardandDeborah Orrcriticised both Humanists UK and theNational Secular Societyfor the (ultimately successful) campaign to end discrimination against non-religious children in theScouts' Oath of Allegiance.In April 2008 Jonathan Petre, The Daily Telegraph religious affairs journalist, countered this position pointing out that the Scout Oath of Allegiance was discriminatory.After consultation with Humanists UK over a five-year period, Girlguiding UK in June 2013 and eventually the UK Scout Association in October 2013 recognised the discrimination and amended their oaths to accommodate non-religious young people from 1 January 2014.

In the 2020s, Humanists UK was one of the charities at the forefront of campaigns to defend the Human Rights Act and the freedom to instigatejudicial reviewfrom threats of being watered down or repealed.It assembled a large civil society coalition of charities, trade unions, and human rights organisations speaking in defence of the present settlement.

Public awareness

"Resolution Revolution" redirects here. For the song by the Linda Lindas, seeResolution/Revolution.

Ariane Sherine and BHA Vice President Richard Dawkins at the bus campaign launch

On 21 October 2008, Humanists UK lent its official support toGuardianjournalistAriane Sherineas she launched a fundraising drive to raise money for the UK's first atheist advertising campaign, theAtheist Bus Campaign.The campaign aimed to raise funds to place the slogan "There's probably no God. Now stop worrying and enjoy your life" on the sides of 30 London buses for four weeks in January 2009. Expecting to raise £5,500 over six months, the atheist authorRichard Dawkinsagreed to match donations up to £5,500 to make £11,000 total.The campaign raised over £153,000,enabling a nationwide advertising campaign to be launched on 6 January 2009.

On 8 January 2009Christian Voiceannounced they had made an official complaint to theAdvertising Standards Authorityasserting that the Atheist Bus slogan broke rules on "substantiation and truthfulness".In total the ASA received 326 complaints about the campaign, with many claiming that the wording was offensive to the religious,however Humanists UK contested the complaint and commented on the plausibility of the ASA making a claim as to the "probability of God's existence".Robert Winstoncriticised the campaign as "arrogant".The ASA ruled that the slogan was not in breach of advertising code.

In 2011, Humanists UK campaigned to get atheists, agnostics and other non-believers to tick the "no religion" box in response to the optional religion question in the 2011 census (as opposed to writing in either a joke religion like "Jedi"or ticking the religion one grew up in). Humanists UK believed the question was worded in such a way as to increase the number of currently non-religious or nominally religious people who list the religion they grew up in rather than their current religious views, and thus the results would have been skewed to make the country seem more religious than it actually is. Humanists UK believes that this supposed overstatement of religious belief creates a situation where" public policy in matters of religion and belief will unduly favour religious lobbies and discriminate against people who do not live their lives under religion ".

Posters for the campaign which used the slogan "If you're not religious, for God's sake say so" were refused by companies owning advertising hoardings in railway stations following advice from the Advertising Standards Authority who believe the adverts had "the potential to cause widespread and serious offence".

The Census results for England and Wales showed that 14.1 million people, about a quarter of the entire population (25%), stated they had no religion at all, a rise of 6.4 million since the 2001 census. Humanists UK said the fall in the number of Christians from 72% to below 60% was "astounding", and calculated that they could be in a minority by 2018.

Set up in 2010, the Resolution Revolution campaign aims to "[recast] the tired old New Year resolution – so often about breaking a negative habit – as a pledge to do something positive for others".Participation is open to all and not restricted to humanists or the non-religious.

New Year is a time for renewal – but beyond diets and gyms, not just for ourselves. Resolution Revolution is a humanist social action initiative, turning good intentions outwards to others. The more people that get involved, even in a small way, the bigger the impact is. Spending cuts don't make a cohesive society, but generous actions do.

— Polly Toynbee

In 2014, Humanists UK launched two public awareness campaigns. The first, called "That's Humanism!", was an Internet-based campaign revolving around four videos on humanist responses to ethics, happiness, death, and the scientific method, as narrated by its distinguished supporter,Stephen Fry.The videos, which were widely shared on social media, were intended to introduce non-religious people who were humanist in their outlook to the existence of a community of like-minded people living their lives on the basis of reason and empathy.The second campaign, called "Thought for the Commute", was a London Underground campaign featuring posters depicting humanist responses fromVirginia Woolf,George Eliot,Bertrand RussellandA.C. Graylingto the question "What's it all for?" The campaign intended to be a positive introduction to Humanism for commuters, as well as to highlight the exclusion of humanist voices from BBC slots such asThought for the Day.After announcing that it intended to replicate it in other UK cities,the campaign moved to bus posters in Birmingham, Manchester and Liverpool for four weeks in November and December 2014, this time depicting humanist responses fromJim Al-Khalili,Jawaharlal Nehru,Natalie Haynesand Russell once again.

Organisation

Presidents

#	President		Year(s) of Presidency	Source
1	Dr. John Stuart MacKenzie		1918–1921	Annual Reports
2	J. A. Hobson		1921
3	Professor John Henry Muirhead		1922
4	Professor Leonard Trelawny Hobhouse		1923
5	Professor Graham Wallas		1924
6	Dr. Felix Adler		1925–1926
7	Professor Frederick Soddy		1927–1928
8	Professor Gilbert Murray		1929–1930
9	Lord Harry Snell		1931–1932
10	Dr. George Peabody Gooch		1933–1934
11	Professor G. E. Moore		1935–1936
12	Dr. Cecil Delisle Burns		1937–1938
13	Dr. Stanton Coit		1939–1940
14	Professor Susan Stebbing		1941–1942
15	Professor John Laird		1943–1944
16	H. N. Brailsford		1945–1946
17	Sir Richard Gregory		1947–1950	Annual Reports
18	Lord Chorley		1951–1953
19	Professor Morris Ginsberg		1954–1957
20	Sir Julian Huxley(to May 1965)		1958–1965
21	Professor Sir A. J. Ayer(to January 1970)		1966–1969
22	Sir Edmund Leach		1970–1971	Annual Reports
23	George Melly		1972–1973
24	Harold Blackham		1974–1976
25	James Hemming		1977–1980
26	Sir Hermann Bondi		1981–1999
27	Claire Rayner		1999–2004
28	Linda Smith		2004–2006
29	Polly Toynbee		2007–2012
30	Jim Al Khalili		2013–2016
31	Shaparak Khorsandi		2016–2018
32	Alice Roberts		2019–2022
33	Adam Rutherford		2022–present

Prior to the creation of a president of the Union of Ethical Societies in 1918, and that of chair in 1916, several others held the equivalent role of Chair of the Annual Congress. The very first of these was a woman, the philanthropist and activistLady Elizabeth Swann,who was the wife of a prominentliberal MP.She presided over the founding Congress of the Union in 1896.Other early chairs of the Annual Congress included then-future Prime MinisterRamsay MacDonald(1900-1901 and again in 1903).

In April 2011, it was announced that ProfessorA.C. Graylingwould succeedPolly Toynbeeas president of Humanists UK in July 2011.However, in June Humanists UK announced that Professor Grayling had decided not to take up that position, because of what he described as "controversy generated by activities in another area of my public life." Humanists UK stated that Polly Toynbee would continue as president until a new appointment was made later in 2011;she remained president for a further 18 months until in December 2012 it was announced that physicistJim Al-Khaliliwould become president in January 2013.

Staff

• Andrew Copson– Chief Executive
• Richy Thompson – Director of Public Affairs and Policy
• Liam Whitton - Director of Communications and Development
• Ann-Michelle Burton - Head of People
• Luke Donnellan – Director of Understanding Humanism
• Deborah Hooper -Head of Ceremonies
• Clare Elcombe Webber – Director of Humanist Care
• Catriona McLellan – Director of Operations
• Andrew West – Director of IT

The charity also contracts an officer on the ground both in Wales and Northern Ireland, who coordinate its national sections (or branches) Wales Humanists and Northern Ireland Humanists. These officers are in turn supported by national committees of volunteers whose advice assists the charity's service delivery in those countries,strategic litigation,and lobbying on devolved issues at theNorthern Ireland AssemblyandNational Assembly for Wales.

Humanist celebrants

Main article:Humanist celebrant

Humanist equivalents of otherwise religious celebrations are conducted byhumanist celebrants,trained and accredited by Humanists UK across England, Wales and Northern Ireland,while theHumanist Society Scotlandperforms similar ceremonies in Scotland.Non-religious funerals are legal within the UK;over 8,000 funerals are carried out by humanist celebrants in England and Wales each year.Between 600 and 900 weddings and 500baby namingsper year are also conducted by Humanists UK-accredited celebrants.In England and Wales, a humanist wedding or partnership ceremony must be supplemented by a process of obtaining a civil marriage or partnership certificate through aRegister Officeto be legally recognised, but can be led by a Humanist celebrant.

The humanist funeral for former WelshFirst MinisterRhodri Morganat theWelsh Assemblywas conducted by a Humanists UK celebrant,Lorraine Barrettand was the firstnational funeralin the United Kingdom to be led by a humanist celebrant.

Since 2018, Humanists UK celebrants have been able to conduct legally recognised marriages inNorthern Ireland.This came about after Humanists UK supported a court case centring around its patrons, coupleLaura LacoleandEunan O'Kane.

Pastoral carers

Main article:Non-Religious Pastoral Support Network

Humanists UK maintains a network of roughly 150 trained and accredited volunteers in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland who go into hospitals, hospices, prisons, universities, and other settings to provide like-minded comfort and support to non-religious people during times of distress, much like a traditional religiouschaplain.This network is known as theNon-Religious Pastoral Support Network.The project was initiated by data evidence which suggested that non-religious patients and inmates often refused support from a chaplain if they were themselves non-religious.Since 2014, theNational Offender Management Servicehas recognised the legal right of prisoners to access non-religious pastoral carers,and since 2015,NHS Englandhas recommended that every hospital in England offers a voluntary or employed non-religious carer.In 2018, Lindsay van Dijk was appointed as the first humanist to lead an NHS chaplaincy team at the Buckinghamshire Healthcare NHS trust, which includes the world-renowned spinal injuries unit at Stoke Mandeville hospital.The current chair of NRPSN is Amy Walden.

Young Humanists

Young Humanists logo

Young Humanists is the organisation'syouth wing,which launched early in 2015 with a number of events in cities across the UK.

Patrons

Numerous prominent people from the worlds of science, philosophy, the arts, politics, and entertainment are publicly aligned with Humanists UK, including ProfessorAlice Roberts,Tim Minchin,Stephen Fry,Matty Healy,Sandi Toksvig,Philip Pullman,andDan Snow.

In the 20th century, key members of Humanists UK's "advisory council" includedKarl Popper,Vanessa Redgrave,Harold Pinter,E M Forster,Bertrand Russell,John Maynard Smith,Harry Kroto,Ludovic Kennedy,Jacob Bronowski,andBarbara Wootton.

Affiliations

Humanists UK is a founding member ofHumanists International,and theEuropean Humanist Federation.

In September 2008, Humanists UK joined with religious organisations, teachers' unions, and other human rights campaigns groups to found theAccord Coalition,a diverse coalition made up of groups that oppose religious segregation in education.

Humanist Studentsis a national federation of atheist, humanist, secularist, and skeptic societies at universities and is part of Humanists UK. Its elected delegates traditionally, alongside members of Young Humanists, represent Humanists UK atYoung Humanists Internationalevents.

Humanists UK has traditionally worked closely with theBritish Pregnancy Advisory Service,which was founded by the president ofBirmingham Humanists,sexologistMartin Cole,in 1968. Humanists UK was a founding member of the BPAS "We Trust Women" coalition, which campaigns for the full decriminalisation of abortion throughout the UK.

The organisation supports a network of affiliated humanist groups throughout the UK and aims to encourage local campaigning, charity work, socialising, and events on a local level, and provides resources to assist the creation and running of such groups. Some of these groups are formally partnered with Humanists UK, which entitles them to added staff and promotional support, while others maintain a looser affiliate agreement. As of 2017, the number of partner groups stands at 47, with 15 affiliates.

The charity has also sponsored philosophical debatesatHowTheLightGetsInFestival.

Lecture series

Humanists UK runs a prestigious annual events programme, including theDarwin DayLecture (on themes connected with Darwin's work and humanism), theRosalind FranklinLecture (commemorating women in humanism), theVoltaireLecture (on humanism more generally), theBenthamLecture (co-hosted withUniversity College London's philosophy department), theHolyoakeLecture (held in Manchester and covering humanism and political thought), and an annual convention which moves around the UK from year to year.

Past speakers at these events include top scientists, authors, and academics, includingSteven Pinker,Brian Cox,Richard Dawkins,Robert Hinde,AC Grayling,Natalie Haynes,Bonya Ahmed,Bettany Hughes,Alice Roberts,Nick Cohen,Ludovic Kennedy,Michael Foot,Lawrence Krauss,Eugenie Scott,Adam Rutherford,Tom Blundell,andJerry Coyne,Anne Glover,Angela Saini,Sarah-Jayne Blakemore,Jim Al-Khalili,Owen Jones,andKate Pickett.

Annual award

Alf Dubs pictured alongside Andrew Copson and Pavan Dhaliwal as he is awarded Humanist of the Year by Humanists UK in 2016

From 2011 Humanists UK presented an annual award for special contributions to Humanism. It is known as the Humanist of the Year Award, having been known prior to 2014 as the Services to Humanism Award. The award was customarily presented during Humanists UK annual conference (or, in 2014, the UK-hostedWorld Humanist Congress). Since 2016 it has been presented at a special reception event. Past winners are:

• 2011:Philip Pullman,Services to Humanism Award
• 2012:Richard Dawkins,Services to Humanism Award
• 2013:Terry Pratchett,Humanist of the Year Award
• 2014:Gulalai IsmailandWole Soyinka,International Humanist of the Year Award (both presented as part ofWorld Humanist Congress)
• 2015:Alice Roberts,Humanist of the Year Award
• 2016:Lord Dubs,Humanist of the Year Award
• 2017:Joan Bakewell,Humanist of the Year Award
• 2018: Northern Ireland Humanist Campaigners (Laura Lacole,Eunan O'Kane,Steven McQuitty, Ciaran Moynagh, Caolfhionn Gallagher QC, Janet Farrell, and Sarah Ewart accepting), Humanists of the Year Award.

Earlier awardees includeA.J. Ayer,Leo Igwe,Polly Toynbee,andJulian Huxley.

See also

• All Party Parliamentary Humanist Group
• Atheist, Humanist, and Secular Students
• Disestablishmentarianism
• LGBT Humanists UK
• Non-Prophet Week
• Separation of church and state (UK)

External links

• Humanists UK website
• Archives of the BHA at Bishopsgate Library