 | |
| Abbreviation | THI |
|---|---|
| Formation | 1982 |
| Type | Educational non-profit |
Key people | Kristin Wintermute, Executive Director |
| Website | http://humanistinstitute.org/ |
The Humanist Institute is a training program for leaders within the humanist, and secular humanist movement. [1]
The Humanist Institute offers several kinds of educational programs to the humanist community. These programs range from a two and a half year graduate certificate program, one day training seminars, and online courses. The institute operates as a 501c3, educational organization. THI is an affiliate of the American Humanist Association with an independent Board of Directors, executive director, Co-Deans, and staff. The mission of THI is to be the leading center for humanist education serving all branches of humanism. The vision of THI is to provide educational opportunities that serve humanist and secular communities in world where humanism is widely accepted and respected life-stance.
The institute was founded to educate and train effective leaders, organizers, and advocates for a variety of organizational settings, including within the humanist movement itself. [2]
The idea for the Humanist Institute originated in Pittsburgh in 1976 and was the brainchild of Paul Beattie, a Unitarian Universalist minister. In August 1982, Rabbi Sherwin Wine organized a gathering of forty-five humanist leaders at the University of Chicago [where] the North American Committee for Humanism [NACH] was formed with Rabbi Wine as president. This new alliance was a response to the urgent need to defend humanism against the assaults of its enemies and to find an effective way to bring the message of humanism to a wider public. It was at this meeting that the Humanist Institute was voted to be established. [3]
It was at this meeting that NACH founded The Humanist Institute. The founding members of the institute were Khoren Arisian, Paul Beattie, Ed Ericson, Paul Kurtz, Howard Radest, Lyle Simpson, and Sherwin Wine. Sherwin Wine served as the founding president with Howard Radest as the founding Dean. [4] They were soon joined by feminist humanists Miriam Jerris and Jean Kotkins. Each of the original founders were themselves either leaders or founders of other humanist or humanistic organizations such as: the Society for Humanistic Judaism, the Council for Secular Humanism, the American Ethical Union, the Unitarian Universalist Association and the American Humanism Association.
In March 1984, The Humanist Institute was launched. The first class with students from the AEU, AHA, UUA, and SHJ gathered in New York at the Ethical Culture center for the first seminar with Howard Radest as mentor. It was the first trans-denominational, trans-humanist organization program for the education of humanist leaders. [5]
The institute's foundation is its independent graduate level program that works in cooperation with existing humanist organizations granting a Certificate in Humanist Studies and Leadership. Students enrolled in the certificate program are provided a unique opportunity to collaborate with a diverse faculty and student body for whom take a non-theistic, naturalistic approach to humanism, whether interpreted in secular or religious terms. They are given a well-founded analytical understanding of humanism as a life-stance acquiring a deep theoretical understanding of humanism across the spectrum and practical application on a personal and professional basis. It is a low-residency distance learning program involving 8 sessions over 2+1⁄2 years. The curriculum includes: The Humanist Life Stance, Humanist Values & Principles, Humanism in Relation to Others, Essential Humanist Tools (Critical Thinking), Foundation Blocks for Humanism (Physical, Life and Social Sciences), Applying Humanism to Life (Leadership) and Aesthetics & Rituals.
In 2012, the Kochhar Online Humanist Education (KOHE) courses were added to the institute's offerings. KOHE provides an array of self-guided courses introducing individuals to humanism and giving a means to explore at basic level humanist theory and practice. KOHE was the Internet's first website offering interactive courses in humanist thought. [6] [7]
In 2014, the Institute launched onsite training programs in conjunction with the Humanist Society, an endorsing organization for Humanist Celebrants across the United States. These trainings help Celebrants learn how to perform weddings, assist in end of life, conduct memorial services and celebrate other important life milestones. Day long workshops were piloted in 2015 as a part of an Educational Series Weekend. The American Humanist Association's Appignani Legal Center and LGBTQ Counsel worked with the institute to provide "Secularism Today: Establishment Clause Jurisprudence" and "Humanism, Atheism & LGBTQ Communities".
Secular humanism is a philosophy, belief system or life stance that embraces human reason, logic, secular ethics, and philosophical naturalism, while specifically rejecting religious dogma, supernaturalism, and superstition as the basis of morality and decision making.
Unitarian Universalism is a liberal religious movement characterized by a "free and responsible search for truth and meaning". Unitarian Universalists assert no creed, but instead are unified by their shared search for spiritual growth. Unitarian Universalists do not have an official, unified corpus of sacred texts but rather draw inspiration and guidance from the six sources: personal experience, prophetic utterances, world religions, Jewish and Christian teachings, humanist teachings, and spiritual teachings. Unitarian Universalist congregations include many atheists, agnostics, deists, and theists; there are churches, fellowships, congregations, and societies around the world.
Religious humanism or ethical humanism is an integration of nontheistic humanist ethical philosophy with congregational rites and community activity which center on human needs, interests, and abilities. Self-described religious humanists differ from secular humanists mainly in that they regard the nontheistic humanist life stance as a non-supernatural "religion" and organising using a congregational model.
Paul Kurtz was an American scientific skeptic and secular humanist. He has been called "the father of secular humanism". He was Professor Emeritus of Philosophy at the State University of New York at Buffalo, having previously also taught at Vassar, Trinity, and Union colleges, and the New School for Social Research.
Sherwin Theodore Wine, Hebrew name שמעון בן צבי, Shimon ben Tzvi, was an American rabbi and a founding figure of Humanistic Judaism, a movement that emphasizes Jewish culture and history as sources of Jewish identity rather than belief in any gods. He was originally ordained as a Reform rabbi but later founded the Birmingham Temple, the first congregation of Humanistic Judaism, in 1963.
Humanistic Judaism is a Jewish movement that offers a nontheistic alternative to contemporary branches of Judaism. It defines Judaism as the cultural and historical experience of the Jewish people rather than a religion, and encourages Jews who are humanistic and secular to celebrate their identity by participating in relevant holidays and rites of passage with inspirational ceremonies that go beyond traditional literature while still drawing upon it.
A Secular Humanist Declaration was an argument for and statement of support for democratic secular humanism. The document was issued in 1980 by the Council for Democratic and Secular Humanism (CODESH), now the Council for Secular Humanism (CSH). Compiled by Paul Kurtz, it is largely a restatement of the content of the American Humanist Association's 1973 Humanist Manifesto II, of which he was co-author with Edwin H. Wilson. Both Wilson and Kurtz had served as editors of The Humanist, from which Kurtz departed in 1979 and thereafter set about establishing his own movement and his own periodical. His Secular Humanist Declaration was the starting point for these enterprises.
The Society for Humanistic Judaism (SHJ), founded by Rabbi Sherwin Wine in 1969, is an American 501(c)(3) organization and the central body of Humanistic Judaism, a philosophy that combines a non-theistic and humanistic outlook with the celebration of Jewish culture and identity while adhering to secular values and ideas.
Humanism and Its Aspirations is the most recent of the Humanist Manifestos, published in 2003 by the American Humanist Association (AHA). The newest one is much shorter, listing six primary beliefs, which echo themes from its predecessors:
The Secular Coalition for America is an advocacy group located in Washington D.C. It describes itself as "protecting the equal rights of nonreligious Americans."
Humanism is a democratic and ethical life stance, which affirms that human beings have the right and responsibility to give meaning and shape to their own lives.
The Icelandic Ethical Humanist Association is a humanist lifestance organization in Iceland, that promotes secularism, offers celebrancy services and contributes to the spreading of humanism in Iceland and abroad. It is a member of the European Humanist Federation and Humanists International.
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to humanism:
Moral syncretism consists of the attempt to reconcile disparate or contradictory moral beliefs, often while melding the ethical practices of various schools of thought.
The International Institute for Secular Humanistic Judaism (IISHJ) is the academic and intellectual center of Humanistic Judaism. It was established in Jerusalem in 1985 and, with its second center of activity based in Farmington Hills, Michigan. The Institute offers professional training programs for spokespersons, educators, leaders, and rabbis, in addition to publications, public seminars, and colloquia for lay audiences. It has also trained music leaders and cantors, though those programs are not currently active.
Humanism is an approach in study, philosophy, or practice that focuses on human values and concerns. Articles related to humanism include:
In Belgium, organized secularism is the local associations and organizations which provide moral support for naturalist, atheist, agnostic, secular humanist, freethinking, Bright, or irreligious and non-confessional citizens. A person who subscribes to such entities or ideologies, or at least espouses an interest in "free inquiry" apart from religious traditions is described as a "secular" or "free-thinker".
The Birmingham Humanist Group was formed on 23 May 1962 at the Arden Hotel, New Street, Birmingham, England, at a meeting convened by Dr Anthony Brierley. It changed its name to Birmingham Humanists in 2000 and voted to become a Partner Group of the BHA, which changed its name to Humanists UK in 2017. It holds most of its meetings at the rooms of the Community Development trust in Moseley, Birmingham.
Or Emet, officially the Minnesota Congregation for Humanistic Judaism, is a Humanistic Jewish synagogue and congregation in Minneapolis – Saint Paul, Minnesota, in the United States. The congregation is a member of the Society for Humanistic Judaism. It is a community of cultural Jews, secular Jews, Jewish humanists, and other humanists, united by a commitment to humanism and by respect and support for Jewish culture, traditions, and Jewish identity, and by those traditional Jewish values most consonant with humanism — tikkun olam, social justice. Or Emet embraces a human-centered philosophy that combines rational thinking and scientific inquiry with the celebration of Jewish culture and traditions.