American Humanist Association
American Humanist Association – a nonprofit public educational organization in the United States dedicated to the development and promotion of humanism. One of the oldest humanist organizations, its members represent various strands of modern humanist philosophy, primarily secular and religious humanism.
Humanism as a worldview, as understood by the AHA, corresponds to the definition proclaimed in the charter of the International Humanist and Ethical Union, of which it is one of the founding members.
AHA was founded as the successor organization to the Humanist Press Association, which in turn was the successor organization to the Humanist Fellowship founded in 1928.
The official symbol of the AHA is the Happy Human.
Status of the Association
The AHA was established as an educational organization in 1941, gaining legal status in 1943. In the late 1960s, the AHA also gained fiscal status as a religious organization, legally ensuring that humanist clergy could perform religious rites at weddings as chaplains and enjoy the rights reserved to traditional clergy. In 1991, however, the AHA took over the Humanist Society, a religious humanist organization founded back in 1939, and transferred all of its religious programs to it. On January 1, 2003, the HSA finally relinquished its religious status and became an educational organization. Today the AXA is an internationally recognized non-profit public organization.
Mission Statement
The statutory objectives of the Association are to promote the ideas of humanism in society and the development of humanistic philosophy. As a member of the International Humanist and Ethical Union (IHEC), the AHA fully supports the Amsterdam Declaration of 2002.
Definitions of the philosophy of humanism
Humanism is a democratic, ethical stance on life that affirms that human beings have the right and responsibility to determine the meaning and form of their lives. Humanism calls for a more humane society through an ethic based on human and other natural values, in the spirit of reason and free inquiry, through the use of human capabilities. Humanism is not theistic and does not accept a “supernatural” view of the real world.
According to the American Humanist Association’s own definition, humanism is a progressive attitude of life that, without the aid of belief in the supernatural, affirms our ability and obligation to live an ethical life in order to fulfill ourselves and to seek the greater good of humanity.
Activities of the AHA
AHA was one of the first organizations to initiate the development of many fundamental concepts in the areas of human rights, gender equality, civil liberties, education, science, alternative technologies, humanistic psychology and population growth control. It was within the Association that the concepts that formed the basis of the so-called “Humanist Manifestos” were born.
Currently, the AHA has initiative groups in more than 30 states. The Association publishes The Humanist, a bi-monthly magazine, and a philosophical journal called Essays in the Philosophy of Humanism.
The Association regularly speaks out on fundamental issues of interest to its members, addresses the media and opinion leaders, and informs its members about current issues of concern. The AHA has been involved in the founding and development of a number of humanistic organizations, such as NARAL Pro-Choice America, the Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice, the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry, and others.
