This page contains links to material that can help you learn about Humanism, particularly Humanism in the context of the Unitarian Universalist tradition. In addition to these Videos, Blogs, Books, and Courses, see the Links section in the footer of the page for links to related organizations. If you are looking for resources for starting or running a local humanist group, see the Local Group Resources page.
Note that these resources reflect a wide variety of viewpoints, from religious or spritual naturalism to the more anti-theistic New Atheism. This is because UU humanists have a wide variety of viewpoints and we encourage people to explore them all. Perhaps Aristotle was correct and there is a golden mean. Also note that too many of these resources talk about religion (or not-religion). Humanism is all of the good-seeking and meaning-making in life that happens after traditional religion is set aside, so there are actually an almost limitless number of resources we could list here from philosophy, to literature, to science. We tried to list some things that will orient the visitor to our worldview, but, naturally, this list is partial. If you have suggestions for resources for this page, please submit them.
Videos
The Humanist Manifesto III, by Savvy Skeptic
British Humanist Association's "That's Humanism!" Video Series, narrated by Stephen Fry
- How do we know what is true?
- How should we think about death?
- What makes something right or wrong?
- How can I be happy?
My Spirituality as an Atheist, by A. Hughman
The Point, Humanist Services at All Souls Tulsa
Particularly:
- Atheist Spirituality, by Marlin Lavanhar
- Are We Humanist?, by Tamara Lebak
- Good Without God, by Barbara Prose
Religious vs. Secular: A False Dichotomy? by John Hooper, presented at Humanists of West Suburban Chicagoland, 4/8/2015 (The intro. to John's talk starts at 9:53)
Wendy and the Humanists (new band) - The VUU #30 UUHA president John Hooper and author Mike Werner are on the Church of the Larger Fellowship interview show, The VUU, 10/3/2013.
Michael Dowd's Standing for the Future
Audio
First Unitarian of Minneapolis Service Podcast, weekly humanist services by David Breeden and guest speakers
Washington Ethical Society Service Podcast, weekly humanist services by Amanda Poppei and guest speakers
Blogs / Articles / Journals
Reason and Reverence, by William R. Murry
- An adaptation as a UU World article of Murry's longer book of the same title
David Breeden's Quest for Meaning, UU Collective Blog on Patheos, as well as posts on this website
- Humanism, Like Mushrooms, is a great survey of Humanist thought throughout history
UUA's Humanist Unitarian Universalists page
Our Humanist Legacy: Seventy Years of Religious Humanism, by William Schultz, UU World, 11/1/03
A Church That Would Have You As a Member, by Doug Muder
I "Don't Believe" in Seven Principles, by Doug Muder
Living Without an Afterlife, by Doug Muder
American Humanist Association, Paths to Humanism: Unitarian Universalism (a pamphlet from the AHA)
The Faith of a Humanist, by Sara Oelberg (a pamphlet from the UUA)
Humanism Today, was the Journal of the North American Committee for Humanism and The Humanist Institute. It began publishing articles by humanist scholars in 1985 and became the product of a think tank for the annual focus of the Institute’s adjunct faculty. The final volume, Bioethics, appeared in 2006.
There are seventeen volumes of Humanism Today. Volumes 1-13 are available online. Volumes 14-17 are available in print only through Prometheus Books.
Books
UU Humanism & History
Becoming More Fully Human: Religious Humanism As a Way of Life, William R. Murry
Reason and Reverence: Religious Humanism for the 21st Century, William R. Murry
A Faith for All Seasons: Liberal Religion and the Crises of Life, William R. Murry
Regaining Balance: The Evolution of the UUA, Michael Werner
Making the Manifesto: The Birth of Religious Humanism, William F. Schulz
American Religious Humanism, Mason Olds
The Whole World Kin: Darwin and the Spirit of Liberal Religion, Fredric Muir
Modern Humanism
Good Without God: What a Billion Nonreligious People Do Believe, Greg Epstein
Faitheist: How an Atheist Found Common Ground with the Religious, Chris Stedman
Humanism as the Next Step, Lloyd and Mary Morain
The Little Book of Atheist Spirituality, Andre Comte-Sponville
When Colorblindness Isn't the Answer, Anothony Pinn. Discussion Guide
By These Hands, A Documentary History of African American Humanism, Anthony Pinn, editor
The End of God-Talk: An African American Humanist Theology, Anthony Pinn
The Road to Reason: Landmarks in the Evolution of Humanist Thought, Pat Duffy Hutcheon
The Philosophy of Humanism, Corliss Lamont
Humanism; Beliefs and Practices, Jeaneane Fowler
The Good Book: A Humanist Bible, A.C. Grayling, editor
Meditations for the Humanist: Ethics for a Secular Age, A.C. Grayling
The Humanist Alternative, Paul Kurtz, editor
The Courage to Become: The Virtues of Humanism, Paul Kurtz
Christianity Without God: Moving Beyond the Dogmas and Retrieving the Epic Moral Narrative, Daniel Maguire
Judaism Beyond God, Sherwin Wine
A Common Faith, John Dewey
Religious Naturalism
The Sacred Depths of Nature, Ursula Goodenough
When God is Gone, Everything is Holy, Chet Raymo
Religious Naturalism Today: The Rebirth of a Forgotten Alternative, Jerome Stone
Religion Is Not About God, Loyal Rue
New Atheism
The God Delusion, Richard Dawkins
God is Not Great, Christopher Hitchens
The End of Faith, Sam Harris
Breaking the Spell, Daniel Denett
Courses
The Humanist Institute / Kochhar Online Humanist Education
In addition to their masters certificate program, THI and KOHE offer on-line classes on many topics.
The Secular Academy, from Partners for Secular Activism
Big History, Coursera and Big History Project
On-line courses that cover Big History, "an emerging academic discipline which examines history from the Big Bang to the present," according to Wikipedia. Big History is the modern, scientific creation or origin story that provides the grouding for our worldview. The Coursera course is roughly college-level and the Big History Project course is more targeted to young people, but both are fascinating and very well done.
UUA Adult Eduction Workshop - Rising Tides: Reason as a Religious Source
For Children
Grandmother Fish, a beautiful picture book to teach evolution to preschoolers, by Jonathan Tweet
In Lieu of the Bible: 50 Picture Books That Teach Kids Morality, Offer Wisdom & Inspire Hope, by Wendy Thomas Russell
Other Resource Lists
American Humanist Association "Exploring the Idea of Humanism"
Religious Naturalist Association Philosophy & Religion Resources (See the Resources drop-down for more)