Posts by Maria Greene

Community and UU and Humanism and HUUmanism

Editor's note: this is another essay in the "Why I Am a UU Humanist" series. What is your story? Contact us and let us share it.

As a new member to HUUmanism (Pronounced "HU-U-manism"), I received a welcome packet including two issues of their journal “Religious Humanism”.  In the Fall 2012 issue, the Editor’s Preface says “Increasingly, we face a choice, framed elsewhere by Mike Werner, [an author of one of the articles] between secular Humanist groups who do a better job of embodying a rational approach to life, and UU congregations who do a better job of providing full-fledged community.”  And several of the articles emphasized the role that “community” plays in UU congregations and also Humanist groups. Read more about Community and UU and Humanism and HUUmanism »

The Moral March on Raleigh

John Hooper and Pat Mohr, president and vice president of the UU Humanist Association, attended the Moral March on Raleigh event on February 8, 2014. In the picture on the right, they are standing with Mike and Susanne Werner, fellow UU Humanists and secular activists. The march brought together approximately 80,000 people from around the country, including UUA president Peter Morales and over 1,500 other UUs, many wearing their bright yellow "Standing On the Side of Love" t-shirts. They came to Raleigh to protest regressive North Carolina GOP policies around health care, education, the criminal justice system and voter suppression that especially disenfranchise the poor and people of color.

Read more about The Moral March on Raleigh »

The UU Congregation: Habitat for Humanism

This article was originally published in the Humanist Network News. HNN is a weekly news e-zine of the American Humanist Association with a circulation of around 44,000. 


When the topic of Humanist community comes up someone is bound to mention Unitarian Universalism. That is because UUs have what Humanists who want community are looking for. Unitarian Universalism also comes up because a significant number of UUs are Humanists and because organized Humanism was in large part an outgrowth of Unitarianism in its early days. Humanism and Unitarian Universalism go together, and I assert that theover 1,000 UU congregations are natural and practical homes for local Humanist communities. Read more about The UU Congregation: Habitat for Humanism »

Secular Leadership Summit 2014

UUHA president John Hooper recently participated in the Secular Leadership Summit, on January 25, 2014. The event was held in Columbus, OH and was sponsored by the Secular Student Alliance. This meeting, formerly known as the Heads Meeting, brings together the leaders from all of the major non-theistic organizations to discuss strategy and to coordinate activities.

John described the event as, "a very positive meeting" and the people as, "a really cool bunch of folks".  Read more about Secular Leadership Summit 2014 »

The Humanist Community Project & UU Humanists

Have you heard about the Humanist Community Project? They are, "a Cambridge-based initiative to help create, establish, and connect a stronger nationwide network of Humanist communities focused on individual, group, and societal betterment, for the benefit of the secular and freethought movement." In other words, they are group that seeks to promote "Godless Congregations". Greg Epstein, the group's leader, described the project at the HUUmanists 2013 UUA General Assembly program, and explained that "Godless Congregations" is also the title of an upcoming book that he and co-author James Croft are working on.  Read more about The Humanist Community Project & UU Humanists »

On Becoming Humanist - My Personal Journey from Catholic Educated to Humanist, by Bob Koches

Editor's note: this is another essay in the "Why I Am a UU Humanist" series. What is your story? Contact us and let us share it.

My name is Bob Koches, I am a humanist and this is my journey.  I think of humanism as a kinder, gentler form of atheism. 

Humanist Manifesto III , a successor to the Humanist Manifesto of 1933, defines humanism as a progressive philosophy of life that, without supernaturalism, affirms our ability and responsibility to lead ethical lives of personal fulfillment that aspire to the greater good of humanity.   “The lifestance of  humanism - guided by reason, inspired by compassion, and informed by experience encourages us to live life willfully and fully.  It evolved through the ages and continues to develop through the efforts of thoughtful people who recognize that values and ideals, however carefully wrought, are subject to change as our knowledge and understanding advances.”  Read more about On Becoming Humanist - My Personal Journey from Catholic Educated to Humanist, by Bob Koches »

Two Views on the History and Promise of the Unitarian Universalist Association

As part of Michael Werner's New England book tour, he made a stop at The Unitarian Church of Westport, CT for an event with Denny Davidoff, moderated by HUUmanists president John Hooper. Here is the video from that event with great thanks to Wilson Converse of eyedit.tv.

Two Views on the history and Promise of the Unitarian Universalist Association. A discussion

Ethical Dilemmas and Humanist Ethics

Michael Werner gave an excellent talk at the Concord Area Humanists meeting on October 23, 2013 about Humanist Ethics. Mike and his wife Susanne were in the area as part of Mike's book tour to promote his new book "Regaining Balance: The Evolution of the UUA". Here is the video of Mike's talk. (If the video does not appear below, try this link.)

And here are the slides:

Read more about Ethical Dilemmas and Humanist Ethics »

Mike Werner's New England Book Tour

Michael Werner is going to be touring the New England area in October, speaking about his new book "Regaining Balance: The Evolution of the UUA". If you are in the area you can see Mike speak at the following events:

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