Humanist Manifesto I
Encyclopedia
A Humanist Manifesto, also known as Humanist Manifesto I to distinguish it from later Humanist Manifesto
s in the series, was written in 1933 primarily by Raymond Bragg
and published with 34 signers. Unlike the later manifestos, this first talks of a new religion
and refers to humanism as a religious movement meant to transcend and replace previous, deity-based systems. Nevertheless, it is careful not to express a creed
or dogma
. The document outlines fifteen affirmations on cosmology, biological and cultural evolution, human nature, epistemology, ethics, religion, self-fulfillment, and the quest for freedom and social justice. This latter, stated in article fourteen, proved to be the most controversial, even among humanists, in its opposition to "acquisitive and profit-motivated society" and its call for an egalitarian world community based on voluntary mutual cooperation. The document's release was reported by the mainstream media on May 1, simultaneous with its publication in the May/June 1933 issue of the New Humanist
.
Two manifestos followed: Humanist Manifesto II
in 1973 and Humanism and Its Aspirations
in 2003.
. The 34 were:
A 35th signature, that of Alson Robinson, came in too late for it to be published with the other 34.
Humanist Manifesto
Humanist Manifesto is the title of three manifestos laying out a Humanist worldview. They are the original Humanist Manifesto , the Humanist Manifesto II , and Humanism and Its Aspirations...
s in the series, was written in 1933 primarily by Raymond Bragg
Raymond Bragg
Raymond Bennett Bragg was an American Unitarian minister who played a key role in the writing of the Humanist Manifesto.- External links :* http://www.uua.org/uuhs/duub/articles/raymondbragg.html...
and published with 34 signers. Unlike the later manifestos, this first talks of a new religion
Religion
Religion is a collection of cultural systems, belief systems, and worldviews that establishes symbols that relate humanity to spirituality and, sometimes, to moral values. Many religions have narratives, symbols, traditions and sacred histories that are intended to give meaning to life or to...
and refers to humanism as a religious movement meant to transcend and replace previous, deity-based systems. Nevertheless, it is careful not to express a creed
Creed
A creed is a statement of belief—usually a statement of faith that describes the beliefs shared by a religious community—and is often recited as part of a religious service. When the statement of faith is longer and polemical, as well as didactic, it is not called a creed but a Confession of faith...
or dogma
Dogma
Dogma is the established belief or doctrine held by a religion, or a particular group or organization. It is authoritative and not to be disputed, doubted, or diverged from, by the practitioners or believers...
. The document outlines fifteen affirmations on cosmology, biological and cultural evolution, human nature, epistemology, ethics, religion, self-fulfillment, and the quest for freedom and social justice. This latter, stated in article fourteen, proved to be the most controversial, even among humanists, in its opposition to "acquisitive and profit-motivated society" and its call for an egalitarian world community based on voluntary mutual cooperation. The document's release was reported by the mainstream media on May 1, simultaneous with its publication in the May/June 1933 issue of the New Humanist
New Humanist
New Humanist is a monthly magazine published by the Rationalist Association in the UK. It has been in print for 125 years; starting out life as Watts's Literary Guide, founded by C. A. Watts in November 1885....
.
Two manifestos followed: Humanist Manifesto II
Humanist Manifesto II
The second Humanist Manifesto was written in 1973 by Paul Kurtz and Edwin H. Wilson, and was intended to update the previous one. It begins with a statement that the excesses of Nazism and world war had made the first seem "far too optimistic", and indicated a more hardheaded and realistic...
in 1973 and Humanism and Its Aspirations
Humanism and Its Aspirations
Humanism and Its Aspirations subtitled Humanist Manifesto III, a successor to the Humanist Manifesto of 1933 is the most recent of the Humanist Manifestos published in 2003 by the American Humanist Association...
in 2003.
List of signers
Of the 65 people who were asked to sign, 34 accepted. About half (15) were UnitariansUnitarianism
Unitarianism is a Christian theological movement, named for its understanding of God as one person, in direct contrast to Trinitarianism which defines God as three persons coexisting consubstantially as one in being....
. The 34 were:
- J.A.C. Fagginger Auer (Parkman Professor of Church History and Theology, Harvard UniversityHarvard UniversityHarvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
; Professor of church history, Tufts College.) - E. Burdette Backus (minister, First Unitarian Church of Los Angeles)
- Harry Elmer BarnesHarry Elmer BarnesHarry Elmer Barnes was a prominent American historian in the 20th century. A "progressive who had some classical liberal impulses," he was associated for virtually his entire career with Columbia University.-Early career:...
(general editorial department, Scripps-Howard Newspapers.) - L.M. Birkhead (the Liberal Center, Kansas City, MissouriKansas City, MissouriKansas City, Missouri is the largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri and is the anchor city of the Kansas City Metropolitan Area, the second largest metropolitan area in Missouri. It encompasses in parts of Jackson, Clay, Cass, and Platte counties...
.) - Raymond B. Bragg (secretary, Western Unitarian Conference.)
- Edwin Arthur BurttEdwin BurttEdwin Arthur Burtt was an American philosopher who wrote extensively on the philosophy of religion. His doctoral thesis published as a book under the title The Metaphysical Foundations of Modern Physical Science has had a significant influence upon the history of science that is not generally...
(professor of philosophy, Sage School of Philosophy, Cornell UniversityCornell UniversityCornell University is an Ivy League university located in Ithaca, New York, United States. It is a private land-grant university, receiving annual funding from the State of New York for certain educational missions...
.) - Ernest Caldecott (minister, First Unitarian Church of Los Angeles, California.)
- A.J. Carlson (professor of physiology, University of ChicagoUniversity of ChicagoThe University of Chicago is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois, USA. It was founded by the American Baptist Education Society with a donation from oil magnate and philanthropist John D. Rockefeller and incorporated in 1890...
.) - John DeweyJohn DeweyJohn Dewey was an American philosopher, psychologist and educational reformer whose ideas have been influential in education and social reform. Dewey was an important early developer of the philosophy of pragmatism and one of the founders of functional psychology...
(Columbia UniversityColumbia UniversityColumbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
.) - Albert C. Dieffenbach (former editor of the Christian RegisterChristian RegisterThe Christian Register was the leading American Unitarian weekly, published by the American Unitarian Association, Boston, until 1957 when "becoming less and less focused on Christianity" the title was changed to The Unitarian Register...
.) - John H. DietrichJohn H. DietrichJohn Hassler Dietrich was a Unitarian minister, born at Chambersburg, Pa., who advocated Religious Humanism. He was educated at Franklin and Marshall College and at the Reformed Theological Seminary in Lancaster, Pa...
(minister, First Unitarian Society, Minneapolis.) - Bernard FantusBernard FantusBernard Fantus was a Hungarian American physician. He established the first hospital blood bank in the United States in 1937 at Cook County Hospital, Chicago while he served there as director of the pharmacology and therapeutics department.Fantus was born in Budapest, Hungary...
(professor of therapeutics, College of Medicine, University of Illinois.) - William Floyd (editor of the Arbitrator, New York City.)
- F.H. Hankins (professor of economics and sociology, Smith CollegeSmith CollegeSmith College is a private, independent women's liberal arts college located in Northampton, Massachusetts. It is the largest member of the Seven Sisters...
.) - A. Eustace Haydon (professor of history of religions, University of Chicago.)
- Llewellyn JonesLlewellyn JonesLlewellyn Jones was a United States writer and literary editor. He was one of the signatories to Humanist Manifesto I....
(literary critic and author.) - Robert Morss LovettRobert Morss LovettRobert Morss Lovett was an American academic, writer, editor, political activist, and government official....
(editor, The New RepublicThe New RepublicThe magazine has also published two articles concerning income inequality, largely criticizing conservative economists for their attempts to deny the existence or negative effect increasing income inequality is having on the United States...
; professor of English, University of Chicago.) - Harold P. Marley (minister, the Fellowship of Liberal Religion, Ann Arbor, MichiganAnn Arbor, MichiganAnn Arbor is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan and the county seat of Washtenaw County. The 2010 census places the population at 113,934, making it the sixth largest city in Michigan. The Ann Arbor Metropolitan Statistical Area had a population of 344,791 as of 2010...
.) - R. Lester Mondale (minister, Unitarian Church, Evanston, IllinoisEvanston, IllinoisEvanston is a suburban municipality in Cook County, Illinois 12 miles north of downtown Chicago, bordering Chicago to the south, Skokie to the west, and Wilmette to the north, with an estimated population of 74,360 as of 2003. It is one of the North Shore communities that adjoin Lake Michigan...
.) - Charles Francis PotterCharles Francis PotterDr Charles Francis Potter was an American Unitarian minister, theologian and author.In 1923 and 1924, he became nationally known through a series of debates with Dr. John Roach Straton, a fundamentalist Christian. The subjects, which Dr...
(leader and founder, the First Humanist Society of New York, Inc.) - John Herman Randall, Jr.John Herman Randall, Jr.John Herman Randall Jr. was an American philosopher, New Thought author, and educator.-Life:Born in Grand Rapids, Michigan as the son of a Baptist minister, he graduated from Morris High School in New York City and obtained his A.B. from Columbia University in 1918. He obtained an A.M...
(department of philosophy, Columbia University.) - Curtis W. ReeseCurtis W. ReeseCurtis Williford Reese was a Unitarian minister and humanist.He was the dean of the Abraham Lincoln Center in Chicago.-External links:* http://www.harvardsquarelibrary.org/unitarians/reese.html...
(dean, Abraham Lincoln Center, ChicagoChicagoChicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
.) - Oliver L. Reiser (associate professor of philosophy, University of PittsburghUniversity of PittsburghThe University of Pittsburgh, commonly referred to as Pitt, is a state-related research university located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. Founded as Pittsburgh Academy in 1787 on what was then the American frontier, Pitt is one of the oldest continuously chartered institutions of...
.) - Roy Wood SellarsRoy Wood SellarsRoy Wood Sellars was an American philosopher of critical realism and religious humanism, and a proponent of emergent evolution. His son was the philosopher Wilfrid Sellars...
(professor of philosophy, University of MichiganUniversity of MichiganThe University of Michigan is a public research university located in Ann Arbor, Michigan in the United States. It is the state's oldest university and the flagship campus of the University of Michigan...
.) - Clinton Lee ScottClinton Lee ScottClinton Lee Scott was an American Universalist minister. In Peoria, which is in Illinois. He signatoried to Humanist Manifesto I. He died in 1985.- External links :* http://www.uua.org/uuhs/duub/articles/clintonleescott.html...
(minister, Universalist Church, Peoria, IllinoisPeoria, IllinoisPeoria is the largest city on the Illinois River and the county seat of Peoria County, Illinois, in the United States. It is named after the Peoria tribe. As of the 2010 census, the city was the seventh-most populated in Illinois, with a population of 115,007, and is the third-most populated...
.) - Maynard Shipley (president, the Science League of America.)
- W. Frank Swift (director, Boston Ethical Society.)
- V.T. Thayer (educational director, Ethical Culture Schools.)
- Eldred C. Vanderlaan (leader of the Free Fellowship, Berkeley, CaliforniaBerkeley, CaliforniaBerkeley is a city on the east shore of the San Francisco Bay in Northern California, United States. Its neighbors to the south are the cities of Oakland and Emeryville. To the north is the city of Albany and the unincorporated community of Kensington...
.) - Joseph Walker (attorney, Boston, Massachusetts.)
- Jacob J. Weinstein (rabbi; advisor to Jewish Students, Columbia University.)
- Frank S.C. Wicks (All Souls Unitarian Church, IndianapolisIndianapolisIndianapolis is the capital of the U.S. state of Indiana, and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city's population is 839,489. It is by far Indiana's largest city and, as of the 2010 U.S...
.) - David Rhys WilliamsDavid Rhys Williams- External links :* http://www.harvardsquarelibrary.org/unitarians/williams_dr.html* http://www.peacehost.net/UncleFrank/DrWilliams.htm...
(minister, Unitarian Church, Rochester, New YorkRochester, New YorkRochester is a city in Monroe County, New York, south of Lake Ontario in the United States. Known as The World's Image Centre, it was also once known as The Flour City, and more recently as The Flower City...
.) - Edwin H. WilsonEdwin H. WilsonEdwin Henry Wilson was an American Unitarian leader and humanist who helped draft the Humanist Manifesto of 1973....
(managing editor, the New Humanist, Chicago, Illinois; minister, Third Unitarian Church, Chicago, Illinois.)
A 35th signature, that of Alson Robinson, came in too late for it to be published with the other 34.