Humanist Association of Canada

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Humanist Association of Canada (HAC) is a Canadian Humanist organization which "provides guidance to individuals who do not feel the need for religious beliefs in their life" [1].

HAC is a member organisation of the International Humanist and Ethical Union. The official symbol of HAC is a version of the Happy Human.

1 IHEU's Minimum statement on Humanism
2 History
3 Notable Members
4 Regional Associations
5 Canadian Humanist Publications
6 Camp Quest Canada
7 See also
8 External links

[edit] IHEU's Minimum statement on Humanism

All member organisations of the IHEU are required by IHEU bylaw 5.1 to accept [2] the IHEU Minimum statement on Humanism:

"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. It stands for the building of a more humane society through an ethic based on human and other natural values in the spirit of reason and free inquiry through human capabilities. It is not theistic, and it does not accept supernatural views of reality."

[edit] History

The Humanist Association of Canada was founded in 1968, with Dr. Henry Morgentaler as its first president. It was inspired by the Humanist Fellowship of Montreal. At that time, it was made up of several regional Humanist Associations.

In 1970, the Humanist Association of Canada was connected to more regional Humanist groups, such as the Humanist Association of Ottawa. [3]

In 1996, the Humanist Association of Canada was granted the right to perform legally recognized marriages by Ontario's provincial government.

According to their site, many of the organization's members signed the petition to remove god from the Constitution of Canada, read by Svend Robinson in Parliament. [4],[5] The petition was unsuccessful.

[edit] Notable Members

Henry Morgentaler, first President.

Dr. Robert Buckman Born in London, he moved to Toronto in 1985. He is a medical Oncologist and President of the Humanist Association of Canada. He has made television programs such as Magic or Medicine? and Human Wildlife.

Jeff Perkins He is the first Vice President of the Humanist Association of Canada. He was born in Oxford, UK and moved to West Germany to teach English then moved to Canada. He states that he is a non-academic humanist - in other words, he does not need philosophical reasons to act morally without a belief in god.

Kathy Meidell She is the second Vice President of the Humanist Association of Canada; President of the Kitchener-Waterloo, Cambridge, Guelph & Area Humanists [6]and is the founder of Canada's first and only summer camp for Humanist kids. Kathy also created the petition in support of Dr. Morgentaler being given an honorary law degree by the University of Western Ontario in June 2005. The petition drew more than 10,000 signatures in less than 2 weeks.

[edit] Regional Associations

Humanist organizations across Canada:

Society of Ontario Freethinkers - a dynamic secular fellowship that promotes humanist principles, critical thinking, and the separation of religion and state
Humanist Association of London and Area
Humanist Association of Toronto
Humanist Association of Hamilton
Windsor Humanist Society
Central Ontario Humanist Association (Barrie & area)
Humanist Association of Ottawa
Humanist Association of Peterborough
Humanist Association of Manitoba
Humanists of Saskatchewan
Society for Secular Humanists in Calgary
Secular Humanist of Edmonton
Okanagan Humanist Association
Sechelt Humanist Association
BC Humanist Association
Victoria Secular Humanist Association
Mouvement laïque québécois

[edit] Canadian Humanist Publications

Another related Canadian Humanist icon is Humanist in Canada, a Canadian rationalist magazine. It states that it is a "voice for reason & community". It deals with issues concerning rationality [7]. Humanist in Canada is published by the non-profit organization Canadian Humanist Publications with a mandate to promote the idea that humans can solve human problems.

Canadian Humanist Publications has also published The Jesus Puzzle: Did Christianity Begin with a mythical Christ?, a book skeptical of Jesus Christ's existence. Other books published by the group include:

Road to Reason: Landmarks in the Evolution of Humanist Thought, by Sociologist Dr. Pat Duffy, who views Evolutionary Naturalism as essential to humanist thought.