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Famous Humanists
notable, prominent influential people whose religion was Humanism
NOTE: This page is reserved for people whose religion was Humanism.
Many Humanists, such as Kurt Vonnegut, Jr., openly and clearly declare that Humanism is their religion. (Obviously the word "religion" is used by these Humanists in its general and sociological sense, meaning "ultimate concern" or "principle motivational philosophy", and not in any sort of specific sectarian or theological sense. People whose religion is Humanism may or may not believe in supreme beings, but generally speaking, theological and soteriological questions are not principle considerations for Humanists, regardless of their stance.) Other Humanists prefer to avoid identifying Humanism as a "religion," as they primarly associate the word "religion" not with their own ideology (religion), but with a religion that they were raised in and now wish to distance themselves from, or with religions that they disagree with.
People are not included on this page simply because they hold generically humanist ideals or beliefs, as that would include (at least to some extent) every human person who does something for somebody else, or engages in self-preservation. So if a person believes in doing humanitarian acts or in upholding human dignity, etc., but they attend a Latter-day Saint church or a Jewish synagogue or call themself a Buddhist, they are not listed here, but are listed on a page relating to their actual religious affiliation.
- Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. - acclaimed American author of science fiction, as well as realistic and satirical fiction
- Isaac Asimov - leading science fiction writer (Jewish); served as president of the American Humanist Association
- Philip Jose Farmer - acclaimed science fiction writer
- Phillip Adams (1939-) - Australian broadcaster, writer, film-maker, iconoclast; Australian Humanist of the Year 1987.
- Paul Kurtz (1926-) - American philosopher, skeptic; founder of the Committee for the Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal (CSICOP) and the Council for Secular Humanism
- Barbara Smoker (1923-) - British humanist activist and freethought evangelist. Wrote the book Freethoughts: Atheism, Secularism, Humanism
- M. N. Roy (1887-1954) - Indian political thinker; founder of Radical Humanism
- Margaret Atwood - author and literary freedom activist
- Brock Chisholm - physician and first Director-General of the WHO (World Health Organization)
- Betty Friedan - feminist activist (Jewish)
- R. Buckminster Fuller - futurist and inventor (Unitarian)
- Julian Huxley - philosopher and first Director-General of UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Social and Cultural Organization)
- Richard Leakey - anthropologist
- Abraham Maslow - psychologist and creator of Third Force Psychology (Jewish)
- John Boyd Orr - the first Director-General of the FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization)
- A. Philip Randolf - human rights activist
- Carl Rogers - psychologist and creator of Client Centred Therapy
- Bertrand Russell - mathematician and philosopher
- Jonas Salk - physician and developer of the polio vaccine (Jewish)
- Margaret Sanger - founder of Planned Parenthood
- Andrei Sakharov - physicist and human rights activist
- Gloria Steinem - Feminist activist (Jewish)
- Karina Allrich - author (as "Karri Allrich"), artist, cook; author of vegetarian recipes
A major source of the list above is a talk by Frederick Edwords, (Copyright © 1989 by Frederick Edwords), the Executive Director of the American Humanist Association
Famous Humanists / Famous Adherents of Adherents webpage copyright © 2005 by Adherents.com.
Web page created 22 October 2005. Last modified 14 May 2007.
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