The Humanist Movement in Modern Britain

Since the turn of the 20th century, Humanism has become a major force in British life. The Humanist Movement in Modern Britain sees Callum G. Brown and David Nash, two of the world's leading historians of modern Humanism and non-belief, explore the ways in which Humanists organised to influence the British nation as it faced the moral issues of the modern world. Brown and Nash examine how Humanism transformed the philosophical and belief landscape of the country, engaged in significant campaigns for reducing religious privilege, and in recent decades offered to tens of thousands of people the celebration of Humanist marriages and baby-naming ceremonies, and the celebration of life in Humanist funerals. The book analyses the Humanist impact on the civil and moral life of Britain through contributions to human rights and equality discourse and legislation covering: freedom of speech; homosexual law reform; gay marriage; a woman's right to choose abortion; the ending of blasphemy laws and censorship; sex education; non-doctrinal religious and moral education in schools; equal access to broadcasting from non-religious viewpoints; and voluntary euthanasia and dignity in dying. It also looks in detail at how the British Humanist Association (BHA), known as Humanists UK since 2017, has been at the heart of this work. This is the definitive history of Humanism in Britain in modern times.