Humanists UK

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Humanists UK

Humanists UK logo
Formation	1896; 129 years ago (1896)
Location	United Kingdom Channel Islands Isle of Man
Members	140,000 members and supporters[1] (2021)
President	Adam Rutherford
Chief Executive	Andrew Copson
Publication	New Humanist (est. 1885)
Affiliations	Humanists International
Website	humanists.uk
Formerly called	Union of Ethical Societies (1896–1928) Ethical Union (1928–1967) British Humanist Association (1967–2017)

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Humanists UK,^[2] known from 1967 until May 2017 as the British Humanist Association (BHA), is a charitable organisation which promotes secular humanism and aims to represent non-religious people in the UK^[1] through a mixture of charitable services, campaigning on issues relating to humanism, secularism, and human rights, and through publishing the magazine New Humanist.

The charity also supports humanist and non-religious wedding, funeral, and baby naming ceremonies in England and Wales, Northern Ireland, and the Crown dependencies, in addition to a network of volunteers who provide like-minded support and comfort to non-religious people in hospitals and prisons. Its other charitable activities include providing free educational resources to teachers, parents, and institutions; a peer-to-peer support service for people who face difficulties leaving coercive religions and cults; work to promote tolerance and understanding between religious communities and the non-religious; and work to promote humanist values and understanding of humanism. The current president of Humanists UK is Adam Rutherford and the chief executive is Andrew Copson. The association currently has 70 affiliated regional and special interest groups and claims a total of approximately 140,000 members and supporters.^[1]

Humanists UK also has sections which run as staffed national humanist organisations in both Wales and Northern Ireland. Wales Humanists and Northern Ireland Humanists each have an advisory committee drawn from the membership and a development officer. Wales Humanists and Northern Ireland Humanists campaign on devolved issues in Cardiff and Belfast and work to expand the provision of humanist ceremonies, pastoral care, and support for teachers in those countries.^[3][4]