American Humanists and the Humanist Manifesto

The American Humanist Association is an organization I have been a member of for two to three years now. As I began to leave the religion of my youth, I began also to read and study all I could about other faith traditions. Reading Karen Armstrong, Dawkins, Pinker, Harris, and others, I eventually came to the conclusion that religion was historically created by humankind, so I began to continue my search for truth through humanistic pathways. I continually look for the good in humanity, and I have found it in abundance. I became a Humanist because everything I read about Humanism aligned with how I was coming to see the world as a place where people could actually work together as a human race to reach common goals.

I have recently begun the process of applying to become a Humanist Minister, so that I will be able to officiate at wedding & commitment ceremonies, child welcoming celebrations, and memorial services. During this process of asking people I know to write reference letters, and filling out thoughtful responses to the questions on the application, I have been learning more and more about my Humanism - as my life-stance, my chosen belief system. I feel that I am quite young to be applying to become a Minister, at only 26 years old. But I feel so much joy and compassion from every document and book I read related to "Humanism and its Aspirations." This is the very title of the "Humanist Manifesto III, a successor to the Humanist Manifesto of 1933.

I have now read through it multiple times. My highlighter seems a superfluous tool, as I agree and connect with virtually every sentence strongly enough to highlight it. I hope you will read it, if you are curious to know what I believe, or if you want to know more about Humanism and to what, exactly, that word refers. It is truly beautiful.