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A.J. Ayer (1910-1989)
In common with other humanists, I believe that the only possible basis for a sound morality is mutual tolerance and […]
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Abortion Law Reform Association
The… women on the early ALRA committee were similar in background and outlook. Most of them were active members of […]
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Agnostics Adoption Society
From the outset IAS aimed to have an open approach to prospective adopters irrespective of their race, religion and creed, […]
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Alan Turing (1912-1954)
We can only see a short distance ahead, but we can see plenty there that needs to be done. Alan […]
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Albert Einstein (1879-1955)
How strange is the lot of us mortals! Each of us is here for a brief sojourn; for what purpose […]
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Aldous Huxley (1894–1963)
Aldous Huxley was never just a cynic or a mystic, or for that matter just a writer. He was a […]
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Alec Reed (1934–2025)
Over the years my faith in any one God has diminished, but my desire to help others has not. I […]
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Alice Jenkins (1886-1967)
Every movement requires its handful of pioneers who are prepared to stand up and be counted — to be abused, […]
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Alice Vickery (1844-1929)
Dr Alice Vickery was a humanist, physician, and devoted champion of women’s reproductive rights. Her tombstone inscription remembers her as […]
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Alison Neilans (1884–1942)
If we really believe in democracy it is our duty not only to emphasise freedom, but also to continually remind […]
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Anna Lo (1950–2024)
Anna was not a religious person. As a humanist, she believed in the goodness of people and their ability to […]
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Anna Wheeler (1785–1848)
To women I would say… continue not to leave the bitter inheritance of ignorance and slavery to your daughters; plead […]
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Antony Grey (1927-2010)
By Mia Nathan Constantly having to combat irrational and dangerous thinking is strenuous and sometimes tedious, but not necessarily boring. […]
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B. R. Ambedkar (1891–1956)
You must abolish your oppression yourselves. Do not depend for its abolition upon God or superman. Your salvation lies in […]
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Barbara Smoker (1923-2020)
To say that “God moves in mysterious ways” is to put up a smokescreen of mystery behind which fantasy may […]
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Barralet v Attorney-General (1980)
The 1980 High Court case in which the South Place Ethical Society, owner of Conway Hall, won back its charitable status by being told it was not religious, opening the way for the British Humanist Association to become a charity and marking a new line in law between religion and humanist belief.
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Beatrice McCabe (1880–1960)
The courage and steadfastness which lead thoughtful people to declare themselves openly Rationalists in face of conventional social pressure is […]
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Bertrand Russell (1872-1970)
The good life is one inspired by love and guided by knowledge. Neither love without knowledge, nor knowledge without love […]
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Bessie Braddock (1899-1970)
We had to have change. The conditions of the workers had to be improved. The bosses had to be forced […]
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Brigid Brophy (1929-1995)
We are (of all the synonyms I most prefer to ‘humanist’) freethinkers. We are deprived of nothing. We have lost […]
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Bristol Gaol
Atheist Charles Southwell was imprisoned in Bristol Gaol for blasphemous libel in 1842. Southwell had written an article in his […]
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British Pregnancy Advisory Service
The British Pregnancy Advisory Service (BPAS) began as the Birmingham Pregnancy Advisory Service, created to provide access to safe, legal, […]
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British Society for the Study of Sex Psychology
The British Society for the Study of Sex Psychology was officially formed in April 1914, ‘for the consideration of problems […]
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C. E. M. Joad (1891–1953)
Ethics really ought to have something to do with life. Ethics ought to tell you how to be good or […]
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Chartism
A mass working class movement for universal male suffrage Read more Chartist Ancestors and Women Chartists Chartism by David Avery […]
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Constance Dowman (1915–1982)
In all her work for the humanist movement, Constance Dowman said little and did much… She was one of the […]
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Darcus Howe (1943–2017)
That was the moment when I entered the world of reason. Before that, it was all God, but as I […]
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David Pollock (1942-2023)
David Pollock was a towering figure in the humanist movement. A longtime member, activist, trustee, and former Chair, he was […]
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Derek Lennard (1952–2023)
Derek Lennard was a longtime member and former chair of LGBT Humanists—then known as the Gay and Lesbian Humanist Group […]
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Diana Rookledge (1932–2022)
Humanism is a philosophy – one which gives us a coherent stance for living. We believe the humanist approach to […]
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Dora Russell (1894-1986)
I see this kind of love – the empathy that should be common to all living creatures – rather than […]
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Doris Lessing (1919–2013)
I lost religion in a breath; Heaven fled from me on the wings of Reason… Doris Lessing, Under My Skin: […]
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Dorothy Thurtle (1890-1973)
No law can be effective which has not behind it the sanction of the people. Dorothy Thurtle, quoted by David […]
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Douglas Houghton (1898–1996)
Elected to Parliament in 1949… and here I am! Where else could I be? The pages of the New Humanist […]
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E. M. Forster (1879-1970)
Humanism could (better) be honoured by reciting a list of the things one has enjoyed or found interesting, of the […]
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Edith Durham (1863–1944)
Mary Edith Durham was a writer, artist, and anthropologist, who became well known for her work on Albania. She was […]
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Edith Hinchley (1870–1940)
The woman artist appears quickly to have grasped the fact that she cannot maintain an isolated and merely selfish point […]
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Eleanor Marx (1855–1898)
The striking difference of this century and the last is, that free-thought was the privilege of the upper classes then, […]
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Eleanor Rathbone (1872-1946)
Only victory will put an end to it all. But meantime let no one say: ‘We are not responsible.’ We […]
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Elizabeth Duncan Swann (1855-1914)
Elizabeth Swann was an active and devoted champion of liberal and progressive causes alongside her husband, Liberal MP Charles Swann. […]
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Elizabeth Wolstenholme Elmy (1833-1918)
… purely human and natural ethics, and not theology, was the source of this pioneer woman’s enthusiasm for justice, even […]
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Ellen Dana Conway (1833-1897)
Her beautiful life, her truth, her unwearied charities, proceeded from her own heart. They were not inspired by any thought […]
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Emilie Holyoake-Marsh (1861-1953)
Emilie Holyoake-Marsh, daughter of George Jacob Holyoake, was an activist for worker’s rights and women’s suffrage; an advocate of co-operation, […]
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Emma Martin (1812-1851)
Oh what a tissue of inconsistencies are the dogmas in which we have been reared! Emma Martin, God’s Gifts and […]
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Ernest Thurtle (1884–1954)
It was early in the war, and we were stationed at a pleasant village in Sussex. One evening a sergeant […]
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Ernestine Mills (1871-1959)
Ernestine Mills, an enamelist, and her husband Dr. Herbert Henry Mills were both active members of the Ethical movement, and […]
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Ernestine Rose (1810-1892)
Emancipation from every kind of bondage is my principle. I go for the recognition of human rights, without distinction of […]
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Eslanda Goode Robeson (1895–1965)
I am willing and eager to surrender as much of my personal sovereignty as is necessary, in order to secure […]
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Ethel Leach (1850-1936)
Ethel Leach was a Liberal councillor, social reformer, justice of the peace, and the first female mayor of Great Yarmouth. […]
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Eustace Chesser (1902–1973)
All through his life he fought fearlessly for the causes in which he deeply believed and he fulfilled himself in […]
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Fenner Brockway (1888-1988)
I had long put on one side the purist pacifist view that one should have nothing to do with a […]
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First Conference of Humanists in Ireland
This conference is resolved to strive for the achievement of peace, justice and tolerance in Ireland, and holds that outmoded […]
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First European performance of A Raisin in the Sun (1959)
I wish to live because life has within it that which is good, that which is beautiful, and that which […]
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Frances Wright (1795-1852)
I have devoted my time and fortune to laying the foundation of a society where affection shall form the only […]
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Francis Sheehy-Skeffington (1878–1916)
A distinctively Edwardian rationalist radical, he himself agreed that he was a crank – ‘a small instrument that makes revolutions’. […]
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From the archives: ‘A Few Words to Freethinkers’
This article appeared in The Secular Chronicle (Vol. V, No. 1), 2 January 1876. It marked the first issue edited […]
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From the archives: ‘Humanism and the Open Society’
Much needs changing in the world of today, and humanists will be found in large numbers in the ranks of […]
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From the archives: ‘Humanity’s Debt to Thomas Paine’ (1892)
Those clouds called creeds are destined all to fade away, but the sky will remain—humanity; and in the sky will […]
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From the archives: A Defence of Atheism (1861)
Whatever good you would do out of fear of punishment, or hope of reward hereafter, the Atheist would do simply […]
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From the archives: Being Rational About Being Gay
‘Being Rational About Being Gay’ was a talk given by activist Antony Grey (Anthony Edgar Gartside Wright) for the Gay […]
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From the archives: Marjorie Bowen’s toast to the Rationalist Press Association (1939)
Toast by Marjorie Bowen at the Fortieth Annual Dinner and Reunion of the Rationalist Press Association, at the Trocadero Restaurant, […]
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From the archives: Of Free Enquiry (1829)
Oh! that we could learn… that what is ruinous to some is injurious to all; and that whenever we establish […]
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From the archives: Separate Development?
We’re part of society, part of the world whether we or society like it or not, and we have to […]
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From the archives: The Ethical Attitude to Fascism and Nazism (1939)
From The Ethical Societies’ Chronicle, Vol. XVII. No. 125. May 1939 The Ethical Attitude to Fascism and Nazism (The substance […]
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From the archives: The Great Human Detective Story
Humanism is a philosophy of life based on a concern for humanity rather than a belief in god. Humanists believe […]
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From the archives: Towards Freedom
Truth needs the friendly grip of earnest men and women of every class. There is no distinction where it dwells. […]
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From the archives: Vera Brittain’s toast to the Rationalist Press Association (1935)
I think that one of the most hopeful signs at the present day, and one for which this Movement can […]
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From the archives: Why Women Should be Secularists
We hold that only by making happiness for those around us, and by endeavoring, individually, to make the world a […]
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George Broadhead (1933–2021)
George Broadhead was a humanist activist and gay rights campaigner, motivated by a twin commitment to humanism and human rights. […]
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George Orwell (1903–1950)
You can always appeal to common decency, which the vast majority of people believe in without the need to tie […]
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George Peabody Gooch (1873–1968)
Conscience is older than any existing Church or creed. George Peabody Gooch, Under Six Reigns (1958) George Peabody Gooch was […]
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Gilbert Murray (1866-1957)
But in the more civilised communities, as in ancient Greece, there has always been a minority who, through some speculative […]
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Glenys Kinnock (1944–2023)
Welsh teacher, anti-apartheid campaigner, MEP, and Labour minister who was a patron of the British Humanist Association (today’s Humanists UK).
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Gora (1902-1975)
Godlessness is negative. It merely denies the existence of god. Atheism is positive. It asserts the condition that results from […]
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Govind Deodhekar (1919-1997)
He was dedicated to the cause of secularism, but in his own gentle way he did not neglect to enjoy […]
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Greevz Fisher (1845-1931)
Mr. Fysher was in many respects a remarkable man. His interests were wide, and whatever he took up he carried […]
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Gustav Spiller (1864-1940)
The Conscience has eclipsed the Scriptures; Science has destroyed the belief in Divine Interposition; Democracy and Civism have shown men […]
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H. Montgomery Hyde (1907–89)
Harford Montgomery Hyde was a Belfast-born barrister, politician, author, and humanist, who championed humane legal reforms and progressive social attitudes. […]
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Hanna Sheehy-Skeffington (1877-1946)
Hanna Sheehy-Skeffington was an activist, feminist, and humanist, who founded the Irish Women’s Franchise League, and was described by the […]
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Har Dayal (1884-1939)
Life is a wonderful privilege. It imposes great duties. It demands the fulfilment of great tasks and the realisation of […]
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Harold John Blackham (1903-2009)
Faith without works is not Christianity, and unbelief without any effort to help shoulder the consequences for mankind is not […]
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Harold Pinter (1930-2008)
Good writing excites me, and makes life worth living. Harold Pinter Harold Pinter was one of the 20th century’s most […]
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Harriet Taylor Mill (1807-1858)
That an institution or a practice is customary is no presumption of its goodness. Harriet Taylor Mill Harriet Taylor Mill […]
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Harry Stopes-Roe (1924-2014)
Harry Stopes-Roe was one of the most tireless and dedicated humanist campaigners of the 20th century. Son of the influential […]
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Helena Swanwick (1864-1939)
Life would be far more truly envisaged if we dropped the silly phrases “men’s and women’s questions”; for indeed there […]
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Henrik Ibsen (1828–1906)
One thing I would earnestly maintain; Ibsen comes home to us. His problems are real problems and are ours. If […]
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Henry Hetherington (1792-1849)
I have ever considered that the only religion useful to man consists exclusively of the practice of morality, and in […]
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Henry Noel Brailsford (1873–1958)
Our goal must be the good of the whole human society. Henry Noel Brailsford, Olives of Endless Age: being a […]
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Henry S. Salt (1851-1939)
I felt flattered by the remark of a hostile journalist that I was “a compendium of the cranks,” by which […]
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Herbert Spencer (1820-1903)
No one can be perfectly free till all are free; no one can be perfectly moral till all are moral; […]
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Humanist Housing Association
The Humanist Housing Association began in January 1955, founded as the Ethical Union Housing Association to provide affordable homes for […]
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Humanist Lobby
Humanism is an attitude to life that has solidly practical implications… it implies a commitment to helping run the community […]
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Humanist Manifesto II (1973)
While there is much that we do not know, humans are responsible for what we are or will become. No […]
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Humanist Parliamentary Group
When we stand up for freedom of conscience, for the rights of the individual, for the rational approach and against […]
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Humanists International
Humanists International was formed in 1952 as the International Humanist and Ethical Union (IHEU): a federation of the American Ethical […]
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Humanists UK Campaigns
While much of the Humanist Heritage website looks back to the earlier years of the organised humanist movement, recent decades […]
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Hypatia Bradlaugh Bonner (1858-1935)
When we are asked to believe that nothing but a supernatural ideal can inspire and sustain a life-time of complete […]
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Jack McDowell (1923-2006)
Belfast-born Jack McDowell was an activist, educator, politician, and atheist, whose humanism was evident in a lifetime of work for […]
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James Baldwin (1924-1987)
If the concept of God has any validity or any use, it can only be to make us larger, freer, […]
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James Berry (1924-2017)
The difference and variety of our human family more and more seems to me to be a wise provision that […]
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James Hemming (1909-2007)
The time has arrived for us humans to stop leaning on ideas for a creator god; we should get down […]
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James Watson (1799–1874)
I have had but one object in view – to show my fellow-workmen that the humblest amongst them may render […]
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Janet Chance (1886–1953)
If the church was wrong, as of old, to trust to prayer in an epidemic, why shall she be right […]
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Jeremy Bentham (1748-1832)
It is impossible that Theology can throw any light upon either morality or jurisprudence. Jeremy Bentham Philosopher and jurist Jeremy […]
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John Ballance (1839–1893)
I believe in the absolute equality of the sexes, and I think they [women] should be in the enjoyment of […]
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John Boyd Orr (1880–1971)
The big problem of today is how shall we adjust these tremendous new forces so that they can be harnessed […]
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John D. Stewart (1917-1988)
I think I was born a humanist. John D. Stewart, The Honest Ulsterman, May 1968 John D. Stewart was a […]
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John Galsworthy (1867–1933)
…the only efficient, the only decent prayer, is Action. John Galsworthy, ‘Philosophy of Life’ in Glimpses and Reflections (1937) Best […]
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John Rawls (1921–2002)
It may be expedient but it is not just that some should have less in order that others may prosper. […]
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John Stuart Mill (1806-1873)
I will call no being good, who is not what I mean when I apply that epithet to my fellow-creatures; […]
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Joseph McCabe (1867–1955)
Rationalism is… primarily a mental attitude, not a creed or a definite body of negative conclusions. No uniformity of opinions […]
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Joseph Reeves (1888–1969)
Humanism is on the march. In a world of conflict and frightening menaces we are an integral part of the […]
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Josephine Gowa (1854-1941)
Josephine Gowa was an active member of the Hampstead Ethical Institute (later Hampstead Humanist Society) for over three decades, many […]
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Julian Huxley (1887-1975)
What the sciences discover about the natural world and about the origins, nature and destiny of man is the truth […]
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Justin Keating (1930–2009)
One might say that since retirement I have been reworking my paradigm. In that reworking I have reached conclusions, but […]
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Kader Asmal (1934–2011)
Can there be a more important human condition than dignity? Without it, we are bitter, downtrodden, unheard, humiliated, embarrassed and […]
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Karl Popper (1902-1994)
… the responsibility for our ethical decisions is entirely ours and cannot be shifted to anybody else; neither to God, […]
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Kate Watts (1849–1924)
She was greatly gifted, and through her genial nature made friends everywhere. To the last she was an enthusiastic Rationalist, […]
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Kensal Green Cemetery
Kensal Green, opened in 1833, was London’s first commercial cemetery, and the originator of the city’s ‘Magnificent Seven’. These suburban […]
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Lady Florence Dixie (1855-1905)
Those who, like myself, are in communication with the advanced thought and thinkers throughout the world know that hundreds —nay, […]
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Lady Rhondda (1883-1958)
There is nothing in this world to compare with the joy of finding something to do that one believes to […]
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Laurence Housman (1865-1959)
But however little it conforms or tenders allegiance, no life worth having can be isolated from the lives of others. […]
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Leo Abse (1917-2008)
It was the start of opening up society to be more caring and sensitive. One was battling for all men […]
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Leonard Ainsbury (1943–2006)
There will never be a point where we can sit back and say we have discovered everything. Our banner will […]
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LGBT Humanists
Formed in the wake of the Gay News blasphemy trial, GALHA (now LGBT Humanists) came into being in 1979 as […]
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Lilian Sauter 1864-1924
Lift the heart to high endeavour! Fire the thought and nerve the will! Though the bonds be hard to sever, […]
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Lillie Boileau (1869-1930)
Lillie Boileau was a devoted figure within the Ethical movement, and an active part of the fight for women’s suffrage. […]
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Lindsay Burnet (1905–1985)
It is essential to get it recognised that good and graceful living is sufficient in itself; further, that this is […]
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Louisa Thomson-Price (1864-1926)
We hold that only by making happiness for those around us, and by endeavoring, individually, to make the world a […]
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Ludovic Kennedy (1919-2009)
Ludovic Kennedy was a writer, journalist, and broadcaster, known for his investigations into miscarriages of justice. A human rights campaigner, he […]
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Lydia Becker (1827–1890)
Genius is no respecter of sex, and mental ability is scattered in supreme disregard of conventional arrangements. Lydia Becker quoted […]
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Madeleine Simms (1930–2011)
Humanists have principles too, but they are principles which do not refer to the existence of the supernatural. This is […]
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Mahatma Gandhi (1869-1948)
The international significance and reputation of Mohandas Gandhi is well-known, but his involvement with the burgeoning humanist movement during the […]
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Margaret Cavendish, Duchess of Newcastle (1623–1673)
I had rather die in the adventure of noble achievements, than live in obscure and sluggish security Spoken by the […]
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Marjorie Abbatt (1899–1991)
They weren’t just trying to sell something to parents, they were helping them to understand how to play with and […]
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Mary Ann McCracken (1770-1866)
Is it not the duty of every person to promote the happiness of others as much as lies in their […]
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Mary Holland (1935–2004)
Mary Holland was a doyenne of Irish journalism. She epitomised the highest journalistic standards – she inquired, she informed, she […]
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Mary Raftery (1957–2012)
The hard anger she felt at the cruelty she encountered was always rooted in a deep tenderness for vulnerable humanity. […]
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Mary Sheepshanks (1872-1960)
Mary Sheepshanks was a humanist who saw her feminist, pacifist, and cosmopolitan beliefs as being natural expressions of her humanist […]
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Mary Wollstonecraft (1759–1797)
And how can woman be expected to co-operate unless she knows why she ought to be virtuous? Unless freedom strengthens […]
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Matilda Roalfe (1813-1880)
I will never voluntarily obey any law which is an outrage on human reason. Matilda Roalfe Matilda Roalfe was an […]
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Maureen Duffy (1933–2026)
As war is far too important to be left to the generals, so morality is far too important to be […]
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May Keating (1895–1965)
[I] feel extraordinarily proud and extraordinarily lucky to be the child of a woman who from her early twenties was […]
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May Seaton-Tiedeman (1862-1948)
If the basic cause of an unsuccessful marriage is removable, conciliation is the proper procedure. If it is not removable, […]
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Meghnad Desai (1940–2025)
It is a very strange idea that moral and various spiritual educations can be learned only by getting people together […]
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Michael Manley (1924–1997)
I like life with its mysteries. I don’t need my imponderables filled in for me. Michael Manley quoted by Rachel […]
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Millicent Mackenzie (1863-1942)
Millicent Mackenzie was a pioneering educationist and suffragist, who – alongside her husband, John Stuart Mackenzie – gave significant support […]
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Mona Caird (1854–1932)
Belief in the power of man to choose his direction of change: this is the creed of the future, and […]
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Moncure Conway (1832-1907)
It is not because the believer in rational religion has not clear convictions that he will not shape them into […]
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Mora Burnet (1907–1985)
Mora Burnet was a founder of, and driving force within, the Humanist Housing Association, formed in 1955 to provide affordable homes […]
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Mother Clap (died c.1726)
As for Mother Clap, she was present all the Time, except when she went out to fetch Liquors… The Company […]
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Naomi Mitchison (1897–1999)
Good will, that curious product of consciousness, of leisure and energy to spare and share. That thing we put out […]
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National Education League
…no child should be made ashamed or uncomfortable on account of his father’s opinions, or lack of opinions, on subjects […]
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National Health Service
When Nigel Lawson said in 1992 that the National Health Service was the ‘closest thing the English have to a […]
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National Secular Society
The National Secular Society is a campaigning organisation, founded in 1866 to champion the principles of secularism and the separation […]
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Nicholas Winton (1909–2015)
What is needed is something in which [we] can all believe irrespective of religion, which in most cases, dare I […]
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Nicolas Walter (1934-2000)
Humanism involves not just the deletion of God from moral thought, but the development of humanity on a rational and […]
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Nina Spiller (1878–1967)
Nina Spiller was a lifelong worker for women’s rights, who played an active role in the humanist movement for more […]
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Northern Ireland
A brief history of humanism and secularism in Northern Ireland Organised humanism began in Northern Ireland in the 19th century, […]
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Owen Sheehy-Skeffington (1909-1970)
I am a humanist, a rationalist. My mother said to me, some weeks before she died, that she would die ‘an unrepentant […]
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Owenism
Socialism emerged, in the early decades of the nineteenth century, as a humanist ideal of universal emancipation – the ideal […]
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Pamela O’Malley (1929–2006)
At that time, she appeared to me the way Gonne appears in Yeats’s poem, ‘No Second Troy’, where he describes […]
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Peter Annet (1693-1769)
I have been the more bold in exposing my opinion because I believe it to be the dictates of truth […]
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Peter Draper (1933-2016)
Humanists believe that this is our world, our responsibility, our possibility. If you agree, would anyone know? Peter Draper, ‘Values […]
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Plaque for George Jacob Holyoake
On Woburn Walk is a plaque to George Jacob Holyoake (1817-1906), a writer, lecturer, and promoter of the Cooperative movement, […]
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Presidents of Humanists UK
Humanists UK began as the Union of Ethical Societies in 1896, becoming the Ethical Union in 1920, the British Humanist […]
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Rammohun Roy (1772-1833)
Indian social and religious reformer Rammohun Roy is sometimes referred to as the ‘father of modern India’: a progressive thinker, […]
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Renée Short (1916-2003)
Whatever our background, from whatever country we come, we are all united in the constant struggle for freedom and progress […]
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Richard Carlile (1790-1843)
I have no view but public good; certainly no desire to injure any one, but a passionate desire to do […]
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Ritchie Calder (1906–1982)
Humanist ethics, as I understand them, are concerned with mankind. As humanists we believe in reason, but we also believe […]
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Robert Wedderburn (1762-1835/6)
There is no one who will deny the value and importance of truth, but how is it to be ascertained, […]
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Rose Bush (1898-1978)
Rose Bush was a member of the South Place Ethical Society for over 50 years, and a driving force in […]
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Ruth Homan (1850-1938)
Ruth Homan was an educationist, women’s welfare campaigner, and one of the founding members of the West London Ethical Society […]
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Sally Greengross (1935–2022)
Universal rights are exactly that, universal, and one should not suddenly acquire different rights after a certain number of birthdays. […]
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Sara A. Underwood (1838-1911)
Man for man in larger sense does what heaven fails to do. Sara A. Underwood, quoted by Rufus K. Noyes […]
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Sharley McLean (1923–2013)
Born Lotte Reyersbach in Oldenburg, Germany in 1923, Sharley McLean arrived in England on the Kindertransport as a teenager. Both […]
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Social Morality Council
Without this mutual trust and dependability amongst people who differ radically, there cannot be political and religious freedom. H.J. Blackham […]
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Sophie Bryant (1850-1922)
Sophie Bryant was an Anglo-Irish mathematician, feminist, suffragist, teacher, and promoter of moral education. She played a key role in […]
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South Place Ethical Society
Under its successive names, adopted or given… is traceable a constant endeavour to study carefully, and keep abreast of, the […]
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Stella Browne (1880-1955)
What is this ban on abortion? It is a sexual taboo, it is the terror that women should experiment and […]
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Storm Jameson (1891-1986)
I hold that a writer should not in any circumstances or for any cause surrender his duty to criticise and […]
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Susannah Wright (1792 – ?)
I have no desire… to bring the religion or the laws of this country into contempt, although I am a […]
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Sylvia Pankhurst (1882-1960)
Against the militarist totalitarian state, I have striven. For the freedom of the human spirit to develop under the kindly […]
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Sylvia Scaffardi (1902-2001)
The actress turned campaigner and human rights activist Sylvia Scaffardi was a co-founder of The Council of Civil Liberties, along […]
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Ted Willis (1914-1992)
I have a strong faith and I love mankind. I do not believe in God but I believe in good. […]
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Teresa Billington-Greig (1876-1964)
I am a feminist, a rebel, and a suffragist – a believer, therefore, in sex-equality and militant action. I desire […]
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Terry Pratchett (1948–2015)
There is no hope but us. There is no mercy but us. There is no justice. There is just us… […]
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Terry Sanderson (1946–2022)
If the religious arguments seem irrelevant or cruel, there is another approach which relies on the power of human good, […]
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The Ethical Movement
Not by the Creed but by the Deed. Motto of the Society for Ethical Culture of New York, founded in […]
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The Humanitarian League (1891-1919)
The Humanitarian League is a Society of thinkers and workers, irrespective of class or creed, who have united for the […]
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The Progressive League
The Progressive League was an organisation dedicated to the advancement of scientific humanism, founded by author H.G. Wells and philosopher […]
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Thomas Paine (1737-1809)
I believe in the equality of man; and I believe that religious duties consist in doing justice, loving mercy and […]
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Towards an Open Society
I think that believing in the brotherhood of man is not just a matter of signing these letters, it is […]
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UNESCO
Its main concern is with peace and security and with human welfare, in so far as they can be subserved […]
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V. M. Tarkunde (1909–2004)
The basic human value is freedom, which means the right of a human being to live a human life. V.M. […]
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W.E.B. Du Bois (1868-1963)
If living does not give value, wisdom and meaning to life, then there is no sense in living at all. […]
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Wales
Wales has long been a nation of nonconformists, with a history of challenging the power and influence of the established […]
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William Beveridge (1879-1963)
The one thing in which I am interested wholly and completely is the getting to know something about human society […]
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William Thompson (1775-1833)
All moral and political wisdom should tend mainly to this, the just distribution of the physical means of happiness. William […]
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Winifred Holtby (1898-1935)
The attempt to create communities where men and women alike share the full stature of humanity is an attempt to […]
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Women’s Freedom League
Dare to be free. Slogan of the Women’s Freedom League The Women’s Freedom League (WFL) was a militant suffrage organisation, […]
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Zona Vallance (1860-1904)
Conscious morality cannot exist in any being except so far as it can look behind, before, and around; and can […]