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Blasphemy Trials
Atheism, unadulterated and undisguised, was diffused into every corner of the land, and the bold voice of the conscientious unbeliever […]
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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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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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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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Deism
It is necessary to the happiness of man that he be mentally faithful to himself. Infidelity does not consist in […]
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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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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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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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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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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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Humanist Broadcasting Council
The Humanist Broadcasting Council was established in 1959, in consultation with the BBC, to advocate for the inclusion of humanist […]
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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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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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Owenism
Socialism emerged, in the early decades of the nineteenth century, as a humanist ideal of universal emancipation – the ideal […]
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Anthony Collins (1676-1729)
Is being rewarded for maintaining certain articles as matters of faith, and being punished, or suffering for opposing them, proper […]
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John Toland (1670-1722)
Virtue alone is enough to live happily and brings its own reward. John Toland, Pantheisticon (1720) John Toland was an […]
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Margaret Knight (1903-1983)
With these basic [humanist] beliefs there go commonly two corollaries. First, that virtue is a matter of promoting human well-being, […]
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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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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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George William Foote (1850-1915)
Doubt is the beginning of wisdom. It means caution, independence, honesty and veracity. G. W. Foote George William Foote was […]
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Annie Besant (1847-1933)
Women, like men, should try to do the impossible. And when they fail, their failure should be a challenge to […]
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Charles Bradlaugh (1833-1891)
Charles Bradlaugh was a leading freethinker, secularist, and founder of the National Secular Society. His efforts to take his seat […]
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George Jacob Holyoake (1817-1906)
Free thought means fearless thought. It is not deterred by legal penalties, nor by spiritual consequences. Dissent from the Bible […]
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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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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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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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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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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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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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Edward Truelove (1809-1899)
The radical publisher Edward Truelove found himself in court more than once defending freedom of belief and expression. He believed, […]
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Rationalist Press Association
The Rationalist Press Association (later known as simply the Rationalist Association) had its origins in the London print works of […]