In 1980 Paul Kurtz, who has broken with the American Humanist Association over its religious tone, founds the Council for Democratic and Secular Humanism and its journal Free Inquiry. The council fixes secular humanism as the movement's explicit name for its non-religious form, and the magazine becomes its fighting paper.
Tagged: Secular Humanism
The Event
- Date
- 1980 (exact)
- Era
- The Secular Turn; Standard periodization of secular humanist history
- Location
- Buffalo; today Buffalo, New York
- Traditions
- Secular Humanism
- Streams
- Secular Humanism
- Key figures
- Paul Kurtz
- Key texts
- Free Inquiry
Connections
Primary Sources
- Kurtz, Paul. A Secular Humanist Declaration. Free Inquiry, Fall 1980.
Secondary Sources
- Kurtz, Paul, ed. Humanist Manifestos I and II. Buffalo: Prometheus Books, 1973.
- Lamont, Corliss. The Philosophy of Humanism. New York: Humanist Press, eighth edition, 1997.
- Walter, Nicolas. Humanism: What's in the Word. London: Rationalist Press Association, 1997.
Provenance: HIST-1394; confidence 0.95; accessed 2026-10-30.
Related on This Site
Art Tradition
Non-Theistic and Secular
Art without transcendence: humanist meaning-making, museums as secular temples, and protest art.
History Event
Humanist Manifesto II
1973
History Event
Julian Huxley takes the helm of UNESCO
1946
History Event
Lamont's The Philosophy of Humanism
1949
History Event
The British Humanist Association is founded
1967
History Event
The Center for Inquiry is founded
1991
History Event
The International Humanist and Ethical Union is founded
1952
History Event
Torcaso v. Watkins names secular humanism in law
1961