In 1929 Charles Francis Potter, a former Baptist minister who had debated Clarence Darrow's opponents and left the pulpit, founds the First Humanist Society of New York. The society is humanism organized as a congregation, with lectures in place of sermons, and its founding is the movement's institutional beginning in America.
Tagged: Secular Humanism
The Event
- Date
- 1929 (exact)
- Era
- Religious Humanism; Standard periodization of secular humanist history
- Location
- New York; today New York, New York
- Traditions
- Secular Humanism
- Streams
- Secular Humanism
- Key figures
- Charles Francis Potter
Connections
Primary Sources
- Potter, Charles Francis. Humanism: A New Religion. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1930.
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-1386; 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
Kurtz founds the Council for Secular Humanism
1980
History Event
Lamont's The Philosophy of Humanism
1949
History Event
The British Humanist Association is founded
1967
History Event
The International Humanist and Ethical Union is founded
1952
History Event
Torcaso v. Watkins names secular humanism in law
1961