In 1961 the United States Supreme Court decides Torcaso v. Watkins, striking down Maryland's religious test for office. Justice Black's opinion lists among the religions of the country those that do not teach belief in God, naming Secular Humanism in the famous footnote. The phrase enters American law, and later controversy, from that page.
Tagged: Secular Humanism
The Event
- Date
- 1961 (exact)
- Era
- The Organized Movement; Standard periodization of secular humanist history
- Location
- Washington; today Washington, District of Columbia
- Traditions
- Secular Humanism
- Streams
- Secular Humanism
- Key figures
- Hugo Black
How the Tradition Tells It
The Court's footnote lists secular humanism among religions that do not teach belief in God for the purpose of the religious test ban; later American argument has read the line both as recognition and as classification, and the record states the holding itself.
Primary Sources
- Torcaso v. Watkins, 367 U.S. 488 (1961).
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-1391; 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 Center for Inquiry is founded
1991
History Event
The International Humanist and Ethical Union is founded
1952