The Humanist Movement in Modern Britain (Bloomsbury Academic) by Callum G. Brown, David Nash and Charlie Lynch
The modern humanist tradition has regularly published books about what humanism is and why it matters. The Humanist Movement in Modern Britain continues this tradition, with a focus on the period from 1896-2021: from the foundation of the Union of Ethical Societies, through its successive reincarnations as the Ethical Union (1920) and the British Humanist Association (1967), to its current incarnation as Humanists UK (2017).
The book is not “in-house” – it was co-written by history professors Callum Brown and David Nash, and research assistant Charlie Lynch. However, its authors are clearly sympathetic. They attribute the idea for the book to the late David Pollock, trustee of Humanists UK, on whose “unmatched personal archive” they have drawn heavily. HUK also provided “generous funding”. The book’s main thesis is that the humanists of the 20th century achieved a disproportionate “influence in international affairs and domestic social policy”, while humanism has blossomed in the 21st century “by championing a distinctive ethical approach to human rights, sexual liberty and the autonomy of the individual”.
Mostly it proceeds by eras, with a focus on a “recognisably modern humanist movement”. Diverse currents fed into such “humanism” – a term which started to be used in this sense in the early 20th century. First, there was G. J. Holyoake’s conception of “secularism” as being concerned solely with the present life. Another current was “positivism”, an obscure “Religion of Humanity” which presented “humans instead of god as objects of reverence”. The immediate predecessors of the humanist movement were the Victorian “ethical societies”, including the South Place Ethical Society (now Conway Hall), whose aims included “the cultivation of a rational religious sentiment, the study of ethical principles, and the promotion of human welfare”.
The authors view the period of 1930-70 as the first “gilded age” of humanism. Books like The Humanist Outlook (1968), edited by the philosopher A. J. Ayer, helped to define humanism in terms of ethical issues, Karl Popper’s “open society” and an intellectual outlook based on the scientific method. The 1960s also saw the founding of a Humanist Parliamentary Group, leading to greater humanist involvement in law reform in areas such as abortion, marriage and gay rights. Unfortunately, the group effectively collapsed at the end of the ’60s, partly through the failure of the British Humanist Association and National Secular Society to co-operate: as the book intimates, there have often been tensions between the leaderships of these two organisations, despite “strong cross-membership”. This has been due to differences of approach and, historically at least, different class affiliations.
The authors view the years 1970-97 as a period of “crisis” for the humanists. Membership numbers fell, owing in part to the polarisation of British politics into entrenched left- and right-wing camps, in which there was little space for humanist progressivism. In the 21st century, however, the BHA/HUK has seen a sudden and dramatic expansion. The authors explain this in terms of its greater professionalism, as well as the increasing representation of humanists in parliament. Another significant factor was the rise of militant New Atheism in the 2000s. Richard Dawkins, whose God Delusion (2006) brought him worldwide celebrity, was a patron of the BHA. Both participated in the Atheist Bus Campaign of 2008-09, with its eye-catching slogan pasted on London buses (“There’s probably no god. Now stop worrying and enjoy your life”).
The book concludes that humanism today is on the verge of becoming a “mass movement”, with a “claim to be at the ethical vanguard of Britain”. This does not sit entirely comfortably with the authors’ observation that, in 2020, only a quarter of HUK supporters were under 54. Nevertheless, if humanism is present in British culture in a way that it was not 30 years ago, this doubtless owes much to HUK’s improved organisation and media relations under its head, Andrew Copson. Not forgetting its current vision of “a tolerant world where rational thinking and kindness prevail”. Now who could disagree with that?
This article is from New Humanist's autumn 2023 issue. Subscribe now.
