For Students
On this site you can find information about Humanism today and the humanist tradition – we also have a variety of publications for sale.
If you are in year 12 or 13 you may also be interested in entering our annual essay competition: the Hemming Prize.
The BHA also has a separate education site, www.humanismforschools.org.uk, and this contains downloadable discussions of various ethical and philosophical issues from a humanist perspective. Here are the links:
Ethical Issues
- Thinking About Ethics: a general introduction to humanist ethics
- Abortion: some humanist perspectives on abortion
- Animal Welfare: how should we treat animals and why?
- Crime and Punishment: how should societies deal with crime? What is punishment for?
- Discrimination and Prejudice: how and why are people discriminated against?
- Drugs: why do people use drugs? Is it morally wrong?
- Embryo Research: what are the ethical questions surrounding new genetic research?
- Environmental Issues: why should we care about the environment?
- Euthanasia: when is euthanasia ethically right?
- Family Matters: what is a family? What are families for?
- Genetic Research and Engineering: what are the ethical implications of developments in genetic research?
- Human Rights: what are human rights? Why should we uphold them?
- Immigration and Asylum: how should we treat immigrants and asylum seekers?
- Nature: what is “natural”? Is what is “natural” relevant to ethics?
- Sexually Transmitted Infections: what are the ethics of sexual behaviour?
- Smoking: what are the ethics of smoking?
- Suicide: is suicide wrong?
- Vegetarianism: should we eat animals?
- War: is violence always wrong? Are there “just” wars?
- World Poverty: why does poverty exist? What should we do?
Philosophical and Religious issues
- Creationism: rebuttal of the most common arguments made for “creationism”
- Celebrations and ceremonies: do human beings need ceremonies? What are humanist ceremonies?
- Death and other big questions: is this life all there is? Does it have an ultimate purpose?
- Evil and Suffering: is “evil” a useful concept? How do we deal with suffering?
- God: what do humanists think about the idea of “god”?
- The “Golden Rule”: what is the “golden rule”? Why do humanists care about it?
- Jesus: did Jesus exist? What is his importance?
- The paranormal, miracles and “faith healing”: is it real? Is it all just harmless fun?
- Religious festivals and ceremonies: what do humanists do at Christmas?
Humanism
- What is Humanism?: a brief introduction, answering key questions
- Humanists Working for a Better World: which humanists have been the most prominent in social action?
