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?