Council of Australian Humanist Societies
 | |
| Formation | 1965 |
|---|---|
Region | Australia |
President | Lyndon Storey |
| Affiliations | International Humanist and Ethical Union |
| Website |
www |
The Council of Australian Humanist Societies (CAHS) is the national umbrella organisation for Australian humanist societies in New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland, South Australia, Australian Capital Territory and Western Australia[1]. It is affiliated with the International Humanist and Ethical Union (IHEU)[2]. The official symbol of CAHS (and all member organisations) is the Happy Human.
Activities
CAHS publishes a quarterly journal, the Australian Humanist and awards the Australian Humanist of the Year (AHOY) annually and the Outstanding Humanist Achiever award when warranted.
Winners of the Australian Humanist of the Year award include Olive Zakharov (1984), Gareth Evans (1990), Robyn Williams (1993), William Hayden (1996), Philip Nitschke (1998), Peter Singer (2004), Tim Flannery (2005), Peter Cundall (2006), Lyn Alison (2010), Leslie Cannold (2011), Ronnie Williams (2012), Jane Caro (2013), Geoffrey Robertson QC (2014), Dr Carmen Lawrence (2015), John Bell AO OBE (2016) and Dr Rodney Syme (2017), Gillian Triggs (2018)[3].
CAHS holds an annual CAHS convention, usually hosted by one of the member organisations. It also hosts the Humanist Internet Discussion Group where humanists can share their thoughts on issues of interest.
IHEU's Minimum statement on Humanism
All member organisations of the IHEU are required by IHEU bylaw 5.1 to accept the IHEU Minimum statement on Humanism:
- Humanism is a democratic and ethical life stance, which affirms that human beings have the right and responsibility to give meaning and shape to their own lives. It stands for the building of a more humane society through an ethic based on human and other natural values in the spirit of reason and free inquiry through human capabilities. It is not theistic, and it does not accept supernatural views of reality.
Legal status
The Australian national census categorises humanism as "No Religion"[4]. The 16% of Australians who fall within this category include other non-theistic life stances such as atheism, agnosticism and rationalism.
See also
- Atheist Foundation of Australia
- Human rights in Australia
- Irreligion in Australia
- Rationalist Society of Australia
- Reason Party (Australia)
- Religion in Australia - includes Australian Bureau of Statistics census information relating to religion and belief.
- The Secular Party of Australia
- States and territories of Australia
- Agnosticism
- Amsterdam Declaration 2002
- Atheism
- Humanism and Its Aspirations
- Major world religions
- Rationalism
- Secularism
- Separation of church and state
- Secular state
References
- ↑ Humanist.org (2018). "THE COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIAN HUMANIST SOCIETIES". Humanism Australia. Retrieved 4 September 2018.
- ↑ Ives, Rosslyn (2018). "Free thought activity in Australia: From margins to mainstream". Humanism Australia. Retrieved 4 September 2018.
- ↑ Humanist Society of New South Wales Inc. (2018). "Australian Humanists of the Year (AHOYs)". hsnsw.asn.au. Retrieved 4 September 2018.
- ↑ Iheu.org (2018). "What is Humanism?". International Humanism and Ethical Union. Retrieved 4 September 2018.
External links
- Australian Bureau of Statistics 1996 Census Dictionary - Religion category
- Australian Bureau of Statistics 2001 Census Dictionary - religion category
- Year Book Australia, 2006. Religious Affiliation section from Australian Bureau of Statistics. Much of the text of Religion in Australia is taken from here (or previous versions).
- CAHS Website
- ACT Humanist Society Website
- Human Rights Brief No. 3 Assessment of international law pertaining to freedom of religion and belief from Australian Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission.