July 10, 2017 Newsletter

We had a great time introducing Humanism to so many eager people at Car Free Day on Commercial Drive again this year and were equally happy to talk to so many people who've followed us for many years.

For those who are newer to the organization, let me take a second to introduce us.

Since 1984 we've aimed to provide a community and a voice for the non-religious in BC.

Here in Vancouver, we offer weekly Sunday meetings on a variety of topics - and I strongly recommend listening to some of our fantastic recent speakers on our podcast. But we also know that over half our membership lives outside Vancouver, so we're looking to work with small and large groups across the province to build that community from Victoria to Fort St John.

As the largest voice for Humanism in Western Canada, we seek to advocate for progressive and secular values. We successfully ended the distribution of Gideon Bibles in BC public schools, we've spoken out for medical assistance in dying, against blasphemy laws, for secularism and the right to perform marriages. As part of those efforts, we've applied to intervene at the Supreme Court of Canada in the case over evangelical Trinity Western University's proposed law school.

All of this is funded entirely by individual members and donors. So consider joining the association, which gives you a vote at our AGM, setting up a monthly donation (thanks to the three people who did so in the past week!) and volunteering to help out.

In the news

Our letter appeared in the Times Columnist last week. We wrote to clarify findings from our polls on religion in schools and on the importance of secular voices at interfaith events.

Humanist Canada published a paper on secular weddings in Canada in the Journal of Secularism and Nonreligion, which references our report on Humanist marriage.