Fred Edwords on the History of Humanism
The Heartland Humanist Conference planning committee and the Board of Directors of the Omaha Metro Area Humanist Association (OMAHA), extend a heart-felt thanks to our speakers, attendees, organizers and volunteers for making the first Heartland Humanist Conference a resounding success! It takes a community, and in this case a community of Humanists, to put on an ambitious event like this and we couldn’t have done it without all of you!
For those that missed the event, our first conference was held the weekend of August 14-16, 2015, in Roskens Hall on the University of Nebraska Omaha campus. The conference was designed to promote humanism in our community, connect humanists, atheists, agnostics, freethinkers and skeptics, and to celebrate Humanity.
On of our speakers is touched by His noodly appendage!
The conference featured talks from local and nationally-recognized leaders in Humanism as well as speakers from organizations such as Planned Parenthood and Compassion and Choices, the leading nonprofit organization committed to protecting and expanding options at the end of life. There were plenty of options for socializing with fellow conference attendees each evening, and the conference wrapped up with a catered outdoor picnic beginning at noon on Sunday featuring a visit from the Flying Spaghetti Monster!
What are Humanists and what is Humanism? Humanists see life as a natural process and thus, we don’t believe in the supernatural. We rely on science and reason to explain the universe around us and our origins, rather than putting faith in religion and religious texts. Humanists don’t concern themselves with what comes after death, rather we focus on the one life we know we have, striving to put as much meaning and happiness into it as possible. Humanists generally espouse the values of freedom of thought and expression, open-minded pursuit of the truth, tolerance of others’ differences, mutual respect, universal education and preservation of the environment. So Humanism then is a progressive philosophy of life that, without theism and other supernatural beliefs, affirms our ability and responsibility to lead ethical lives of personal fulfillment that aspire to the greater good of humanity. For more information about Humanism and Humanists please visit the American Humanists Association.
There’s more than one reason you can’t spell “Heartland Humanist Conference” without the letters “F U & N”! Be sure to check out our Facebook page and follow us on Twitter for the latest conference news and updates.