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The Fellowship of Humanity Endorses
Humanist Manifesto III *
Humanism and its Aspirations
 

       Humanism is a progressive philosophy of life that, without supernaturalism, affirms our ability and responsibility to lead ethical lives of personal fulfillment that aspire to the greater good of humanity.
 

       The lifestance of Humanism – guided by reason, inspired by compassion, and informed by experience – encourages us to live life well and fully.  It evolved through the ages and continues to develop through the efforts of thoughtful people who recognize that values and ideals, however carefully wrought, are subject to change as our knowledge and understandings advance.
 

       This document is part of an ongoing effort to manifest in clear and positive terms the conceptual boundaries of Humanism, not what we must believe but a consensus of what we do believe.  It is in this sense that we affirm the following: 
 
       Knowledge of the world is derived by observation, experimentation, and rational analysis.  Humanists find that science is the best method for determining this knowledge as well as for solving problems and developing beneficial technologies.  We also recognize the value of new departures in thought, the arts, and inner experience — each subject to analysis by critical intelligence.
 

       Humans are an integral part of nature, the result of unguided evolutionary change. Humanists recognize nature as self-existing. We accept our life as all and enough, distinguishing things as they are from things as we might wish or imagine them to be.  We welcome the challenges of the future, and are drawn to and undaunted by the yet to be known.
 

       Ethical values are derived from human need and interest as tested by experience. Humanists ground values in human welfare shaped by human circumstances, interests, and concerns and extended to the global ecosystem and beyond.  We are committed to treating each person as having inherent worth and dignity, and to making informed choices in a context of freedom consonant with responsibility.
 

       Life’s fulfillment emerges from individual participation in the service of humane ideals. We aim for our fullest possible development and animate our lives with a deep sense of purpose, finding wonder and awe in the joys and beauties of human existence, its challenges and tragedies, and even in the inevitability and finality of death.  Humanists rely on the rich heritage of human culture and the lifestance of Humanism to provide comfort in times of want and encouragement in times of plenty.
 

       Humans are social by nature and find meaning in relationships.  Humanists long for and strive toward a world of mutual care and concern, free of cruelty and its consequences, where differences are resolved cooperatively without resorting to violence.  The joining of individuality with interdependence enriches our lives, encourages us to enrich the lives of others, and inspires hope of attaining peace, justice, and opportunity for all.
 

       Working to benefit society maximizes individual happiness.  Progressive cultures have worked to free humanity from the brutalities of mere survival and to reduce suffering, improve society, and develop global community.  We seek to minimize the inequities of circumstance and ability, and we support a just distribution of nature’s resources and the fruits of human effort so that as many as possible can enjoy a good life.
 

       Humanists are concerned for the well being of all, are committed to diversity, and respect those of differing yet humane views.  We work to uphold the equal enjoyment of human rights and civil liberties in an open, secular society and maintain it is a civic duty to participate in the democratic process and a planetary duty to protect nature’s integrity, diversity, and beauty in a secure, sustainable manner.
     
      Thus engaged in the flow of life, we aspire to this vision with the informed conviction that humanity has the ability to progress toward its highest ideals.  The responsibility for our lives and the kind of world in which we live is ours and ours alone.


* Humanist Manifesto – © 2003

    is a trademark of the

    American Humanist Association
   

 

The figure on the left is the symbol of the

American Humanist Association.

The "H" is for "Human" and "Humanist."

 


The Fellowship of Humanity is an Affiliate

of the

American Humanist Association


 
 

Bibliography
of Books on
Religious Humanism

The Humanist Way:  An Introduction to Ethical Humanist Religion

          Edward L. Ericson
 

The Philosophy of Humanism

          Corlis Lamont
 

In the Absence of God:  Religious Humanism as Spiritual Journey

          with special reference to Julian Huxley

          John H. Morgan
 

Reason and Reverence:  Religious Humanism for the 21st Century

          William R. Murry
 

American Religious Humanism

          Mason Olds
 

Humanism:  The New Religion

          Charles Francis Potter
 

Humanism

          Curtis W. Reese
 

Making the Manifesto:  The Birth of Religious Humanism

          William F. Schulz
 

The Genesis of a Humanist Manifesto

          Edwin H. Wilson


 

 

 

 
 
 

Living Bylaws
 

 

 


Living ByLaws


2008

 

of
 

THE FELLOWSHIP OF HUMANITY

 

 

aka
 

 

Humanist  Hall

 

 

A  NON-PROFIT  RELIGIOUS  CORPORATION
 

of the State of California

 

 

 

 

Revisions as of 2008
 

 

The Fellowship of Humanity was first incorporated under the laws of the State of California on January 28, 1935, under the name of the “Church of Humanity” (Corporation No. 161298), the change of name to “The Fellowship of Humanity” being included in amendments to the Articles of Incorporation filed February 8, 1938.


 

 

 


 

INTRODUCTION

 

 

1)     Older ByLaws:

 These ByLaws of The Fellowship of Humanity, (familiarly known as “Humanist Hall”) shall be the rules of order under which The Fellowship of Humanity shall operate as of September 2008.  They are a re-visioning of an older set of ByLaws, “Constitution and ByLaws of The Fellowship of Humanity,” the origin of which is lost in time but which probably dates from as early as 1938.

 

 

2)     Spirit:

 

         The spirit of the older ByLaws -- providing both the greatest possible security for the continuance of The Fellowship and the broadest possible democratic process for the freedom of The Fellowship -- shall be followed in these present ByLaws.

 

A)    Simplicity:

 There shall be another dimension to the spirit of these ByLaws:   reassurance  that the friendly and unpretentious simplicity of The Fellowship, creating happiness for most of its Friends, shall have the highest priority at The Fellowship.  Every effort has been made to reduce bureaucracy at The Fellowship.

 

i)      Complexity:

 It must surely seem incongruous to praise simplicity in the context of a lengthy and complex nest of ByLaws!  But these ByLaws shall be intended to enable the Board of Directors to make Fellowship life simpler!  There shall be little room for confusion when so many provisions of The Fellowship are spelled out.  These ByLaws shall be for the Board of Directors to know, put into effect, refer to, and enforce in order to make Fellowship life for most Friends as clear, easy, simple, manageable, and enjoyable as possible.  Running The Fellowship is difficult for Directors; being in The Fellowship, for Friends and Visitors alike, is comparatively simple and easy.

 

ii)      Respectability:

 These ByLaws shall be respected by all Friends of The Fellowship and made accessible to any Friend.  A copy of these ByLaws shall be given to any Fellowship Friend interested in knowing them.

 

B)    Backbone:

 These ByLaws shall be intended to be the hidden backbone of The Fellowship; they are not expected to be trotted out at every opportunity to remind Friends of Fellowship rules.  They shall be mere guidelines for flexible and intelligent Directors to lean on in difficult situations.

 

 

3)     Feminine Pronouns:

 In these ByLaws the use of the male terms, “he,” “him,” and “his,” as the generic usage for referring to human beings, shall be replaced by the female “she,” “her,” and “hers.”  The male identification of human beings has had enough influence throughout Western history.  Enough is enough.

 

 

4)    Waiver of ByLaws:

 It goes without saying that if there is an extraordinary emergency at The Fellowship, one or another By-Law may have to be waived to answer the emergency situation; it goes without saying that these ByLaws, like all rules and guidelines, shall be open to a certain amount of interpretation by well-intended Fellowship Directors (human beings) who use them to operate The Fellowship; and it goes without saying that these present ByLaws are idealistic ─ all Directors can do to honor them is to make their best effort to know and enforce them.   But if these ByLaws shall prove inadequate to an emergency situation, Directors shall move The Fellowship forward in the spirit of these ByLaws if not the letter.

 

 

 

Section 1

 

NAME

 

The name of this California Non-Profit Religious Corporation is and shall be “THE FELLOWSHIP OF HUMANITY,” hereinafter referred to as “The Fellowship” and familiarly known as “Humanist Hall.”  It began its life as “The Church of Humanity.”

 


 
Section 2

 

LOCATION

 

 

1)     Two Addresses:


 The Fellowship of Humanity has two addresses, a street address and a mailing address.  It fronts on two parallel streets a block apart,  27th Street and 28th Street, and sits in the center of a single block between Telegraph Avenue and Broadway.

 

A)    Street Address:


The Fellowship building fronts on  27th  Street where The Fellowship’s street address is:  390  27th Street, Midtown Oakland, between Telegraph and Broadway, below Pill Hill.

 

B)     Mailing Address:


The Fellowship yard fronts on  28th  Street where the mailbox is placed and where the official Fellowship mailing address is:  411  28th Street, Oakland, California, 94609.  All mail to The Fellowship shall be addressed to this mailing address or risk being returned by the Post Office.

 

 

2)     Central Location:

         The Fellowship of Humanity is centrally located for all the San Francisco Bay Area and especially the East Bay being on a highway exit, 27th Street, only two blocks from Highway 980 which quickly leads to Richmond and Vallejo in the north, San Leandro and San Jose in the south, Walnut Creek and Concord in the east, and San Francisco and San Rafael in the west.

 


 


PREAMBLE

 

 

Section 3

 

MISSION

 

 

Mission:

 

In short, the Mission of the Fellowship of Humanity shall be to develop a progressive, green, spiritual, enquiring, responsible, and Humanist church community that is also proud to serve progressive activist and oppressed minority persons and organizations at large.

Integral to the Mission of The Fellowship shall be:  to help raise up the struggling spirits, to help lift up the heavy hearts, to help improve the threatened welfare, and to help achieve the thwarted aspirations of its Friends and progressive activist and oppressed minority groups and persons of  Oakland and the surrounding Bay Area.  In order to accomplish this, The Fellowship must itself be functioning and flourishing.  It cannot help others if it is not sustainable itself.  Therefore, the Mission of The Fellowship of Humanity shall also be to function and flourish.

 

 

Givers and takers:

 So its Mission shall necessarily also be to become and remain a compassionate, righteous, sustainable, diverse, friendly, generous, attractive, expansive, serviceable, and valuable progressive Oakland organization:  this is strength.  In order to accomplish its Mission and serve others, The Fellowship of Humanity shall fill itself and surround itself with the givers among humanity;  and it shall void itself of, and keep at bay, the takers.  Any organization is only as good as its people.  The Fellowship of Humanity shall be chuck full of givers.

 

 

Umbrella:
 

Because The Fellowship of Humanity shall serve the broader progressive activist and oppressed minority communities, it shall be an umbrella organization under which all progressive activist and oppressed minority groups and persons can network together.  Consequently, The Fellowship shall provide infrastructure at Humanist Hall for progressive activists and oppressed minority peoples. The Fellowship shall not pit one group against another or play favorites with one or another group.  It shall find ways to serve all progressive activist and oppressed minority groups and persons who need The Fellowship.  Its Mission shall be to encourage them all to BE and DO their best and discourage suspicion and strife between them.

           

          


 
Section 4

 

PURPOSES

 

 

1)      Principles:
 

The Purpose of The Fellowship of Humanity, stated in short, shall be to strive to stick hard and fast to nine principles:  Sharing, Simplicity, Diversity, Public Service, Environmentalism, Local and Global Citizenship, Progressive Activism, Heart, and Integrity.

 

The Fellowship:

 

shares its resources, including the human resources of kindness, comfort, inspiration, support, and insight;  and it regularly shares its food, drink, transportation, internet access, audio-video services, communication services, and space in its Humanist Hall;

 

simplifies its processes and operations, both manual work and paper work, and eschews the complications and exploitations of property and ownership;  it aspires toward a human-scale culture, less stressful, less demanding, more comfortable, more humanitarian;

 

welcomes diverse progressive activist and oppressed minority organizations and persons;  it insists on variegated programs and events, refusing to allow them to be monopolistically dominated;

 

serves critical needs of East Bay communities especially by providing an affordable meeting Hall, performance and festivity space, cultural center, and community center;  it is assuredly available for neighbors on all sides whether for celebrations, like an anniversary, or emergencies, like a death in the family;

 

aspires toward PERMACULTURE, which means helping the environment by providing only organic produce, products, and refreshments for consumption and for cleaning the Hall;  it also means cultivating native plants in its gardens and back yard;

 

advocates for basic humanitarianism being taken up in Oakland and across the world;  it endeavors to act both locally and globally in ways that will advance humanitarian, environmental, and progressive goals;

 

embraces and helps progressive causes especially by providing infrastructure that they need to be effective;  it hosts progressive programs of its own and promotes and publicizes progressive events taking place in Humanist Hall;  it teaches by example cooperative or socially responsible economics;

 

encourages Heart in all people it influences;  it boosts people close to it to have heart and take heart; having heart is to listen and have ─ and act on ─ compassion, empathy, and concern for others;  taking heart is to have courage and not lose hope;

 

has the INTEGRITY to stand up for these principles through all circumstances, whether adverse or abundant;  it keeps its processes honest, uncorrupted, and sound and aspires toward an undivided, united Fellowship of progressive Humanist and Humanitarian givers among humanity.

 

2)      CREED:

The Creed of The Fellowship of Humanity shall be the sentence quoted from Thomas Paine that appears on the lower Fellowship banner that hangs above the stage of Humanist Hall.  It reads:  The World is my Country and To Do Good is my Religion.

 

3)     Charter:

 The Charter of The Fellowship of Humanity shall be:  :  to pursue the philosophical quests and fill the social and spiritual needs of Humanists and those who seek to be Humanists; to serve all groups and persons not served by corporate capitalism and the predatory banking system.   To fulfill this Charter, The Fellowship shall:

 

A)    Offer a Spirituality and Church without Deities,  Supernatural Ideas, and Superstition.

 The Fellowship shall be an alternative church for non-theistic Humanist people who eschew traditional religions.  It shall make every effort to fill human needs that traditional religions fill, without buying into traditional religious beliefs.  Fellowship Humanists, philosophical compassionate, and progressive people of high character, shall find social support, connection with nature, hope in understanding, and faith in the goodness of life and humanity in the fullness of relationships with one another, the environment, the earth, and all good people.  They shall be desirous of expanding the philosophy of Humanism to incorporate a spirituality and ethics appropriate to living sustainably within a relevant environment and the ecology of the earth.  Fellowship Humanists shall make every effort to build a Humanist Church that exemplifies a cooperative community lifestyle that rounds out Humanist lives it touches at the same time that it is mindful of the needs of the earth and all life forms.

 

B)    Offer Progressive  Activist and Oppressed Minority Groups Infrastructure for their Activities.

 

i)      Infrastructure:

 Humanist Hall shall be an affordable meeting and festivity space for low-income progressive activist groups and oppressed minority communities.  It shall be especially reserved for progressive political, cultural, or spiritual purposes.  The progressive community at large and oppressed minority groups shall be especially welcome to celebrate or otherwise mark the big moments of their lives:  births, birthdays, coming of age, weddings, anniversaries, graduations, funerals, memorials, rallies, victories, historic meetings, important benefits, study clubs, spiritual ceremonies, and so on.  To this end, The Fellowship shall accept modest donations from these groups for the use of its Humanist Hall.

 

ii)     Sacred Space:

 Humanist Hall and its Grounds shall be a sacred space especially reserved for The Fellowship and progressive and oppressed minority persons and communities at large.  Humanist Hall shall be a haven, center, and platform for The Fellowship and progressive and oppressed minority persons and groups.  Progressive communities and persons extend from progressive activist, protest, reform, charitable, educational, and business organizations to progressive study groups.  Oppressed minority communities and persons extend from ethnic, religious, racial, cultural, gender, and outcast organizations to former prisoners.  The Fellowship of Humanity shall be dedicated to serving the needs of both these communities.

 

iii)   Labor-Friendly Hall:

 Humanist Hall shall be a labor-friendly Hall and The Fellowship of Humanity shall offer a work environment desirable to laborers ─  as long as the laborers remain within the progressive activist or oppressed minority communities.  Human effort on a worthwhile task, chore, job, or project; with a worthwhile team, organization, or movement; behind a worthwhile craft, work of art, or vision ─ right livelihood ─ shall be regarded at The Fellowship as the most valuable treasure on Earth after Nature herself.  The decision as to what counts as worthwhile shall rest with the Board of Directors.  Because The Fellowship supports progressive activism and progressive laborers, any such activist or laborer cleaning up the building and the grounds, and working on the building, the grounds, the administration, or the organization of The Fellowship, whether for pay or volunteer, shall be richly encouraged and well respected.  A laborer for The Fellowship shall receive the highest hourly pay that The Fellowship shall afford; she shall choose her jobs and work at her own pace; she shall choose the tools and materials to work with within the constraints of the job and its budget; she shall work under a minimum of supervision; she shall make as many decisions relating to her job, in conjunction with Directors of The Fellowship, as possible.

 

 

4)      Independence:

The Fellowship of Humanity shall remain an independent Humanist Church.  The Fellowship shall NOT be beholden to any outside person(s) or organization(s);  it shall not be a chapter, branch, section, subsidiary, department, division, subdivision, or part of any organization(s) whatsoever, with one exception:  it shall remain affiliated with the American Humanist Association (AHA).   

i)     AHA Affiliation:

 The Fellowship shall continue its affiliation with the American Humanist Association which began with the founding of The Fellowship.  It shall behoove The Fellowship, known as the first and oldest affiliate of the American Humanist Association, to honor this tradition and retain its affiliation with the AHA.  With this one exception, The Fellowship shall NOT belong to, be beholden to, or merge with any other organization whatsoever.

 

ii)     Umbrella:

 The Fellowship shall strive to embrace EVERY progressive organization and never pit one against another.  Without taking sides with ANY (except the AHA), The Fellowship shall support ALL progressive organizations and persons insofar as it is able.  It shall itself be an umbrella organization, serving ALL progressive activities and persons, and network them together to help build the broad progressive movement.

 

 

5)      Traditions:

 Three traditions of The Fellowship of Humanity shall be ever honored at The Fellowship through the generations because The Fellowship was founded in order to create these traditions and it fought so hard in order to continue them.  The three traditions are: Humanism, Humanist Church, and EPIC Socialism.  In this New Millennium these three traditions shall be updated to:  Progressive Spiritual Humanism, Eco-Humanist Church, and Cooperative Economics ─ Socially Responsible Economics as opposed to corporate capitalism and predatory banking.

 

A)    Humanism:

Humanism shall be the first tradition of The Fellowship.  The Fellowship was founded by a rogue group of atheist and Humanist Unitarians, led by Reverend A. D. Faupell, a Unitarian minister who split off from the First Unitarian Church of Oakland (on 14th Street and Castro) ─ a church too theistic for Humanist Unitarians.  This was in the earliest days of Humanism when Secular Humanism was just being conceived as a viable philosophy/religion.  A Humanist Manifesto was created in 1933, and The Fellowship was started as an organization in 1934 (though it was not incorporated by the State of California until 1935).  The creation of Secular Humanism as a separate philosophy/religion was a long, hard struggle among atheist Unitarians in the 1920s and 1930s.  The Fellowship of Humanity was an early, arduous accomplishment of Unitarian atheists who were founders of the Humanist movement ─ beginning a proud tradition of being Humanist that shall be honored at The Fellowship in order to remember its hard-won origin as a home for the earliest Humanists.

 

B)            Church:

Church shall be the second tradition of The Fellowship.  The Fellowship was and is officially a Humanist Church on record with the State of California.  The Fellowship went to court in 1957 to prove itself a Church ─ against gainsayers who denounced Secular Humanism as irreligious.  The Fellowship won the day in court.  The religion of The Fellowship was declared by the court to be Secular Humanism.  The Fellowship’s famous court battle was a long, hard struggle for The Fellowship to regain its title, reputation, and dignity as a Humanist Church, as it was intended to be when it was founded in 1934.  The Fellowship enjoys being one of very few Humanist Churches, having the same status in their localities that all churches have.  The Fellowship’s tradition of being a church shall be honored at The Fellowship in order to remember its hard-won struggles to maintain its church status while remaining atheist, Humanist, and socialist.

 

The Fellowship of Humanity acquired its present building and grounds from the Central Lutheran Church by way of funds coming from J. George Kullmer.  Out of generosity, he gave the present building and grounds, which he had bought from the Lutherans, to The Fellowship of Humanity in 1941 so that it could become the one and only Humanist Church and EPIC flagship.  So The Fellowship of Humanity building (Humanist Hall) was already a church building from day one of its existence.

 

C)    Cooperative Economics:

 Cooperative Economics, or socially responsible economics that is anti-corporate capitalism and anti-predatory banking, shall be the third tradition of The Fellowship.  The brilliant and charismatic Unitarian minister, Reverend Faupell, is key to The Fellowship’s origin.  Faupell was not only a Humanist and a Reverend but a Socialist.  He was an ardent follower of Upton Sinclair’s famous movement and campaign, End Poverty in California (EPIC).  Upton Sinclair was the Democratic Party’s candidate for Governor of California in 1934.  Upton Sinclair’s socialist pamphlet, EPIC, became the platform of his campaign for Governor.  The basic idea of the EPIC struggle was that socialism, state operation of crucial industries, would end poverty and end the Great Depression manifested in California.  EPIC would have turned California’s idle farmlands and factories into workers’ self-help cooperatives.  Even though Upton Sinclair lost the race for Governor of California and his EPIC program dissipated, his ideas were not lost on Reverend Faupell.  A. D. Faupell remained an EPIC socialist and spearheaded a campaign of his own to carry on the EPIC vision in his own way.  He planned to establish a string of influential churches throughout California, the entire network being called “The Church of Humanity” ─ a Humanist, Socialist alternative to a Christian denomination, as for example “The Methodist Church.”  This is what is referred to in the Title Page of these present ByLaws:  a group of progressive churches, unique in their Humanism and Socialism, carrying forward the EPIC ideals.  However, it happens that The Fellowship of Humanity remains the one and only Church in Reverend Faupell’s envisioned string of churches.  He died too soon.  The Fellowship of Humanity began life as the EPIC flagship:  progressive, revolutionary, and brave ─ beginning a proud tradition of advocating cooperative or socially responsible economics that shall be honored at The Fellowship in order to remember its hard-won socialist nature from day one of its existence.

 

 

6)     Change:

 The three traditions of The Fellowship of Humanity, Humanism, Humanist Church, and EPIC Socialism, while cherished and honored, shall not be adhered to rigidly and insufferably. Definitions, not to mention human reality and needs, change over time.  The Humanism of yesterday, relevant mostly to intellectuals and academics, need not dictate what the Humanism of today shall be like;  the Socialist movement of the Great Depression need not dictate what a cooperative economy of today ─ with non-competitive production and trade and non-predatory banks ─ shall be like;  and what counts as a Church in a by-gone century, dependent on books and orators, need not dictate what shall count as a Church today, in the New Millennium.  While honoring its three traditions, The Fellowship of Humanity shall continue to seek its own way in the world as a Humanist Church and as infrastructure and sacred space for all peoples in the progressive movement advocating cooperative or socially responsible economics.