I have been toying with the idea of joining the American Humanist Association for quite some time but I was hesitant to meet new people and pretty leading a monastic life. So I started reading up on Humanism and finally built up the courage to joining AHA. There is a local chapter (interestingly, the meetings are held in a church but I spoke to the convener and he told me that it was done in a sense of irony) and I will be meeting them every second Wednesday. Basically it is to discuss about progression of human values, but my reasons for finally joining an association is purely selfish: I longed for a company having intelligent discussions. I have never met anybody who has been a freethinker after Honey, Donut, and Fatboy left so life was pretty much miserable. Something which influenced me a lot too was this book by Richard Dawkins, The God Delusion and his documentary “The Root of all Evil?” So I encourage whoever might be reading this to take a look at American Humanist Association, where there are no penalties for believing in Reason.
Congratulations.
Come and visit our local group’s site at http://www.HFSD.info
Do you have the Morains’ book “Humanism as the Next Step”? I think it is the best survey of what Humanism in America is about, and it’s short and easy to read.