Humanism
Humanism is a philosophical and ethical stance that emphasizes the value and agency of human beings, individually and collectively, and generally prefers critical thinking and evidence (rationalism and empiricism) over acceptance of dogma or superstition. The meaning of the term "humanism" has fluctuated according to the successive intellectual movements which have identified with it. The term was coined by theologian Friedrich Niethammer at the beginning of the 19th century to refer to a system of education based on the study of classical literature ("classical humanism"). Generally, however, humanism refers to a perspective that affirms some notion of human freedom and progress. It views humans as solely responsible for the promotion and development of individuals and emphasizes a concern for man in relation to the world.
Larry Jones (humanist)
Although he was born into an atheist family, Jones did not discover humanism until the mid 1980s, when he became involved in the Capital District Humanist Society, a local humanist group in Albany, and the Council for Secular Humanism. Jones later served on the CDHS board and as director from 1998 to 2002. In 1999 Jones founded the Institute for Humanist Studies, a humanist think-tank based in Albany, NY, in order to promote a greater understanding of humanist values. The IHS grant program has also provided hundreds of thousands of dollars in grant funding to humanist projects. Both the Secular Student Alliance and Camp Quest were organizations that benefitted from these grants. August Brunsman, executive director of the Secular Student Alliance, states that Jones was “essentially one of the first donors to significantly support the SSA,” and that the IHS grant was vital to the survival of the organization. Funding from the IHS also helped Camp Quest grow and become more professionalized.