What SHS needs to start...

1) Officials: SHS is going to need an interim Treasurer and a Secretary, until elections can be held. Volunteers needed.

2) Members: In order to create the Secular Humanist Society (SHS) we need at least 20 members, with names, signatures and matriculation numbers and £3 subscription fee.

In the making...

A UoE Secular Humanist Society (SHS) is in the making…

Our time as students at Uni should be a critical time to question the way we live, how we think and what type of society we want to spend our adult lives in. A group of UE students would like to invite you to meet, discuss and act in an environment that is freethinking, progressive and based on Humanist values. Is this your kind of group?

• Do you support secular government and an open society that guarantees Human Rights for all?
• Do you try to live an ethical and fulfilling life (without reference to gods or dogmatic texts)?
• Do you think knowledge (from science and technologies) coupled with our own reasoning gives human beings a reliable basis for decision-making?

If you answered "yes" to these questions, you might be one of the millions of humanists on Earth -- people who live meaningful, fulfilling lives based on reason and compassion for others.

Humanism (in brief)

Humanism is a philosophy of life inspired by humanity and guided by reason. It provides the basis for a fulfilling and ethical life (without religion). Humanists:

• Make sense of the world using reason, naturalism, free inquiry, creative imagination and the power of science.
• See no convincing evidence for gods, the supernatural, or life after death.
• Believe that moral values are properly founded on human empathy and scientific understanding.
• Believe we must live this life on the basis that it is the only life we'll have -- that, therefore, we must make the most of it for ourselves, each other, and our world.

A UoE Secular Humanist Society (SHS) would be an inclusive gathering of inquisitive minds, with affirmative and constructive goals. Its members will have the ultimate democratic choice as to what actions, campaigns and events the student society would host, organize and engage in. Some suggestions: Public discussions and debates, talks from invited speakers; film nights and other social gatherings. SHS would also enjoy representation at the Societies’ Council and Societies’ Executive Committee and dialogue with other Student Societies. There is also the exciting option of networking with the international community of Humanist and Humanist students worldwide.

For more information on Humanism check the websites of the Humanist Society of Scotland at http://www.humanism-scotland.org.uk or the Center for Inquiry at http://www.centerforinquiry.net

Interested send an email to shsediuni@yahoo.co.uk , leave a message in the EUSA online forum (under Society News): http://eusa.ed.ac.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?t=15467, or in the blog http://shsediuni.blogspot.com/