Famous Humanists include some of the most important scientists and physicians of modern times. As well as leading writers, artists, politicians, actors and entertainers. In a variety of ways, Humanists have made a lasting contribution to human well-being.
Margaret Atwood, Writer, Poet & Activist
Margaret Atwood, Writer, Poet & Activist
Humanists are committed to the protection and promotion of human rights and equality. These rights represent shared values rooted in our common humanity and our shared human needs. Through them, we can advance a better world for everyone”.
Margaret Atwood is a Canadian writer, poet, novelist, critic, essayist, inventor, teacher, and environmental activist. She is famous for her prose fiction and feminist views. Atwood combines literature and activism to encourage critical thinking about religion. She promotes freedom of thought, scepticism, and Humanism.
David Baddiel, Comedian, Presenter & Author
“God did not make man in his own image, but the other way round. What ‘God’ actually demonstrates is the power of the human imagination. And it is this power, not divine agency, which will always transform our world for the better”.
David Lionel Baddiel is an English comedian, presenter, screenwriter, author, and singer. He gained fame for his early work with Rob Newman in The Mary Whitehouse Experience and later partnered with Frank Skinner. He has published nine successful children’s books and recently released the Sunday Times bestselling non-fiction book Jews Don’t Count. He became a patron of Humanists UK for his exploration of the human condition through the arts.
Kristen Bell, Actor, Singer, Producer & Activist
“I’m of no religion. I’m a humanist. Community building makes you realise how to walk in someone else’s shoes, how to recognise empathy, and where it exists…and to figure out you’re not alone”.
Kristen Bell, originally from suburban Detroit, is an Actor, Singer, Producer and Activist. At age 24, she won the title role in Veronica Mars (2004-2007). This led to work in films like Forgetting Sarah Marshall, Couples Retreat and Get Him to the Greek, as well as a leading voice role in the Disney megahit Frozen. A committed humanitarian and fierce advocate for women’s rights, she is a Global Advocate for the United Nations Women's Peace & Humanitarian Fund (WPHF), where she advocates on behalf of women working on the front lines of conflict and crises to create a more peaceful and gender-equal world.
Ed Byrne, Actor & Comedian
Ed Byrne, Actor & Comedian
“A humanist believes one should live a good life, without a belief in any otherworldly or supernatural being... one can still, and should, lead a good moral life”.
Edward Cathal Byrne is an Irish actor and comedian. Ed has become a regular fixture on television and radio. He has appeared on or presented a range of shows on BBC radio, including The Unbelievable Truth and What’s So Funny. He is also a regular panellist on shows like Mock the Week and Have I Got News for You. Humanism is a subject close to his heart, “As far as I’m concerned, people are entitled to believe or not; I have no issue
“A humanist believes one should live a good life, without a belief in any otherworldly or supernatural being... one can still, and should, lead a good moral life”.
Edward Cathal Byrne is an Irish actor and comedian. Ed has become a regular fixture on television and radio. He has appeared on or presented a range of shows on BBC radio, including The Unbelievable Truth and What’s So Funny. He is also a regular panellist on shows like Mock the Week and Have I Got News for You. Humanism is a subject close to his heart, “As far as I’m concerned, people are entitled to believe or not; I have no issue whatsoever with those who are religious. However, I don’t believe religion of any kind should have a place in either schools or politics. Children shouldn’t be brought up assuming religion is fact.” He was made a patron of Humanists UK for his exploration of the human condition through the arts.
“A humanist believes one should live a good life, without a belief in any otherworldly or supernatural being... one can still, and should, lead a good moral life”.
Edward Cathal Byrne is an Irish actor and comedian. Ed has become a regular fixture on television and radio. He has appeared on or presented a range of shows on BBC radio, including The Unbelievable Truth and What’s So Funny. He is also a regular panellist on shows like Mock the Week and Have I Got News for You. Humanism is a
whatsoever with those who are religious. However, I don’t believe religion of any kind should have a place in either schools or politics. Children shouldn’t be brought up assuming religion is fact.” He was made a patron of Humanists UK for his exploration of the human condition through the arts.
subject close to his heart, “As far as I’m concerned, people are entitled to believe or not; I have no issue whatsoever with those who are religious. However, I don’t believe religion of any kind should have a place in either schools or politics. Children shouldn’t be brought up assuming religion is fact.” He was made a patron of Humanists UK for his exploration of the human condition through the arts.
Noam Chomsky, Professor & Theoretical Linguist
“Optimism is a strategy for making a better future. Because unless you believe that the future can be better, you are unlikely to step up and take responsibility for making it so.”
Professor Noam Chomsky is Institute Professor and Professor of Linguistics (Emeritus) at MIT, an institution at which he has taught since 1955. Chomsky has received honorary degrees from a vast number of universities worldwide and is a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the National Academy of Science. Chomsky has written and lectured widely on linguistics, philosophy, intellectual history, contemporary issues, international affairs and U.S. foreign policy. He is also one of the most widely quoted individuals in history; a pioneer of modern linguistics and humanist philosopher who has written lectured over many decades on issues relating to international affairs and human rights.
Richard Dawkins, Scientist & Author
Richard Dawkins, Scientist & Author
“The feeling of awed wonder that science can give us is one of the highest experiences of which the human psyche is capable. It is a deep aesthetic passion to rank with the finest that music and poetry can deliver”.
Scientist, author, and former Charles Simonyi Professor of the Public Understanding of Science at the University of Oxford. He is well respected by humanists for his brilliant and accessible writing on science and evolution and for his consistent and courageous defence of truth, science and scientific method against superstition and unreason.
Though he has been criticised by opponents as a dogmatically anti-religious “bleak materialist”, his books belie that description and reveal his awe and wonder at the beauty and intricacies of the natural world. He has also consistently opposed the existence and expansion of faith schools, arguing that it is an abuse of children’s rights to label them as Muslim, Christian, atheist etc until they have had the opportunity to think about these things and choose for themselves, or to submit them to the anti-scientific ideas of creationists.
Albert Einstein (1879-1955), Theoretical Physicist
“Without ‘ethical culture’ there is no salvation for humanity”.
Albert Einstein was a German theoretical physicist and one of history’s most famous scientists. He was also a passionate humanist, who actively supported the Ethical Culture movement in the US, was a founder member of the First Humanist Society of New York, and an Honorary Associate of the Rationalist Press Association in the UK. Einstein wrote eloquently about his philosophy, which had human possibility and fellowship at its heart. His belief in the need for humanity in science, in the application of reason and compassion to curb the dangerous excesses of human ambition, is a key part of Einstein’s legacy.
Stephen Fry, Actor, Writer and Producer
Stephen Fry, Actor, Writer and Producer
“Humanism is an approach to life which encourages ethical and fulfilling living on the basis of reason and humanity and rejects superstition and religion. The most immediate impact of living as a Humanist is that we believe this life is all there is, so what we do and the choices we make really count”.
Born in August 1957, Stephen Fry is an Actor, Writer and Producer. Fry met his future comedy collaborator Hugh Laurie at Cambridge, and his television career began soon afterwards with the broadcast of the 1981 Cambridge Footlights Revue which he had co-written with Hugh Laurie, Emma Thompson and Tony Slattery. Probably his best-known television appearances since then have been in "A Bit of Fry and Laurie"
“Humanism is an approach to life which encourages ethical and fulfilling living on the basis of reason and humanity and rejects superstition and religion. The most immediate impact of living as a Humanist is that we believe this life is all there is, so what we do and the choices we make really count”.
Born in August 1957, Stephen Fry is an Actor, Writer and Producer. Fry met his future comedy collaborator Hugh Laurie at Cambridge, and his television career began soon afterwards with the broadcast of the 1981 Cambridge Footlights Revue which he had co-written with Hugh Laurie, Emma Thompson and Tony Slattery. Probably his best-known television appearances since then have been in "A Bit of Fry and Laurie" and "Blackadder", as Jeeves in "Jeeves and Wooster", and more recently as host of the panel game "QI". His many achievements have been widely recognised and honoured. He has used his public profile to promote many causes and charities. He narrates the video series here, “That’s Humanism,” for the British Humanism Association.
and "Blackadder", as Jeeves in "Jeeves and Wooster", and more recently as host of the panel game "QI". His many achievements have been widely recognised and honoured. He has used his public profile to promote many causes and charities. He narrates the video series here, “That’s Humanism,” for the British Humanism Association.
Gene Roddenberry (1921-1991), Writer & Producer
“The strength of a civilization is not measured by its ability to fight wars, but rather by its ability to prevent them.”
Gene Roddenberry is one of the most influential yet unheralded humanists of the twentieth century. An American writer and television and film producer, he created and served as executive producer of the popular science-fiction television series Star Trek (1966–69), which spawned other television series and a string of motion pictures. Star Trek and its successor Star Trek: The Next Generation, are solidly based upon humanistic principles and ideas, with the basic message being that human beings are capable of solving their own problems rationally and that, through critical thinking and cooperative effort, humanity will progress and evolve. He believed that human beings could solve problems through reason and co-operation; that there is no need to turn to superstition or religion for help; that human understanding and intelligence will help us to develop and progress; and that the universe is a natural wonder waiting to be explored and understood. Science and rational thinking are very important in Star Trek, and he also included another humanist theme – that logic and reason are not enough on their own. The half-Vulcan Mr Spock shows this when he tries to suppress his human side and appears cold and unfeeling. Roddenberry’s message is that we need to cultivate human emotions as well as reason.
Gloria Marie Steinem, Journalist & Activist
“I always thought that “humanist” was a good word long before I understood that anyone thought it was a bad word. It seems to me that it means you believe in the great potential and the best of human beings. And since the ultra-right wing has tried so hard to make it a bad word— “humanist” has been demonized in much the same way that the word “feminist” has—it seemed especially important to identify as humanist and support humanist groups”.
Gloria Marie Steinem is an American journalist and social-political activist who emerged as a nationally recognized leader of second-wave feminism in the United States in the late 1960’s and early 1970’s. Her publications include the essay collections Outrageous Acts and Everyday Rebellions (1983) and Moving Beyond Words: Age, Rage, Sex, Power, Money, Muscles: Breaking the Boundaries of Gender (1994); Revolution from Within (1992), a work on self-esteem for women; and Marilyn (1997), about Marilyn Monroe. Steinem also wrote the memoir My Life on the Road (2015).
Gore Vidal, Writer
Gore Vidal, Writer
“There is no human problem which could not be solved if people would simply do as I advise”.
Gore Vidal was an American novelist and essayist who was as well known for his outspoken political opinions and his witty and satirical observations as he was for his irreverent and intellectually adroit fiction. He was also an actor and wrote for television, film, and the stage. He produced 25 novels, including the best-selling Burr and Myra Breckenridge, more than 200 essays and several plays. His novels and essays interrogated the social and sexual norms he
Gore Vidal, Writer
“There is no human problem which could not be solved if people would simply do as I advise”.
Gore Vidal was an American novelist and essayist who was as well known for his outspoken political opinions and his witty and satirical observations as he was for his irreverent and intellectually adroit fiction. He was also an actor and wrote for television, film, and the stage. He produced 25 novels, including the best-selling Burr and Myra Breckenridge, more than 200 essays and several plays. His novels and essays interrogated the social and
perceived as driving American life. He was heavily involved in politics, and unsuccessfully sought office twice as a Democratic Party candidate, first in 1960 to the United States House of Representatives (for New York), and later in 1982 to the United States Senate (for California). Known as a sharply intelligent advocate for individual liberty, separation of church and state, and reason and rationality, he was a lifelong advocate for progressive values. He was honorary president of the American Humanist Association from 2009 until 2012.
sexual norms he perceived as driving American life. He was heavily involved in politics, and unsuccessfully sought office twice as a Democratic Party candidate, first in 1960 to the United States House of Representatives (for New York), and later in 1982 to the United States Senate (for California). Known as a sharply intelligent advocate for individual liberty, separation of church and state, and reason and rationality, he was a lifelong advocate for progressive values. He was honorary president of the American Humanist Association from 2009 until 2012.
“There is no human problem which could not be solved if people would simply do as I advise”.
Gore Vidal was an American novelist and essayist who was as well known for his outspoken political opinions and his witty and satirical observations as he was for his irreverent and intellectually adroit fiction. He was also an actor and wrote for television, film, and the stage. He produced 25 novels, including the best-selling Burr and Myra Breckenridge, more than 200 essays and several plays. His novels and essays interrogated the social and sexual norms he perceived as driving American life. He was heavily involved in politics, and unsuccessfully sought office twice as a Democratic Party candidate, first in 1960 to the United States House of Representatives (for New York), and later in 1982 to the United States Senate (for California). Known as a sharply intelligent advocate for individual liberty, separation of church and state, and reason and rationality, he was a lifelong advocate for progressive values. He was honorary president of the American Humanist Association from 2009 until 2012.
Kurt Vonnegut (1922-2007), Author
“I am a humanist, which means, in part, that I have tried to behave decently without any expectation of rewards or punishment after I’m dead”.
Kurt Vonnegut shared the human experience with humour and wisdom in all of his novels, showing complexities within each of his flawed yet relatable characters. He was noted for his satirical novels which frequently used elements of fantasy and science fiction to highlight the horrors and ironies of 20th-century civilization. Much of Vonnegut’s work is marked by an essentially fatalistic worldview that nonetheless embraces modern humanist beliefs. In 1992, he was named Humanist of the Year by the American Humanist Association, and he became the Association’s honorary president from May 1992; a position he held through the last fifteen years of his life, lending his name and occasional written comments to the humanist cause. His Humanist of the Year Award Speech, “Why My Dog is Not a Humanist,” is full of wit and insight, and sheds light on Humanism from his viewpoint.
…. among countless others