This is the story of People of the State of Illinois ex rel. Vashti McCollum v. Board of Education of School District No. 71, Champaign County, Illinois, et al. The action arose as a challenge to a program of sectarian religious classes held in public school buildings on school time. Today the chief significance of the McCollum case is that it was the first of series of cases brought under the First and Fourteenth Amendments to the U.S. Constitution where a practice by a local or state governmental body was actually held to violate the First Amendment's "establishment of religion" clause.

In this updated and expanded edition of his Ancient Myth and Modern Man, religious scholar Larue explores the power of myth in today’s society. New material shows how religious fundamentalists, charismatics, faith healers, and religious psychics try to draw upon the myths of the ancient past to validate their claims.

In today’s era of radical right-wing politics, we must never forget how things were during the turbulent McCarthy era. Corliss Lamont lived through it and reveals how Congress trampled on American freedoms. He includes his own battles with Senator Joseph McCarthy, the State Department, the CIA, the FBI, and the U.S. Postal Service. His landmark court cases continue to buttress the rights of us all.

Foreword by Bertrand Russell

Gerald A. Larue chronicles the significant role played by freethought and humanism in both ancient and modern societies and shows how history reveals religion to be a constant persecutor of all who question its dogmas. This study is a celebration of the people who made possible the liberties we enjoy today.

The latest edition of this refreshingly positive book, celebrated for its gender neutral language, draws from great philosophers and scientists throughout the ages to discuss how humanism fits into the big picture. Lamont’s optimistic spirit comes through loud and clear as he assures readers that “this life is all and enough.”

Humanism as the Next Step by Lloyd and Mary Morain is a brilliant down-to-earth guide to the Humanist philosophy. It is totally positive and deeply inspiring, written in a style that is easy to read and to understand. This book gives a great introductory overview for the general reader, but even more, its joyful presentation will surely be a delight for the newly aware Humanist who's just discovering that there's actually a name for the earth-oriented, human-focused, non-religious lifestance which they have chosen. When one rejects supernatural religious belief and follows the logic of their own reasoning, there may be no comfort or reassurance at all in this position; quite the contrary, one's stance might alienate or antagonize significant others, and cause one to feel isolated. This book is a joyous affirmation of the Humanist philosophy! How comforting to know that there are millions of other Humanists out there! It will serve also to reaffirm the convictions of even a long-time Humanist. And because it's jam-packed with important historical references: names, dates, descriptions and documents, so handy, right at the fingertips, every Humanist leader/speaker/teacher, as well, will find it indispensable. -- Beth Lamont

Becoming More Fully Human approaches Humanism primarily as a way of life rather than as a philosophical perspective but also includes some discussion of philosophical foundations.  Its purpose is to present Humanism as a basis for living in a meaningful and fulfilling way which enables us to become more fully human.  Describing Humanism in positive terms, it emphasizes what Humanism affirms rather than what it denies. It presents religious Humanism as a personally satisfying and morally responsible way

to live, giving our lives meaning and purpose, hope and joy.  Most importantly for many readers, it offers practical advice about the qualities that enable one to live well and explores Humanism’s resources for living ethically and dealing constructively with common human problems and personal crises.

This collection of hour-long lectures, delivered by John H. Dietrich in the 1920s, provides an inspiring look into the formative years of humanism and why it remains so potent today. The enduring value of his thinking is no more clear than when he answers the question posed in his title lecture by saying, “It would simply mean that the whole of humankind had agreed to work under the banner that reads, ‘A better world for better people through better cooperation.’”

In a provocative and positive response to the “new atheists,” the humanist chaplain at Harvard makes a bold claim for what nontheists do share and believe. And a worldview is offered that gets to the heart of humanism and its positive advocacy of tolerance, community, morality, and good without having to rely on a higher being.

Bringing discoveries in anthropology and evolutionary psychology to bear, the former ambassador to Nepal and the chair of the American Humanist Association’s Advisory Board makes the case here for social evolution in a humanist direction.

To tell the story of the document that crystallized the tenets of modern humanism is to tell the story of the origins of the humanist movement itself. This book thus chronicles the creation and impact of the first Humanist Manifesto as well as initial efforts toward its revision—told by one of the people who made it all happen.

In this deeply revealing and engaging autobiography, Herb Silverman tells his iconoclastic life story. He takes the reader from his childhood as an Orthodox Jew in Philadelphia, where he stopped fasting on Yom Kippur to test God's existence, to his adult life in the heart of the Bible Belt, where he became a legendary figure within America's secular activist community and remains one of its most beloved leaders.

Never one to shy from controversy, Silverman relates many of his high-profile battles with the Religious Right, including his decision to run for governor of South Carolina to challenge the state's constitutional provision that prohibited atheists from holding public office.

Candidate Without a Prayer offers an intimate portrait of a central player in today's increasingly heated culture wars. It will be sure to charm both believers and nonbelievers alike, and will lead all those who care about the separation of church and state to give thanks.

Children have the right to know the truth about how life evolved on earth.

Pepper’s Special Wings shows children aged 4-7 how Charles Darwin’s evolutionary theory of natural selection works, using easy words and colorful pictures they can understand, but based on an actual scientific case study.

Children will also identify with Pepper’s social struggle, since self-esteem, self-image, bullying, and being teased are recurring childhood themes. Children will see that sometimes being different is what makes them amazing!

A special section for parents gives background information and suggestions for research to share with their children as they mature.

The Prince of War: Billy Graham’s Crusade for a Wholly Christian Empire is the first biography of the world’s most famous preacher to expose his unabashed support for wars from Korea to Iraq. Author Cecil Bothwell’s extensive research in the Billy Graham archives, the Library of Congress, and presidential libraries reveals how Graham advocated genocide in Vietnam and told President George H. W. Bush that Saddam was the Antichrist.

This informative pamphlet tells the fascinating story of the life and ideas of the Unitarian minister who, shortly before World War I, became the person most responsible for giving modern humanism its name and clarifying its major tenets.

Faithful Catholic priest become atheist psychologist shows how he himself shucked and how the reader can enjoy shucking childhood prejudices and superstitions to thrill to rational friendliness in our pluralistic planetary society. This book could have been titled The Book of Tolerance. The psychologist author recognizes that each of us learned a lot of traditions and beliefs when too young to evaluate them. Such prejudices are very deeply ingrained into the subconscious. Therefore they are often most difficult to overcome even in adult years and with further experience and education. (Dr. Uhl was already in his 30s when he finally got free; many people never get free.) Each of us grows up and learns to analyze and think critically at different speeds. Even in the same family one sibling may remain highly opinionated and prejudiced, stuck in the past, while another thoughtfully unlearns childhood myths and becomes a broadminded adult. Therefore, tolerance of such differing rates of learning and unlearning is necessary for civilized peace good friendships in a pluralistic society. Such patient understanding is less difficult when one follows the new Golden Rule: Treat others as you would reasonably want and expect them to treat you if your roles were reversed. The thrilling details of an exciting journey with our planetary neighbors are clearly laid out in the little book, Out of God's Closet: This Priest Psychologist Chooses Friendly Atheism. A generous sprinkling of earthy humor richly seasons this revolutionary book for enjoyable spiritual nourishment.

Here the internationally famous exiled physician, feminist, humanist, human rights activist, and novelist provides her memoir of growing up female in the Muslim world. Published in 2002 to public acclaim across the spectrum, from Elle magazine to USA Today, it tells the gripping and dramatic story of her early life in Bangladesh, the nation that was once East Pakistan.

Questions About God will be Humanist Press's first collection of humanist-oriented poetry.

Available Summer, 2013

This book presents an exceptional and stimulating view of Judaism and what it means to be Jewish. Instead of basing his arguments on blind faith and quotations of sacred texts the author argues for a Judaism oriented by humanistic values and personal freedom. For almost two thousand years, historical circumstance has made being Jewish a matter of fate. Now it is becoming more and more a matter of individual choice. Judaism for Everyone ... without Dogma is an effort to contribute to the advancement of a Judaism that is based on freedom not on fear or blind acceptance of authority. Tradition and collective memory are raw materials that each generation must reinterpret and in which new meanings are found. Individuals that value their capacity to decide what is right and wrong cannot accept ready-made formulas. For them the question is not what Judaism is but rather how to find their own way to be a Jew. In a series of short chapters the reader will travel through Jewish history from biblical times to our days. He will find that the making of the Jewish people was always influenced by other cultures and through this long history different models of Judaism developed. The author shows how Judaism survived by reinventing itself by adapting to new circumstances and cultural change. The more open the local society was the more diverse and rich Judaism became. Diversity and pluralism do not endanger Judaism. On the contrary, it only threatens those that claim a monopoly on deciding what Judaism should be. The second part of the book presents a panorama of the different ways that in modern times the Jews absorbed the cultural and political values of the Enlightenment, producing a pluralistic culture. From Spinoza to Einstein, from Freud to Buber, from Kafka to Amos Oz a vibrant Jewish culture has developed which is based on reason and humanistic values, not on dogma. It is this culture which has become the common ground for most Jews today.

In this updated and expanded edition of his Ancient Myth and Modern Man, religious scholar Larue explores the power of myth in today’s society. New material shows how religious fundamentalists, charismatics, faith healers, and religious psychics try to draw upon the myths of the ancient past to validate their claims.

The eminent ancient Roman statesman and philosopher analyzes the positions of the Stoic, Epicurean, and Academic schools on the existence and nature of the gods, and whether they act in the interests of humankind. Then various methods for divining the future are debunked, including astrology, which receives the classic treatment.