Books and other resources

Online resources

Our online course provides a fantastic introduction to the humanist approach to life’s big questions.

The Humanist Heritage website reveals the hidden history of humanist thought and action and its influence on the modern world.

Student handouts

Our What is humanism? handout is designed to help teachers to explore humanism with their students.  We offer two versions, which you can download here, for primary and secondary students. We also offer a primary handout in Welsh, and a secondary handout in Welsh. If you would like to request printed copies, you can do so here.

Support your local bookshop by buying your books through Bookshop.org.

For introductory books on humanism try…

• The Little Book of Humanism (Little, Brown) by Alice Roberts and Andrew Copson – an accessible introduction to humanism packed with humanist quotes and ideas
• What is humanism for? (Bristol) by Richard Norman – a great short introduction to humanism
• Understanding Humanism (Routledge) by Andrew Copson, Luke Donnellan, and Richard Norman – a deeper explanation of the beliefs and values of humanism as well as personal experiences of living as a humanist today
• What I Believe: Humanist Ideas and Philosophies to Live By (Piatkus Books) edited by Andrew Copson – a collection of interviews with humanist actors, artists, activists and more
• The Black Practice of Disbelief (Beacon Press) by Anthony B. Pinn
• Humanism: Beliefs and Practices (Sussex) by Jeaneane Fowler
• The Wiley Blackwell Handbook of Humanism (Wiley Blackwell) edited by Andrew Copson and AC Grayling (two chapters can be downloaded here: What is Humanism? and Life without meaning?)
• Humanist Anthology (Rationalist Press Association) edited by Margaret Knight (an excellent source of quotations and humanist thought from Confucius and the Ancient Greeks to the 20th century)
• On the Humanists UK website you’ll find two free downloadable ebooks, which offer a humanist approach to life’s big questions: Living Well by Richard Docwra and Being Good by Richard Norman.
• You can also find out about Humanists UK’s Andrew Copson’s recommended best books on humanism here.

Other books

• The Humanist Movement in Modern Britain (Bloomsbury) by Callum Brown, David Nash, and Charlie Lynch – tells the history of Humanists UK and organised humanism
• Ninety Humanists and the Ethical Transition of Britain (Bloomsbury) by Callum Brown – presents the case for how a number of humanists changed the ethical centre ground during the 20th century
• Enlightenment Now: The Case for Reason, Science, Humanism and Progress (Allen Lane) by Steven Pinker – describes the impact of humanism on human progress
• Humankind: A Hopeful History (Bloomsbury) by Ruger Bregman – provides a very positive account of the positive side of human nature
• Secularism: A Very Short Introduction (OUP) by Andrew Copson – describes the core features of secularism and the case that is made for how it supports living well together in a diverse society
• Is Nothing Sacred (Routledge) edited by Ben Rogers – humanist essays on the value of life, art, the environment, and freedom see
• Religion and Atheism (Routledge) edited by Richard Norman and Anthony Carroll – a collection of essays on dialogue between the religious and non-religious
• A Theory of Moral Education (Routledge) by Michael Hand – a humanist perspective on teaching about morality
• The War for Children’s Minds (Routledge) by Stephen Law – a humanist perspective on education
• A Short History of Truth: Consolations for a Post-Truth World (Quercus) by Julian Baggini

For further reading that has influenced humanist thinking, we would recommend exploring the writings of Epicurus, Lucretius, David Hume, Thomas Paine, Mary Wollstonecraft, John Stuart Mill, Charles Darwin, George Eliot, EM Forster, Bertrand Russell, AJ Ayer, John Rawls, Carl Sagan, and AC Grayling.

For educators looking to encourage philosophical, critical, and creative thinking and questioning, we’d also recommend…

• The Little Book of Thunks (Crown House Publishing) by Ian Gilbert
• Games, Stories, and Poems for Thinking (Nash Pollock Publishing) by Robert Fisher
• The If Machine: Philosophical Enquiry in the Classroom (Continuum) by Peter Worley (and other books by the Philosophy Foundation)

Books on humanism for children

• What is humanism? How do I live without a god? And other big questions for kids (Wayland) by Michael Rosen and Annemarie Young (ages 8-14)
• Belonging and Believing: My Humanist Family (Books at Press) by Gill Vaisey (ages 4-7) – learn about the lived experiences of a young boy and his humanist family
• The Young Atheist’s Handbook by Alom Shaha (ages 11-16) – a personal memoir

For more books for children, including recommended fiction, books to support discussions about death, and non-fiction on science, philosophy, and other themes see our Recommended Books for Children.