Ethical Culture/Humanism was founded by Felix Adler in 1876. Ethical Culture is a humanistic, religious, and educational movement working to create a better world through ethical actions. We are dedicated to the ideal that the highest value is human worth and that our relationships to each other are of greatest ethical concern.
Our commitment is to the worth and dignity of the individual and to treating each human being so as to bring out the best in him or her. Members join together in ethical societies to assist each other in developing ethical ideas and ideals, to celebrate life’s joys, and support each other through life’s crises. Ethical Culture is religious humanism as defined by Fred Edwords of the American Humanist Association.
Ethical Culture contains little creed or dogma. Its basic values and principles can be found in the “Eight Commitments of Ethical Culture.” We force no one to subscribe even to these, but the mainstream of Ethical Culture endorses these commitments.
Today there are 22 Ethical Culture/Humanist Societies nationwide. Each society is a member of the American Ethical Union which provides support and guidance to the member societies. The American Ethical Union’s home page also has more information about Ethical Culture in the U.S. as well as the history of what was called “the movement.”
