The Ethical Society is a fellowship of individuals and families – a deeply meaningful nontheistic humanist community. We celebrate and support each other. We enjoy working together. The ethical growth of our members, our community, and the world are our primary concerns.
The Ethical Culture movement, founded in 1876 by Felix Adler as an alternative to traditional religions, is dedicated to deed before creed. Our movement established the country’s first Settlement Houses and the Visiting Nurse Association. The Philadelphia Ethical Society helped initiate free legal aid for the poor and served as a sanctuary to European refugees during World War II. The Society was founded in 1885 and was, in turn, a founding member of our national organization, the American Ethical Union. With twenty Ethical Societies in the United States, our guiding principle remains the primacy of ethics in daily life. Today, our ethical work includes social justice work with an interfaith coalition, POWER, and a summer camp providing environmental education to children from low-income backgrounds.
Ethical Humanism works to honor the dignity and worth of each person. Each person is unique and can foster uniqueness in others. Humankind is a part of nature. By paying respect to all that surrounds us, we create the feelings that some call religious, spiritual, sacred, or holy. We understand that the welfare of our natural environment greatly depends upon responsible human effort.
Ethical Humanists have faith in the transformation of the human condition through personal and community efforts. We believe that a good person is a person learning to become more sensitive to the joy and suffering of others. Ethical Humanists believe that meaning and purpose are found through the process of redefining values and through acts of loving kindness.
We seek members who embrace ethical ideals and work to achieve them. If this is the kind of community you have been looking for, we welcome your application.