Humanist Society Scotland

Humanist Society Scotland We are the national charity for humanists in Scotland. We provide a range of non-religious ceremonies and campaign for a secular state.

Humanist Society Scotland seeks to represent the views of people in Scotland who wish to lead ethical and fulfilling lives guided by reason, empathy and compassion. HSS has over 15,000 members across Scotland.

Maggie Kinloch is an acclaimed theatre director and former Deputy Director of the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland. She i...
20/08/2026

Maggie Kinloch is an acclaimed theatre director and former Deputy Director of the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland. She is also a humanist celebrant, who has shared countless love stories with couples across Scotland.

In a new interview for our news blog, Maggie talks about how all her work is bound together by a love of storytelling. She'll be speaking at our Festival of Humanism in November, so get your tickets now if you like what you read!

https://www.humanism.scot/2026/08/19/humanist-society-interview-series-theatre-director-maggie-kinloch-on-telling-stories-as-a-humanist-celebrant/

Maggie Kinloch. Humanist Celebrant

19/08/2026

"God's not real and I am."

No notes,

18/08/2026

"Prayer can be more abusive than just talking to someone, because you're saying God is complicit."

What an extraordinary discussion featuring Traitors star Matty Hyndman on BBC's Scotcast. He talks openly about his experiences as a Christian missionary and his excommunication from his church following his coming out as gay.

Matty is now agnostic and campaigns to ban conversion practices. We are proud to be part of this campaign too. There are strong links between humanism and LGBT+ equality in Scotland--you can find out more about our work here:

https://www.humanism.scot/campaigns/end-conversion-practices/

13/08/2026

And today in cooked Christian-nationalist takes, a woman is "the kind of person that people come out of" and "the chief executive of the home". Both quotes courtesy of prominent US preacher Doug Wilson, who has the ear of Pete Hegseth and others in the Trump administration.

It would make for cracking satire if it wasn't so scary. This is the kind of religious bigotry that well-funded interest groups are busily trying to export to Scotland and Europe.

Stay vigilant!

Today is . We're reiterating our call to Scottish Government to make in schools opt-in rather than opt-out.Earlier th...
12/08/2026

Today is . We're reiterating our call to Scottish Government to make in schools opt-in rather than opt-out.

Earlier this year, the Scottish Government passed a law that allowed young people to opt themselves *into* religious observance but not *out* of it.

This legislation passed discrimination into law. The UN has told the Scottish Government repeatedly that compulsory religious observance contravenes children's rights. We believe young people have the right to refuse collective worship at schools, just as they have the right to participate.

Read more about our My Beliefs My Choice campaign here:

https://www.humanism.scot/campaigns/my-beliefs-my-choice/

Innit
11/08/2026

Innit

06/08/2026

Anyone for bean soup? NO I DON'T LIKE BEANS, EVERYONE STOP EATING BEAN SOUP!!

Can you think of any comparisons?

Australian comic Rhys Nicholson with some facts

We're back! Head to our events page to book your ticket for our next Festival of Humanism, in Glasgow on 14 November.We'...
06/08/2026

We're back! Head to our events page to book your ticket for our next Festival of Humanism, in Glasgow on 14 November.

We'll be talking art and ecology, religion in education, how to end conversion practices, the relationship between humanism and the performing arts, and much more, in the company of a brilliant cast of speakers, performers, and thought leaders from Scotland and beyond. Keep your eyes peeled for speaker announcements over the coming days and weeks.

Don't miss out! Book your spot!
https://www.humanism.scot/events/festival-of-humanism-2026/

05/08/2026

If you like footage of Piers Morgan being set right, you'll love this vid. Here's the magnificent astrophysicist and science communicator Neil DeGrasse Tyson explaining why Piers's belief in God doesn't add up.

Piers asks "what was there before nothing?", a version of the "God of the Gaps" theory, which holds that anything science hasn't yet explained must be evidence of God's existence.

This is a form of logical fallacy, and also involves confirmation bias, where you lean on pre-existing beliefs to explain the unexplainable, rather than admitting your ignorance.

Address

Edinburgh

Opening Hours

Monday 9am - 5pm
Tuesday 9am - 5pm
Wednesday 9am - 5pm
Thursday 9am - 5pm
Friday 9am - 5pm

Telephone

+443003020680

Website

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Humanist Society Scotland posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Contact The Organisation

Send a message to Humanist Society Scotland:

Shortcuts

Share

Category