Black Humanist Experience: An Alternative to Religion

The first book dedicated entirely to humanists of African descent, The Black Humanist Experience gives African American humanists the opportunity to discuss their reasons for leaving the religious fold and embracing a humanist life stance. As a minority within a minority, African American humanists may often feel isolated and misunderstood. These thoughtful essays help to draw attention to the vitality of the humanist movement within the black community and they put many myths about humanists to rest.Contrary to popular stereotypes, most humanists do not reject religion out of disillusionment, ignorance, desperation, or misanthropy. The contributors to this volume demonstrate that the decision to adopt the humanist viewpoint is based on intellectual honesty and the best information provided by science, history, comparative religion, and other scholarly disciplines. Moreover, they show that a central concern of humanists of all races is preservation and promotion of what humanist philosopher Paul Kurtz calls "the common moral decencies" shared by most religious and ethical systems.At a time when faith-based organizations are favored politically, especially within the black community, this timely collection of essays shows that humanism, with its emphasis on reason, free inquiry, moral decency, and justice, offers much to the challenges facing African Americans.

Norm R. Allen Jr. is a writer and secular humanist activist.  On August 31, 1989, Allen founded African Americans for Humanism, the first organization focused on the promotion of humanism and humanist ideals among people of African descent.  He was the executive director of the organization from 1991 to 2010 as well as editor of its quarterly, the AAH Examiner. He also edited African American Humanism: An Anthology (1991) and The Black Humanist Experience: An Alternative to Religion (2003).  Allen views secular humanism, a human-centered approach to living drawing upon reason, science, and secular ideals and guided by empathy and compassion, as particularly relevant for African Americans because in the narrative of American history black freethinkers have largely been ignored.

In 1995 Allen wrote a major statement in defense of evolution and against creationism and “intelligent design” for Voices for Evolution, a publication of the National Center for Science Education (NCSE).  AAH was the only black organization to participate in this project. 

Since 1997 Allen has appeared on a number of nationally televised programs including the O'Reilly Factor, BBC News, and C-Span. He has also been featured on National Public Radio (NPR) and in other media outlets. 

Allen is currently the secretary of the Institute for Science and Human Values and editor of the Institute’s journal, The Human Prospect.  He also writes a regular column titled "Reasonings" for the Institute’s website.  Allen is at work on his third book, Secular, Successful and Black, and continues to write numerous articles while traveling the world promoting secular humanism and skepticism.