Levi Fragell (born 30 March 1939) is a Norwegian humanist. He has been chairman and secretary of the

Norwegian Humanist Association The Norwegian Humanist Association ( no, Human-Etisk Forbund; HEF) is one of the largest secular humanist associations in the world, with over 130,000 members. Those members constitute 2.3% of the national population of 5.47 million, making HEF b ...

, and was President of the

International Humanist and Ethical Union Humanists International (known as the International Humanist and Ethical Union, or IHEU, from 1952–2019) is an international non-governmental organisation championing secularism and human rights, motivated by secular humanist values. Foun ...

(IHEU) between 1987–1990 (as one member of a troika) and, in his own right, between 1998–2003.

Biography

His father was a

Pentecostalist Pentecostalism or classical Pentecostalism is a Protestant Charismatic Christian movement

preacher and in his teens Fragell also began working full-time as a preacher, before his studies in philosophy and comparative religion led him to leave the church. He took a University degree in the sociology of religion and then worked for a year as a school teacher in northern Norway, before becoming a journalist, and later working in marketing. He also became press secretary to several cabinet ministers in Norway. In 1976, he became leader of the

(''Human-Etisk Forbund'') at a time when it had 1500 members; its membership later grew to over 75,000 making it, as a proportion of national population, the largest such organisation in the world. He joined the board of the IHEU in the 1980s, becoming its co-president in 1987 and sole president between 1998 and 2003. In 2003 he was one of the signers of the Humanist Manifesto. He later became Chair of the IHEU's Committee on Growth and Development, and has travelled widely to promote humanism, oppose racism and religious intolerance. In 2008 he was awarded a Lifetime Achievement Award by the IHEU.

Periyar Maniammai University Periyar Maniammai Institute of Science & Technology (PMIST), formerly Periyar Maniammai College of Technology for Women and Periyar Maniammai University (PMU), is a private deemed-to-be-university headquarters is in the town of Vallam in Than ...

, Thanjavur of the south Indian state of Tamil Nadu, conferred the Doctor of Letters (Honoris causa) on Mr. Fragell, he delivered the 21st Convocation Address on 4 July 2014 of the University.

References

External links

Article by Fragell, ''The Torches of the Future '', New Humanist, 2002
1939 births Living people Norwegian humanists Norwegian atheists Former Pentecostals {{Norway-bio-stub