Jim Herrick (August 1944 – 20 June 2023) was a British

humanist Humanism is a philosophical stance that emphasizes the individual and social potential, and agency of human beings, whom it considers the starting point for serious moral and philosophical inquiry. The meaning of the term "humanism" ha ...

and

secularist Secularism is the principle of seeking to conduct human affairs based on naturalistic considerations, uninvolved with religion. It is most commonly thought of as the separation of religion from civil affairs and the state and may be broadened ...

. He studied history and English literature at Trinity College,

Cambridge University The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...

, and then worked as a school teacher for seven years. He wrote or edited several books on humanism and the history of freethought.

Biography

Herrick was a trustee of the

Rationalist Association The Rationalist Association was a charity in the United Kingdom which published '' New Humanist'' magazine between 1885 and 2025. Since 2025, the Rationalist Press has been the publishing imprint of Humanists UK. The original Rationalist Press ...

and was editor of its journal '' New Humanist'' for 18 years from 1984. He subsequently became literary editor of ''New Humanist'' until his retirement in 2005. He was the recipient of the second International Rationalist Award in the year 2002. He was editor of ''International Humanist News'', published by the International Humanist and Ethical Union (IHEU). In 1996 he received the Distinguished Humanist Service Award from the IHEU. He was a signatory to Humanist Manifesto III. From January 1977 until 1981, Herrick edited '' The Freethinker''. He later wrote that publication's centenary history. He was a founder member of the Gay and Lesbian Humanist Association. Herrick stepped down as a vice-president of the

National Secular Society The National Secular Society (NSS) is a British campaigning organisation that promotes secularism and the separation of church and state. It holds that no one should gain advantage or disadvantage because of their religion or lack of it. The Soc ...

at the 2007 AGM but remained on the Council of Management until stepping down at the 2009 AGM.

Publications

* ''Aspiring to the Truth: Two Hundred Years of the South Place Ethical Society.'' (2016). With an introduction by Nicolas Walter. Published b
CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform
. *''Humanism: An Introduction''. (2003). . (Also published by Prometheus Books, 2005. ) *''Humanist Anthology: From Confucius to David Attenborough''. (1995). London,

Rationalist Press Association The Rationalist Association was a charity in the United Kingdom which published '' New Humanist'' magazine between 1885 and 2025. Since 2025, the Rationalist Press has been the publishing imprint of Humanists UK. The original Rationalist Press ...

. Edited by Margaret Knight; 2nd edition, revised by Jim Herrick. *''Against the Faith: Some Deists, Skeptics and

Atheists Atheism, in the broadest sense, is an absence of belief in the existence of deities. Less broadly, atheism is a rejection of the belief that any deities exist. In an even narrower sense, atheism is specifically the position that there no ...

''. (1985). London: Glover & Blair. (Also published by Prometheus Books, 1994. ). *''Vision and Realism: A Hundred Years of The Freethinker''. (1982). London: GW Foote & Co. *Selected articles for ''New Humanist'' on the newhumanist.org.uk website.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Herrick, Jim 1944 births 20th-century atheists 21st-century atheists Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge British atheism activists British humanists English atheists Freethought writers Living people Writers about religion and science