What we’re about
We are a friendly group of those interested in humanism and secularism, with members coming from Gloucestershire and surrounding areas. We are a partner group of Humanists UK (formerly the British Humanist Association) and affiliated to the National Secular Society (NSS).
We have monthly meetings on a wide array of topics which are open to anyone interested in that month’s discussion: you certainly don’t need to ‘be’ a humanist to come along. Our monthly meetings are at the Victory Club in Lypiatt Road and we meet at 19:15 for a 19:30 start.
We meet up once a month socially too, at 10:00 on the last Sunday of the month for breakfast over lively conversation and laughter.
We’re also involved in the local community and a number of our members are accredited Humanist UK celebrants offering non-religious naming, wedding and funeral ceremonies.
Upcoming events (4)
See all- Writers, radicals, and reformers: Gloucestershire’s Humanist HeritageLink visible for attendees
Gloucestershire Humanists September 2025 meeting:
Writers, radicals, and reformers: Gloucestershire’s Humanist Heritage
Gloucestershire boasts a rich and often overlooked history of radical thought, freethinking, and social reform.Join us online for a foray into the county's humanist heritage, and discover some of the remarkable individuals who challenged the conventions of their day – from the Cotswold origins of composer and atheist Ralph Vaughan Williams, through the early years of pioneering activist Edith How Martyn, to the unconventional lives of Lord and Lady Amberley, the parents of Bertrand Russell.
From early radicals to modern reformers, this talk shines a light on the people who fought for a more rational and compassionate world, right here in Gloucestershire.
Madeleine Goodall is Humanists UK’s Humanist Heritage Manager, researching the history and influence of non-religious people across the UK, and sharing it on the Humanist Heritage website.
*** For members of Gloucestershire Humanists, attendance of this event is free. For non-members, a £3 contribution would be greatly appreciated. Donations allow us to host monthly events and keep our group running. The donation link and membership info can be found on our website https://glos.humanist.org.uk/ ***
- Curry and Book Club: 36 Arguments for the Existence of God - A Work of FictionThe Swan, Cheltenham
The event is in two parts. We will meet in-person 18:00 at The Swan in Cheltenham to make the most of their early bird curry deal*. Then around 19:00, we will seamlessly shift to hosting our quarterly book club. You are more than welcome to join us for either or both parts! Please drop us a line if you would like any further information, gloshums@gmail.com
(*Note currently orders have to be placed before 18:00 to get the discount, apologies if these rules have changed by the time we meet up!)This meeting's book is "36 Arguments for the Existence of God - A Work of Fiction", by Rebecca Goldstein:
36 Arguments for the Existence of God plunges into the great debate of our day: the clash between faith and reason. World events are being shaped by fervent believers at home and abroad, while a new atheism is asserting itself in the public sphere. On purely intellectual grounds the sceptics would seem to have everything on their side. Yet people refuse to accept their seemingly irrefutable arguments and continue to embrace faith in God as their source of meaning, purpose, and comfort.
Through the enchantment of fiction, award-winning novelist and MacArthur Fellow Rebecca Newberger Goldstein shows that the tension between religion and doubt cannot be understood through rational argument alone. It also must be explored from the point of view of individual people caught in the raptures and torments of religious experience in all their variety. Using her gifts in fiction and philosophy, Goldstein has produced a true crossover novel, complete with a nail-biting debate ("Resolved: God Exists") and a stand-alone appendix with the 36 arguments (and responses) that propelled Seltzer to stardom.
©2010 Rebecca Goldstein (P)2010 Audible
