What we’re about
The Humanist Community in Silicon Valley was established in 1962 and is a chartered chapter of the American Humanist Association. We have a long tradition of promoting humanist values while providing interesting educational programs and fun, friendly social events for our members.
Check out our WEBSITE, like us on FACEBOOK, and follow us on TWITTER (@HumanistCommSV).
Our main event is the Sunday Forum which features a different speaker each Sunday discussing a topic of interest. A wide variety of topics are covered from week to week. Forums are held in various locations from 11am until 12:15pm. Look at each individual Forum listing to see where it is being held.
A buffet lunch follows the Forum at 12:30pm. Lunch is free for first time visitors and students. Otherwise we ask for a donation of $10. If you can't afford that, please give what you can, and join us for good food and even better conversation.
NOTE: Approximately 30 to 40 people attend the Forum each Sunday. Because Forums happen every Sunday, most of our members do not RSVP on Meetup, so don't let our RSVP count fool you.
Other weekly programs include the Free Thought Discussion Group (http://www.humanists.org/blog/free-thought-...) every Wednesday night at 7:30pm, and the Academic Video Group (http://www.humanists.org/blog/academic-vide...) every Thursday night at 8pm.
Monthly events include a Potluck, workshops (see the calendar for classes and schedules), and our Fun Group (www.humanists.org/blog/fun-group), which organizes a "fun" activity around the first of each month.
We hope to welcome you soon to the Sunday Forum or one of our other events. If you would like to suggest a topic for our Forum series, please send a message to the organizers (Brian and/or Matt Courtney). We would love to help you share your enthusiasm for a topic, a speaker, a social action project, a fun outing, etc., with other community members.
Humanists have more fun... together!
See you soon!
Brian
Upcoming events (4+)
See all- Yuval Harari on the Modern WorldLink visible for attendees
Join us this Sunday, either in person or online, as we watch and discuss three videos of historian Yuval Noah Harari discussing significant issues of the modern world.
The first video, from May 23, 2025, is Harari on coping with the Trump eraーNHK WORLD-JAPAN NEWS. Historian Harari speaks to NHK (a Japanese public broadcast service) about the rise of populism, exemplified by the reelection of Donald Trump as US president. You can pre-watch this 7-minute video at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qvAXqyWJxwg.
The second, Yuval Noah Harari on AI and Human Evolution | WSJ Leadership Institute is a June 12, 2025 WSJ (Wall Street Journal) Interview. Harari joins the WSJ Leadership Institute to examine, through his work on human evolution, ethics, and power, how AI is reshaping global institutions, executive decision-making, and our very concept of intelligence. You can pre-watch this 25-minute video at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ki5hosohNtQ.
The third video is Stupidity: A powerful force in human history from May 29, 2024 deals with the questions; are we in the midst of World War III? What's the role of fiction in human evolution? Why do we tend to overconsume food? Big or small, every detail in our behavior can be explained by looking at the past, from dietary choices to how we've used stories to advance. But if progress is narrative-driven, what comes next? In Yuval's take, he speaks on humanity's superpower, the paradox of wisdom and the relationship between government and war. You can pre-watch this 12-minute video at https://youtu.be/zvjcJsy51oc
Prof. Yuval Noah Harari is a historian, philosopher, and the bestselling author of Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind, Homo Deus: A Brief History of Tomorrow, 21 Lessons for the 21st Century, the series Sapiens: A Graphic History and Unstoppable Us, and Nexus: A Brief History of Information Networks from the Stone Age to AI. His books have sold 50 Million copies in 65 languages, and he is considered one of the world’s most influential public intellectuals today.
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Attend in Person:On the last Sunday of the month, like this Sunday, attend our forum in person with fellow humanists at the Neutra House Conference Center, 181 Hillview Ave, Los Altos, CA 94022. Lunch will be served after the forum. We request a $10 donation.
If you can join us in person, please email vp@humanists.org to help us make sure we have room for you. If you have symptoms that may be COVID, kindly attend on Zoom.
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Also, we will continue to present our forums on Zoom. To join and be able to ask questions and make comments, go to:
https://us06web.zoom.us/j/81653890712?pwd=QzN4MTVNbGEwQ0Zua3d1VG9tVE50UT09
No password is needed -- our host will admit you from the waiting room.
Joining the meeting via the link will download and install the Zoom app on your desktop computer (if it's not already installed), and then take you to the meeting.You can also install the Zoom app on your computer or smart phone, and then enter:
Meeting ID: 816 5389 0712
Passcode: 250634Join the meeting by phone. +1 408 638 0968 US (San Jose)
Find an international phone number to call here:
https://zoom.us/u/afYkAuvE6***
Subscribe to our events in your Apple Calendar:
webcal://p162-caldav.icloud.com/published/2/Mjk3Nzk1MTgyMjk3Nzk1MRBa7aU6zKSIJMfDjhqBP8r3muvKK3GLLCRnZoCneHpXv08CyGJAJRVI5yyh-SVWxGJE9xHfdUs72pmiBNlOBpYAdd this event to your Google calendar: https://calendar.google.com/calendar/event?action=TEMPLATE&tmeid=NDc4MGxrYjg4YWdnOHRudGFpbmszcDFkbjEgaHVtYW5pc3Rjb21tc3ZAbQ&tmsrc=humanistcommsv%40gmail.com
Like us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/humanistcommsv/
RSVP on Meetup: https://www.meetup.com/humanistcommunity/events/310760857/
Click the Interested button or share on Patch: https://patch.com/california/paloalto/calendar/event/20250824/30b056d5-d180-4053-b7bb-b833a0c5123e/the-tipping-point-update
Retweet our announcement on the social-media platform formerly known as Twitter: https://x.com/HumanistCommSV/status/1961303996745822497
Humanist Community website: http://www.humanists.org/
Videos of previous forums: https://vimeo.com/hcsv/
To help our Forum series continue, please consider making a donation or becoming a member (http://www.humanists.org/blog/membership/)) of the Humanist Community.
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If you would like to speak at a Humanist Forum, or know someone who would, or there is a topic you think we should discuss, please let us know by emailing vp@humanists.org or havasy@live.com.
- Dick Hewetson Celebration of LifeLink visible for attendees
Our friend Dick Hewetson died on July 19 at the age of 95 after a long and purposeful life. We will be celebrating his life Saturday afternoon September 6 at the Billy DeFrank LGBTQ+ Community Center in San Jose, California. You may join this celebration in person or on Zoom.
Dick was born in a Chicago suburb in 1930. Dick was raised Christian, and was an Episcopal priest in his early adult years, but he never believed what he was trying to preach. At age 42, he came out of the closet as a gay man. Dick and his then-partner had reached the conclusion that the greatest enemy of LGBTQ-plus people was religion.
Dick joined the Freedom from Religion Foundation in 1978, soon after FFRF was founded by Anne Gaylor and her daughter Annie Laurie Gaylor. Dick Hewetson has been an FFRF member for over 45 years. He has been a leader for atheist rights all this time.
Dick also promoted LGBTQ+ rights in the labor union movement in Minnesota, and founded an LGBTQ+ library there. He has furthered gay rights for over half a century. After Dick left the ministry, he worked for the State of Minnesota Employment Division, helping to locate jobs for recent immigrants.
Dick Hewetson chose the day and time of his own death, and carried out his dying process with the aid of California law, with physician assistance and Hospice assistance. That day Dick was surrounded with a small group of his friends and relatives to celebrate his last day of life.
We encourage you to share your memories of Dick Hewetson with the rest of us in attendance at this Celebration of Life.
For folks planning to speak briefly (in person or via Zoom) please email Dick’s friend and our Master of Ceremonies Jim at [jimvanbuskirk@sbcglobal.net](mailto:jimvanbuskirk@sbcglobal.net)
For folks planning to attend in person please email Dick’s niece Kim at [kimspawn5@gmail.com](mailto:kimspawn5@gmail.com) using the subject line "Dick's celebration of life."To attend in person:
Come to the Billy DeFrank LGBTQ+ Community Center at 938 The Alameda in San Jose, CA, on Saturday September 6 during the setup period 12:30-1:30 pm. The entrance to the Center is at the back of the parking lot.
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Also, we will webcast this celebration on Zoom. To join and be able to speak briefly, go to:
https://us06web.zoom.us/j/81653890712?pwd=QzN4MTVNbGEwQ0Zua3d1VG9tVE50UT09
No password is needed -- our host will admit you from the waiting room.
Joining the meeting via the link will download and install the Zoom app on your desktop computer (if it's not already installed), and then take you to the meeting.You can also install the Zoom app on your computer or smart phone, and then enter:
Meeting ID: 816 5389 0712
Passcode: 250634Join the meeting by phone. +1 408 638 0968 US (San Jose)
Find an international phone number to call here:
https://zoom.us/u/afYkAuvE6***
Subscribe to our events in your Apple Calendar:
webcal://p162-caldav.icloud.com/published/2/Mjk3Nzk1MTgyMjk3Nzk1MRBa7aU6zKSIJMfDjhqBP8r3muvKK3GLLCRnZoCneHpXv08CyGJAJRVI5yyh-SVWxGJE9xHfdUs72pmiBNlOBpYAdd this event to your Google calendar: https://calendar.google.com/calendar/event?action=TEMPLATE&tmeid=NTI0N3NuaHU4NmFjcDduY29hbHFtdGJxMGYgaHVtYW5pc3Rjb21tc3ZAbQ&tmsrc=humanistcommsv%40gmail.com
Like us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/humanistcommsv/
Share this Meetup announcement: https://www.meetup.com/humanistcommunity/events/310605721/
Click the Interested button or share on Patch: https://patch.com/california/paloalto/calendar/event/20250906/7c5287b8-85c4-462d-b9e8-984598fc0f0a/dick-hewetson-celebration-of-life
Retweet our announcement on the social-media platform formerly known as Twitter: https://x.com/HumanistCommSV/status/1957963215390097667
Humanist Community website: http://www.humanists.org/
