MEMBERSHIP COMPOSITION of the BRITISH HUMANIST ASSOCIATION.

The article focuses on membership composition of the British Humanist Association. In 1962 a study was commenced of that section of the population of Great Britain which consciously identifies itself as non-religious. The initial aim of this article was to discover the salient features of the membership composition of the organizations. A further stage of the project is concerned with an investigation into the beliefs and attitudes of the memberships. The article presents the results of the first stage of this project as they concern the British Humanist Association. The British Humanist Association was formed in May 1963 and represents the common front of two older organizations, the Rationalist Press Association Limited, founded in 1899 and the Ethical Union, founded in 1896. The British Humanist Association automatically entitles one to full membership of both the sponsoring bodies. The majority experienced secondary education at a grammar or public school and stayed on after the statutory school leaving age. The majority also received further education, just under half having attended either a university or teacher-training college.