Abbreviation HVD Type Nonprofit organisation Headquarters Berlin | Formation 1993 Legal status Eingetragener Verein | |
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Purpose Promotion of secular humanism | ||
The Humanistischer Verband Deutschlands (English: Humanist Association of Germany) is an organization to promote and spread a secular humanist worldview and an advocate for the rights of nonreligious people. It was founded 1993 in Berlin and counts about 20,000 members. Its president is the philosopher and political scientist Frieder Otto Wolf. The HVD is a member of the International Humanist and Ethical Union and the European Humanist Federation.
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Aims
The HVD is committed to secularism, human rights, democracy, egalitarianism and mutual respect. The association works for an open and inclusive society with freedom of belief and speech, and for an end to the privileged position of religion and/or churches in law, education, broadcasting and wherever else it occurs.
Activities
The HVD is a provider of humanist and non-religious ceremonies in many regions, and maintains more than three dozen Kindergartens in Berlin, Nuremberg, Fürth, Regensburg, Hanover and Braunschweig. It runs a humanistic primary school in Fürth, and a second school is set to open its doors in Munich soon. In Berlin, the HVD is responsible for the optional school subject Humanistische Lebenskunde, with about 54,000 participants in 2013. The HVD supports a youth organization Junge Humanistinnen & Humanisten in Deutschland (JuHu).
The association is a well-known consultant for Advance health care directives, runs hospices and offers consultation on family planning and abortion.