Ethical Society of Saint Louis

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Who We Are

The Ethical Society of St. Louis is a welcoming home for a group of people from various religious backgrounds in the major faiths, as well as agnostics and atheists, who come together to celebrate our journey through life and affirm our ability and responsibility to lead ethical lives of personal fulfillment that aspire to the greater good of humanity.

Some of our members and visitors concurrently attend their more mainstream houses of worship (such as a churches or synagogues) sometime during the week and then join us on Sundays and, perhaps, during the week for our other programs.

Our Mission

The Ethical Society of St. Louis is a diverse, ethics-centered community of caring people dedicated to deed before creed:

• Bringing out the best in the human spirit,
• Appreciating the uniqueness and worth of every person,
• Treating all with dignity and respect,
• Cultivating a community of people who support each other through the stages of life,
• Raising the quality of all our relationships,
• Acting with reverence and commitment toward the natural world,
• And working to create a more just, loving and sustainable world for all.

We seek members who embrace these ideals, and we actively pursue and welcome a diverse membership.

Our Beliefs

"Ethical Humanism" (also sometimes called "Ethical Culture") is the name of an evolving body of ideas that inspires Ethical Societies. Humanism, a progressive philosophy of life, without supernaturalism, affirms our ability and responsibility to lead ethical lives of personal fulfillment that aspire to the greater good of humanity. (See our most recent Statement on Ethical Humanism.) As a nontheistic organization, we foster free religious thought, and our mission is to help answer the ultimate questions, "How can we create meaningfulness in this life?" and "How should we treat each other?"

To better understand Ethical Humanism, please see our Ethical Humanism Resources page.

Affiliations

The Ethical Society of St. Louis maintains a membership in these organizations:

• The American Ethical Union is a federation of Ethical Societies, which promotes the growth of the Ethical Culture movement by supporting existing Ethical Societies and fostering new ones. The American Ethical Union is a religious, educational, cultural and social justice organization.
• International Humanist and Ethical Union (IHEU) is the world union of over 100 Humanist, rationalist, secular, ethical culture, atheist and freethought organizations in more than 40 countries. IHEU represents and supports the global Humanist movement.
• Greater St. Louis Coalition of Reason is a group of similar member organizations in St. Louis, united by a rational perspective.

Our Logo

See our animation of our logo and what it means.