The Humanist Society of New Zealand (HSNZ), formed in 1967, has a proud forty-one year history as New Zealand's first and only exclusively Humanist Society. From its inception, it has supported the International Humanist and Ethical Union, and it has a history of innovation that others have sought to emulate. An Incorporated Society, it received charitable recognition for taxation purposes in the 1980s and is now registered as a Humanist Charity by the newly established New Zealand Charities Commission for its advancement of ethics, education, and science. The Society is apolitical, not supporting the policies of any particular political party, but lobbies parliament and government bodies and agencies in support of Humanist causes and on behalf of non-religious people in New Zealand.

The forty years of the Society's existence has seen a substantial increase in the number of non-religious people in New Zealand. Historically, New Zealand was predominantly Christian with English, Scottish, and Irish settlers bringing Anglicanism, Presbyterianism, Roman Catholicism, and other smaller denominations. The original Maori population, outnumbered by European settlers by the mid 19th century, largely converted to the introduced Christian denominations and some new denominations of their own. Lack of agreement by the various religious groups was a factor that led to New Zealand becoming a largely secular nation. In the 1901 census, just thirty people claimed to have no religion and, despite a strong and sometimes vocal "free thought" movement, the number of non-religious people grew to just 1 900 people (0.9 percent of the population) by 1956 and 3 300 (1.2 percent of the population) in 1966. Significant changes began in the late 1960s and those with no-religion increased dramatically to 1.3 million or 32 percent of the population in 2006. "No-religion" is now the largest group, outnumbering Anglicans who were 41 percent of the population in 1901 but who are now just 14 percent. Adding "Object to state" and those who did not specify a religion to those who indicate "no-religion", we find that the total that has not specified a religious belief now stands at 44 percent of the population. New Zealand is rapidly becoming a non-religious society.

Non-religious people in New Zealand became aware of Humanist movements in Britain and the USA during the 1940s but many considered that Humanists were too soft on religion. With the formation of the IHEU in 1950, Humanist ideas became better understood and some non-religious people liked them more than the confrontational style with religion that had previously marked New Zealand's Rationalist movement. Humanists were in the minority but by the 1960s, their numbers were increasing and there was a push for the formation of a separate Humanist Society. This took place in Auckland in 1967.

With a constitution that favoured both national and local activity, the new Society formed branches in two other major cities, Christchurch and Wellington, and has formed fellowships in Dunedin and New Plymouth. In 1970, it began publishing its own magazine, New Zealand Humanist. Humanist letters to the editor and press reports were soon seen in centres outside Auckland. During the 1970s, the branches of the Humanist Society grew in strength and the National office was transferred to Christchurch in 1982 and then to Wellington in 1987 where it has remained.

An early activity of the Society in Auckland was to press for a change in the marriage laws. At the time, the majority of marriages were performed in churches with a small percentage in registry offices. Many people who had little or no religious belief would claim to have "faith" so that they could marry in a better venue than a registry office. The Act was amended in 1976 specifically to allow the Humanist Society and similar organisations (there were none at the time) to perform marriages with their own celebrants at other suitable venues. A number of Humanists in various centres became celebrants and the church monopoly was broken. The demand for non-religious ceremonies grew and the law was amended again to allow the registration of independent marriage celebrants - most independent celebrants perform marriages as an income earner. The last change reduced the demand for Humanist celebrants and formal marriage has also fallen in popularity. Marriages may now be performed anywhere, at any time of the day, and during the last decade non-religious marriage ceremonies have exceeded religious ceremonies.

Abortion was another significant issue. Abortions were very difficult to obtain in New Zealand - illegal abortions were a problem, and young women who could afford it would fly to Sydney, Australia, where abortion had become more liberal. Those who could not afford the trip or who did not want an abortion were encouraged to have their children adopted.

This created a supply of babies for adoption that approximately equalled the demand for babies from non-fertile couples but the "closed adoption" system created problems when the children began to ask where they came from.

In favour of more liberal abortion laws, Humanist Society members supported the formation of a society for abortion law reform that soon developed a significant membership and public profile.

Concerned at the situation in New Zealand, Jim Woolnough, a Sydney doctor and Humanist, moved to Auckland in 1974 and set up an Abortion clinic. Jim Woolnough later became president of the Humanist Society of New Zealand.

More than half the abortions performed at the clinic were on Roman Catholic women although they were only 16 percent of the population, no doubt due to the Vatican ban on contraceptives.

The Roman Catholic Church and its proxies vociferously opposed the clinic. The legal situation was unclear: abortions could only be performed when the life of the mother was in danger and this was open to legal interpretation. Police raided the clinic and Jim Woolnough was arrested and charged with twelve counts of procuring an abortion. A first trial in 1975 produced a hung jury, and he was acquitted at a second trial with the court of appeal upholding the not guilty verdict. In response, Prime Minister Bill Rowling appointed a Royal Commission of Inquiry. The Commission reported in March 1977 with some absurd findings, such as that a woman could not get pregnant by rape, and that life begins at conception, because nobody had "presented the commissioners with evidence to the contrary"! However, the report led to new legislation, a political compromise, that permitted abortions approved by certifying consultants. Although the grounds for allowing an abortion are still open to interpretation, and are still debated by a minority who either want more, or less, liberal laws, the current situation is now more liberal and an improvement on the earlier situation. Abortion is no longer a significant issue in New Zealand.

The Society has also struggled against religious influence in schools. The Education Act of 1877 declared New Zealand's state education system "free, compulsory, and secular" and provided no support for private and religious schools, but almost immediately Christian groups began to subvert the Act and have tried a variety of means to get compulsory religious instruction into schools.

In 1977, the Wellington branch of the Humanist Society lobbied against the "Johnson report" that recommended, "the fostering of a non-sectarian spiritual dimension in New Zealand State Education be accepted". A Wellington Humanist and schoolteacher, Jack Mulheron, established a "Committee for the Defence of Secular Education" (CDSE) in 1978 that soon had a much larger membership than the Humanist Society. This high profile society sought to protect the secular nature of New Zealand's state education system and opposed government support for private, mostly religious, schools. Although unsuccessful in preventing state money for private religious schools, approved in stages with Acts in 1962 and 1975, it probably increased public awareness and prevented further erosion. While religious instruction in primary schools remains not compulsory, the law change in 1962 gave state recognition to the "Nelson system", devised by a Presbyterian minister that allowed a school to be "closed" for half an hour while non-compulsory religious instruction is performed. Unfortunately, the activities of the CDSE ceased when Jack was forced to retire in 1991 due to poor health.

Wellington and Auckland branches of the Humanist Society supported Voluntary Euthanasia (VE) and in 1978 promoted public meetings where two local voluntary euthanasia societies, since amalgamated, were formed. Both of these societies attracted more members than the Humanist society and although they have been unsuccessful in legalising VE have probably contributed to an improved public understanding of the issues and more liberal attitudes toward voluntary euthanasia. Humanist members also supported the banning of female genital mutilation and an Act was successfully passed, but there are claims that a very small portion of the immigrant population is perpetuating the practice.

In 1983, Wellington Humanists began a regular four-weekly radio broadcast that continues until the present. The Society has a library, and a mail-order bookshop specialising in Humanist books was established and operated for more than 20 years. The Society also operates a website, produces regular newsletters and email news bulletins for members and others interested in subscribing, operates an online discussion group, and holds social events. From 1983, Wellington members have conducted regular annual seminars on a range of subjects of interest to Humanists, including education, scientific subjects such as evolution, and ethical issues including bioethics. In recent years, the Society has conducted seminars on Religion and Politics, Stem Cell Research, and Climate Change. A joint 2008 seminar in Wellington, hosted and organised by the Humanist Society, in conjunction with the Australian National Secular Association and the New Zealand Association of Rationalists and Humanists, discussed "New Zealand and Australia's Secular Heritage and its Future". Nine prominent speakers from Australia and New Zealand presented papers. Speakers included Bill Hastings, the chief censor of New Zealand, Prof Lloyd Geering, a member of the Order of New Zealand (New Zealand's highest honour) who was once tried and acquitted by the Presbyterian Church for heresy because he questioned the resurrection and the after life, and Nicky Hager, a well-known author and columnist. Other speakers were the writer, Bill Cooke, and Lewis Holden from New Zealand, and Max Wallace and Professor Helen Irving (paper read by Meg Wallace) from Australia.

During the 1980s, some Wellington members were involved for a short period in resettling Cambodian refugees and some who joined the Society at that time saw this, or other welfare projects, as the Society’s raison d'etre. This project ended and the Society went through an unfortunate period in the 1990s when it faltered and an attempt was made to close it. The Society survived and soon began to rebuild.

In the last ten years, there has been no shortage of issues for the Society to tackle and it often finds that it is taking the opposite position to the Roman Catholic Church on various issues. One success was to convince the New Zealand Minister of Foreign Affairs to take up the case of the arrest of Dr Sheik in Pakistan. Within days of his arrest, the New Zealand Ambassador to Pakistan broached the case with the Pakistan government, letting them know that the world was watching.

Strong on human rights and ethical issues, the Society has supported open, rather than closed, adoption, and actively supported the campaign to allow civil unions. A new law now allows civil unions as an alternative to marriage for both opposite-sex and same-sex couples. The Society's recent work includes formulating positions and supporting stem cell research, an organ donor bill, the abolition of restrictions on Easter Trading, and the successful amendment to section 59 of the Crimes Act that previously allowed parents to use "force by way of correction" when disciplining a child. The Society has expressed views to government, its agencies, and other bodies on a range of issues including bioethical issues such as the screening of embryos, school curriculum and values, and on the Draft National Statement on Religious Diversity. The Society supports the separation of church and state, makes awards, sponsors the annual Human Rights Film Festival, and holds monthly meetings in Wellington to discuss issues of interest to Humanists.

Iain Middleton is the president of the Humanist Society of New Zealand and editor of New Zealand Humanist.