The Institute for Humanist Studies (IHS) is a think tank whose mission is to promote greater public awareness, understanding, and support for humanism. The Institute specializes in pioneering new technology and methods for the advancement of humanism.

Founded in 1999 as an educational non-profit institute, IHS operates business offices and meeting facilities in Albany, New York.

IHS provides accessible and authoritative information about humanism and the non-religious to the media, academia, and the general public. It also performs a distinctive role within the organized humanist community. As a non-membership organization, IHS is able to complement other humanist organizations rather than competing for members and subscribers. It not only cooperates with other humanist groups, but actively supports them by publicizing their activities and providing financial support to their best programs.

In all its work, the Institute aims to exemplify the humanist values of reason, innovation, and cooperation. Our IHS Grant Fund supports the most promising humanist projects. We offer free Web hosting to humanist and related websites through Humanists.net. We developed and now operate the Continuum of Humanist Education, the world's first interactive, online curriculum centered around humanist thought.

Through our free e-zine, Humanist Network News, we deliver news, humor, opinion, and more to our supporters and subscribers weekly. Our public policy department forges and maintains cooperative relations with other organizations and lobbies the New York legislature on issues of concern to freethinkers. IHS supports the Secular Coalition for America (see below) in its efforts to bring this lobbying initiative to the U.S. Congress.

IHS collaborates with a variety of organizations based on issues of common cause. We proudly engage both formally and informally with established organizations that overlap with our mission.