Our Purpose Our Past Founded in 1976, the AHS emerged from our realization that conventional mainstream sociology was unresponsive to people, their needs, concerns and values. We share a commitment to address all facets of the human condition in our scholarship and in our practice, and to make sociology more relevant to human needs. These are perilous times.
Crises confront human beings in the United States and around the globe.
Humanist sociologists strive as professionals, as scholars and as activists to uncover and address social issues, working with oth ers to lessen the pain of social problems. We view people not merely as products of social forces, but also as shapers of social life, capable of creating social orders in which everyone's potential can unfold. Difficult times give humanist sociologists opportunities to apply their special skills and perspectives for the purpose of creating a more humane world. The politics, research and sociological work of AHS members are richly varied. We share the belief that our use of the label 'humanist' does not automatically make our concerns relevant to humanity, nor our scholarship more humane.