In the current decade, the AHA has put its energies into the Humanist magazine, elevating this periodical to greater recognition as a significant part of the alternative press. The AHA's Humanist Legal Action Committee mounts effective challenges to the Religious Right, bringing humanism to bear on matters of social concern. The AHA has thus been active in opposing violations of the principle of church-state separation and in keeping the heat on the Boy Scouts of America when it discriminates against atheists, gays and lesbians, Native Americans, Buddhists, and others. The American Humanist Association is owned and operated by its members through a board of directors elected biannually. Any humanist can become a member and each member is entitled to vote.
Members can participate in additional ways.
The AHA has special divisions, committees, commissions, and task forces which aid in handling the business and activities of the organization. And, at the local level, members may take part in chapter programs. The AHA is really a family of corporations. The Humanist Society of Friends is the umbrella organization for the Humanist Youth Club and the Division of Humanist Certification. AHA members who are certified by this latter division serve both humanists and the larger community by providing recognized humanistic wedding and memorial services.