In July 1939 a group of Quakers decided to form a nontheistic society based on similar goals and beliefs. In humanism’s tenets, they saw the promise of a genuine union between science and ethics. It was therefore with this union in mind that this small band of former Quakers incorporated, in December 1939, under the state laws of California the Humanist Society of Friends as a religious, educational, charitable nonprofit organization authorized to issue charters anywhere in the world and to train and certify people, who upon endorsement would be accorded the same rights and privileges granted by law to priests, ministers, and rabbis of traditional theistic religions.

This group attracted a range of leadership well beyond their Quaker and humanist roots. Educators, scholars, business and labor professionals, scientists, artists, and others contributed to the Humanist Society’s rich history of conducting meetings, ceremonies, and various rites of passage.