Humanist Explorer is a social group for humanists and secular-minded individuals in the Omaha area. Our goal is to bring together like-minded individuals and provide a space for them to connect, learn, and give back to their community. Whether it’s through social events, educational discussions, or community service projects, we strive to promote humanist values and create a welcoming environment for everyone.
Why a Humanist Community?
It’s well-documented that even though we live in a hyper-connected time, people feel more disconnected and isolated than at any time before. For religious people, church provides a place to gather, grow one’s social connections, and build friendships.
A humanist community provides all of the same social benefits without the insufficiently substantiated worship of some supernatural deity.
Almost all humanist groups offer opportunities for learning & growth, social events & networking, and many promote activism & advocacy for social and environmental justice, allowing members to contribute to positive change in the world.
Why We Host Humanist Gatherings
Theistic individuals have a common point of gathering that’s basically on autopilot. Secular individuals on the other hand, have to work to build community. Through the events that we host, we aim to create a space that provides all of the social benefits of community that aren’t as easily accessible to humanists and other secular-minded individuals.
What Happens at a Humanist Gathering
Just as when any group of like-minded individuals gather, there’s bound to be some talk of shared values. However, at a humanist gathering, we all know we’re humanists (or humanist-adjacent in our values), so talk of humanism and being good without god usually isn’t the focus.
Humanist Explorer gatherings tend to fall into one of two categories: social or educational.
Educational Gatherings
We generally host two types of educational gatherings, our Exploration Series, which is a mini-series of facilitated conversations deep-diving into a topic of interest to humanists, and our Through the Lens series, which is a monthly gathering of humanists to discuss a timely topic or current event. The Omaha Metro Area Humanist Association (OMAHA) offers other educational opportunities, including its long-running book club.
Social Gatherings
We typically host two types of social gatherings, although most of our educational opportunities usually start off with dinner or some other social hour. Quarterly, we host Humanist Game Night, an opportunity to come play table top games with other humanists. Monthly, we have a humanist happy hour, Pints for Humanity, that takes place at different watering holes around the Omaha metro area on varying days of the week. OMAHA also hosts a long-running First Fridays event giving humanist the opportunity to gather for an eat and greet the first Friday of each month.
