Barbara Smoker (2 June 1923 – 7 April 2020)"Former NSS president Barbara Smoker dies at 96", ''National Secular Society'', 8 April 2020
Retrieved 8 April 2020 was a British

humanist Humanism is a philosophical stance that emphasizes the individual and social potential and agency of human beings. It considers human beings the starting point for serious moral and philosophical inquiry. The meaning of the term "humani ...

activist Activism (or Advocacy) consists of efforts to promote, impede, direct or intervene in social, political, economic or environmental reform with the desire to make changes in society toward a perceived greater good. Forms of activism range fro ...

and

freethought Freethought (sometimes spelled free thought) is an epistemological viewpoint which holds that beliefs should not be formed on the basis of authority, tradition, revelation, or dogma, and that beliefs should instead be reached by other methods ...

advocate. She was also President of the

National Secular Society The National Secular Society (NSS) is a British campaigning organisation that promotes secularism and the separation of church and state. It holds that no one should gain advantage or disadvantage because of their religion or lack of it. It was ...

(1972–1996), Chair of the British Voluntary Euthanasia Society (now known as

Dignity in Dying Dignity in Dying (originally The Voluntary Euthanasia Legalisation Society) is a United Kingdom nationwide campaigning organisation. It is funded by voluntary contributions from members of the public, and as of December 2010, it claimed to hav ...

) (1981–1985) and an Honorary Vice President of the

Gay and Lesbian Humanist Association LGBT Humanists UK, founded in 1979, is a special interest section of Humanists UK which campaigns for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) equality and human rights in the United Kingdom. It also organises social events for LGBT humanist ...

in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

Biography

Barbara Smoker was born in

Catford Catford is a district in south east London, England, and the administrative centre of the London Borough of Lewisham. It is southwest of Lewisham itself, mostly in the Rushey Green (ward), Rushey Green and Catford South Ward (electoral subdiv ...

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

in 1923 into a

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

family. She served in the

Women's Royal Naval Service The Women's Royal Naval Service (WRNS; popularly and officially known as the Wrens) was the women's branch of the United Kingdom's Royal Navy. First formed in 1917 for the First World War, it was disbanded in 1919, then revived in 1939 at the ...

from 1942 to 1945 in southeast Asia. In 1949 she became an

atheist Atheism, in the broadest sense, is an absence of belief in the existence of deities. Less broadly, atheism is a rejection of the belief that any deities exist. In an even narrower sense, atheism is specifically the position that there no ...

, inspired by the writing of

Hector Hawton Hector Hawton (7 February 1901 – 14 December 1975) was a British humanist, novelist and rationalist writer. Biography Hawton was born in Plymouth and was educated at Plymouth College. He married Mary Bishop, they had two sons.Reginald, Rober ...

,MacKillop, I. D. (1986) ''The British Ethical Societies'', p 86, Cambridge University Press, nlineAvailable from: https://books.google.com/books?id=mqgsFS_MN9UC&pgis=1 (Accessed 13 May 2014). managing director of the

Rationalist Press Association The Rationalist Association, originally the Rationalist Press Association, is an organization in the United Kingdom, founded in 1885 by a group of freethinkers who were unhappy with the increasingly political and decreasingly intellectual tenor ...

and editor of ''

The Humanist ''The Humanist'' is an American bi-monthly magazine published in Washington, DC. It was founded in 1941 by American Humanist Association. It covers topics in science, religion, media, technology, politics and popular culture and provides ethical ...

''. In 1950 Smoker joined the humanist movement when she became a member of the

South Place Ethical Society The Conway Hall Ethical Society, formerly the South Place Ethical Society, based in London at Conway Hall, is thought to be the oldest surviving freethought organisation in the world and is the only remaining ethical society in the United King ...

, and the West London Ethical Society. As a volunteer with the Ethical Union (later known as the British Humanist Association and as

Humanists UK Humanists UK, known from 1967 until May 2017 as the British Humanist Association (BHA), is a charitable organisation which promotes secular humanism and aims to represent "people who seek to live good lives without religious or superstitious be ...

), she became a close friend of

Harold Blackham Harold John Blackham (31 March 1903 – 23 January 2009) was a leading British humanist philosopher, writer and educationalist. He has been described as the "progenitor of modern humanism in Britain". Biography Blackham was born in West Br ...

and worked with him to organise the first

World Humanist Congress Humanists International (known as the International Humanist and Ethical Union, or IHEU, from 1952–2019) is an international non-governmental organisation championing secularism and human rights, motivated by secular humanist values. Found ...

in London, in 1952, to follow the conference in Amsterdam where

Humanists International Humanists International (known as the International Humanist and Ethical Union, or IHEU, from 1952–2019) is an international non-governmental organisation championing secularism and human rights, motivated by secular humanist values. Found ...

had been founded. In this time she also worked closely with Ashton Bural, who ran the

Progressive League The Progressive League was a British organisation for social reform and the promotion of scientific humanism, founded in 1932 by H. G. Wells and C. E. M. Joad under the name "Federation of Progressive Societies and Individuals" (FPSI). One of the ...

, a humanist campaigning organisation that worked closely with the Ethical Union. She became a popular humanist celebrant at non-religious funerals, wedding ceremonies, gay and lesbian commitments, and baby-namings, as well as a trainer of celebrants for the British Humanist Association. She also wrote the popular children's textbook ''Humanism'', which saw widespread use in schools. Her longest stint in her career as an activist was her tenure as President of the

, spanning nearly 25 years (1972 –1996). In that capacity, she represented atheist and secularist viewpoints in print, on lecture platforms, speaking tours, on radio and television. As well as leading the NSS, she was also active in various social campaigns, such as the abolition of the

death penalty Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty, is the state-sanctioned practice of deliberately killing a person as a punishment for an actual or supposed crime, usually following an authorized, rule-governed process to conclude that t ...

prison reform Prison reform is the attempt to improve conditions inside prisons, improve the effectiveness of a penal system, or implement alternatives to incarceration. It also focuses on ensuring the reinstatement of those whose lives are impacted by crimes. ...

nuclear disarmament Nuclear may refer to: Physics Relating to the Atomic nucleus, nucleus of the atom: *Nuclear engineering *Nuclear physics *Nuclear power *Nuclear reactor *Nuclear weapon *Nuclear medicine *Radiation therapy *Nuclear warfare Mathematics *Nuclear ...

, legalisation of abortion and for the

Voluntary Euthanasia Society Dignity in Dying (originally The Voluntary Euthanasia Legalisation Society) is a United Kingdom nationwide campaigning organisation. It is funded by voluntary contributions from members of the public, and as of December 2010, it claimed to hav ...

; she served as chair of the latter organisation from 1981 to 1985. She claimed to have financed the manufacture of the first

Make Love, Not War "Make love, not war" is an anti-war slogan commonly associated with the American counterculture of the 1960s. It was used primarily by those who were opposed to the Vietnam War, but has been invoked in other anti-war contexts since, around th ...

badges that were popular in Britain during the 1960s. Barbara Smoker became the South Place Ethical Society's last and only female Appointed Lecturer in 1986. As of May 2014, with the death of Dr Harry Stopes-Roe, she became the only living Appointed Lecturer. In 2005 Barbara Smoker received the Distinguished Humanist Service Award from

. She was also awarded Honorary Member of

(formerly the British Humanist Association) at some stage in recognition of her activism. Smoker lived in southeast London and in 2012 was elected the Honorary life president of the South East London Humanist Group in recognition that she was its last surviving founder member. She died in

Lewisham Hospital University Hospital Lewisham (formerly known as Lewisham Hospital) is a teaching hospital run by Lewisham and Greenwich NHS Trust and serving the London Borough of Lewisham. It is now affiliated with King's College London and forms part of the ...

on 7 April 2020, aged 96, after a long illness.

Publications

*''Good God! a string of verses to tie up the deity'' (1977) B & T, London, *''Atheism on a Soap-Box'' (1985). London:

. *''Humanism'' (2017, 7th edition), Barbara Smoker. G. W. Foote & Co. Ltd. (an introduction to Humanism for secondary education) *''Blackham's Best'' (2007, 3rd edition), edited by Barbara Smoker. Published by British Humanist Association. (Excerpts from the work of

Harold John Blackham Harold John Blackham (31 March 1903 – 23 January 2009) was a leading British humanist philosopher, writer and educationalist. He has been described as the "progenitor of modern humanism in Britain". Biography Blackham was born in West Br ...

). *''Freethoughts'' (2002), Barbara Smoker. G.W. Foote & Co. . (Selections of contributions to The Freethinker). *''My Godforsaken Life - Memoir of a Maverick'' (2018) Thornwick Press (autobiography) Editor: *''The Future of our Past: from Ancient Greece to Global Village'', by

(1996). Prometheus Books. Contributor: * * * *

References

* Biography based on an entry i
Rationalist International

External links

Barbara Smoker

National Secular Society

Dignity in Dying
(formerly the Voluntary Euthanasia Society)
Gay and Lesbian Humanist Association (UK)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Smoker, Barbara 1923 births 2020 deaths 20th-century atheists 21st-century atheists British abortion-rights activists British anti–death penalty activists British anti–nuclear weapons activists British atheism activists British secularists British women activists Critics of Christianity Critics of religions Critics of the Catholic Church English anti–nuclear weapons activists English atheists English humanists English women activists Euthanasia activists Former Roman Catholics Freethought writers English LGBT rights activists People associated with Conway Hall Ethical Society Prison reformers

Biography

Publications

See also

References

External links