The Austrian Humanist Association (Humanistischer Verband Österreich) was founded on 20 February 1887 and is a strictly secular organisation. It advocates a worldview based on facts and natural sciences, ethics without religious reference, and a state that is not based on religious beliefs.
It is a community of conviction in the tradition of the European Enlightenment, committed to the values of democracy and human rights. It strives to offer guidance that combines humanism and science, and to convey a secular, critical and rational worldview that contributes to the improvement of human living conditions.
The Associação República e Laicidade (Association for the Republic and Secularism) is a Portuguese organisation founded in 2003 to defend republican ideals and the principle of secularism in the organisation of states with a view to building an open, inclusive and fair society.
Over the past 20 years, the association has campaigned against the interference of religion in public life, including against Christian crosses and religious ceremonies in public schools, against pressure on pupils to enrol in Catholic religious education, against the concordat with the Holy See and other discriminatory laws, and for the right to voluntary termination of pregnancy and assisted dying.
The association has written numerous letters to political parties, in parliament and during general election campaigns, local authorities and other state actors. It has also published numerous articles in the press and its representatives have been invited on several occasions to appear on television and radio to comment on issues related to secularism.
