ABOUT US

What We Believe
Ethical Culture is a Humanist and Ethical movement inspired by the ideal that the supreme aim of our lives is to create a more humane society. We stand for separation of church and state. We believe acting morally does not require belief in a god. We place our faith in the demonstrated capacity of people to do wonderful things. We believe in the worth and dignity of all living beings.


We believe that all individuals have:

• Inherent worth and dignity
  
• The potential to grow and change
  
• A responsibility to strive for ethical growth
  
• A responsibility to treat others so as to help them realize their fullest potential
  
• A responsibility to create a better world
  
• A responsibility to help build an Ethical Culture community that welcomes and involves others
  

As an Ethical Culture community we believe that:

• We are all part of something that transcends the individual experience
  
• We have responsibilities to each other, to the Society, and to the community at large
  
• We are enriched through our interconnectedness with others
  
• We find confirmation and validation of our own selves and beliefs through our interactions with others
  
• We derive strength through our relationships with others
  

Here's a clip from a news report that was done recently about NYSEC.


ETHICS IN ACTION

Since its founding in 1876, the New York Society for Ethical Culture has devoted itself to creating a more just and humane world. With “Deed above Creed” as a driving force for positive action, we have helped create significant community institutions that have had a long lasting effect on the promise of a civil society.


We founded:

• The Ethical Culture/Fieldston School (originally the first free kindergarten in the United States)
  
• The Visiting Nurse Service
  
• The Child Study Association
  
• The First United States Settlement House
  
• The Encampment for Citizenship
  

We helped establish:

• The Legal Aid Society
  
• The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People
  
• The American Civil Liberties Union
  
• The New York Committee to Abolish Capital Punishment
  

Programs currently sponsored by our Social Service Board include:

• Shelter for homeless women
  
• Supervised Visitation Project
  
• Scholarship and public school enrichment programs
  
• Homeless Artist and Writers Workshop Exhibitions
  

For more information, visit our website.