Seeds of humanism in Washington date back to the 1940s and 50s with Seattle’s Humanist Society, made up largely of professors from the University of Washington lead by Dr. Giovanni Costigan. The Humanist Society even maintained a Humanist Reading Room when the UW’s campus was located in downtown Seattle.

The Humanist Community of Seattle was formed in the 1960s as a cooperative group of individuals and families that decided to purchase a series of homes in Seattle’s Capitol Hill area.  One such communal house, designated as “Humanist House,” hosted Friday night meetings and a Humanist Sunday School for children.

In the 1970s, Washington State was abuzz with freethought activists, including the late Bette Chambers, a biology teacher from Spokane and later of Lacey, who served as American Humanist Association President ‘73-’79.

Humanists of Washington was founded by members of the American Humanist Association in the Seattle area who started meeting in July 1979. They incorporated Humanists of Seattle shortly thereafter under the foundational presidency of Dick Alvord of Renton and then later Seattle.  The 1980s were characterized by activism that included participation in peace marches, advocacy for cannabis decriminalization, demonstrations against censorship of free speech, and lobbying state lawmakers for laws permitting assisted suicide. Members attended regular lectures by Dr. Costigan and others, formed a singles social group, and allied with the student-led atheist group at the University of Washington. HoW received its federal tax-exempt status in October, 1989.

Under the leadership of Barbara Dority through the 80s, 90s, and early 2000s, HoW published The Secular Humanist Quarterly, a print newsletter that featured book reviews, original prose and poetry, reprints of letter to the editor, cartoons, interviews, and editorials. During Barbara’s tenure, HoW participated in Seattle’s University District Streetfair as one of the many community groups and artisans dedicated to the fair’s vision of healing community divisions and promoting tolerance.

In the 1990s, the organization registered as Humanists of Washington when members decided to break ties with the American Humanist Association, and has been operating under that name ever since. Monthly meetings were held at the Phinney Neighborhood Center, and social dinners continued.  The mid-2000s saw the retirement of 25-year president Barbara Dority and treasurer Jim Rybock, with long-time member and volunteer Jerry Schiffelbein assuming presidency and outreach. Social meetups grew to Kirkland and Bellevue, and HoW began collaborating with new allied organizations that had formed within the burgeoning post-911 atheist movement.  HoW participated in several Northwest Freethought Alliance conferences and formed part of the Northwest Freethought Coalition that participated in advertising campaigns to raise public awareness of nontheist existence across the country.

In the 2010’s, leadership transitioned through a series of active volunteers until reaching its current configuration. In 2018, HoW once again will become an affiliate of the AHA.