How HAPI Impacted Me (#1)

An essay series featuring retrospectives by HAPI members, staff, and leaders.

I cannot stress enough how humanism saved my life… or, at the very least, my worldview.

Before coming across Humanist Alliance Philippines, International, I was a young atheist who wasn’t really sure where or whom to take his cue from. I was even a fan of certain Philippine leaders with… uhh, questionable morals.

But stumbling upon an interview featuring Ms. M discussing a life stance called ‘secular humanism’ changed all of that. (Catching up on the philosophies of Carl Sagan and Bertrand Russell certainly helped as well).

I realised that I have *always been* a humanist: I adored science and my decisions were often guided by the humility I gained from watching astronomy videos. (All of humanity’s squabbles become so silly once you realise how ridiculously small our planet is on a universal scale.)

As a queer boy, I also believed in equality, having felt repulsed by the discrimination I and other LGBTQ+ people experience daily.

I just didn’t know there was a name – humanism – for that perspective.

Seeing how hard HAPI fought to uphold science and basic decency in the Philippines sold me on them immediately. Embracing them (and the ‘humanist’ tag) felt like a no-brainer.

It is HAPI’s eighth year of operations and my second year lending them my talents. I could not be prouder of how we’ve managed to lead the humanist charge in the PH. And I could not be more excited to see where we’ll go from here!”

– Sherwin Dane Haro
HAPI Scholar / Website Editor-in-Chief