Rationalist Association
Irreligious organisation in the United Kingdom
title: "Rationalist Association" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["humanist-associations", "political-advocacy-groups-in-the-united-kingdom", "organizations-established-in-1899", "rationalism", "secularism-in-the-united-kingdom", "1899-establishments-in-the-united-kingdom"] description: "Irreligious organisation in the United Kingdom" topic_path: "geography/united-kingdom" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rationalist_Association" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0
::summary Irreligious organisation in the United Kingdom ::
::data[format=table title="Infobox organization"]
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| name | The Rationalist Association |
| image | Rationalist Association red logo.png |
| merged | Humanists UK (2025) |
| products | |
| formation | 1885 |
| location | United Kingdom |
| leader_title | President |
| leader_title2 | Chair of Trustees |
| key_people | |
| founder | Charles Albert Watts |
| website | |
| :: |
| name= The Rationalist Association | image= Rationalist Association red logo.png | caption= | merged= Humanists UK (2025) | products = | formation= 1885 | location= United Kingdom | leader_title= President | leader_name= Laurie Taylor | leader_title2= Chair of Trustees | leader_name2= Clive Coen | key_people = | founder = Charles Albert Watts | website =
The Rationalist Association was a charity in the United Kingdom which published New Humanist magazine between 1885 and 2025. Since 2025, the Rationalist Press has been the publishing imprint of Humanists UK.
The original Rationalist Press Association (RPA) was founded in 1885 by a group of freethinkers who were unhappy with the increasingly political and decreasingly intellectual tenor of the British secularist movement, which made its name publishing cheap reprints of classic literature – such as works by Charles Darwin and John Stuart Mill – through its Thinker's Library series, along with literature that was deemed too anti-religious to be handled by mainstream publishers and booksellers.
In 2002, the RPA became a wholly owned subsidiary of the Rationalist Association, a charity established to continue its work. In 2025, the Rationalist Association merged with Humanists UK, which took over ownership of the RPA and publication of New Humanist. As the Rationalist Press, the original 1885 RPA became the publishing imprint of Humanists UK.
History
The impetus for the creation of the Rationalist Press Association can be traced back to Charles Albert Watts, the publisher who printed the National Reformer and a majority of Charles Bradlaugh's books. In 1890 Watts formed the Propagandist Press Committee, with George Jacob Holyoake as president, in order to circumvent the problem caused by booksellers who refused to handle secularist books. Holyoake remained president as the committee changed its name to the Rationalist Press Committee and finally settled on the Rationalist Press Association in 1899. Members of the association paid a subscription fee and received books annually to the value of that fee.
The Association became quite successful after 1902, when it started selling reprints of serious scientific works by authors such as Julian Huxley, Ernst Haeckel and Matthew Arnold. It achieved even greater success through the Thinker's Library series of books, published by Watts & Co. from 1929 until 1951 under the leadership of Charles Watts's son Fredrick. The Association's continued success in selling books of a heretical nature, mostly by agnostic or atheist authors, contributed to a growing rationalist zeal and a growing demand for this type of literature. By 1959 the Association had reached its highest membership, with more than 5,000 members. Yet its success also contributed to its demise: rationalist literature became so popular that the Association's readership was taken by larger, more established mainstream publishers. The result was a steady decline in membership.
In 2002, the Association changed its name to The Rationalist Association.
In 2006, Jonathan Miller was chosen to be its president. He said in response to being chosen: "Not believing in religion is very widespread, but I think this community gets overlooked. I am flattered and honoured".
In Jan 2025, the organisation merged with Humanists UK, which now publishes the quarterly magazine, New Humanist.
Presidents and chairs
::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4c/Rationalist_Press_Association_members.png" caption="Rationalist Press Association members for 1917 published in ''The R.P.A. Annual for the Year 1917''"] ::
::data[format=table title="Presidents and chairs of the Rationalist Association"]
| 1982–1999 | Hermann Bondi |
|---|---|
| :: |
References
Bibliography
- A study in political psychology.
References
- (13 March 2025). "New Humanist magazine joins Humanists UK". Humanists UK.
- Adewale, Dami. (14 March 2025). "Secular charity dissolves into Humanists UK". Third Sector.
- "A very brief history of the Rationalist Association".
- Colin Campbell. 1971. ''Towards a Sociology of Irreligion''. London: MacMillan Press.
- Joseph McCabe. 1908. ''Life and Letters of George Jacob Holyoake, Volume 2''. London: Watts & Co.
- "Sir Jonathan Miller CBE » British Humanist Association".
- (1917). "R.P.A. Annual". The Rationalist Press Association.
- (1949). "The Story of the R.P.A. 1899–1949". Watts & Co..
- Cooke, Bill. (2004). ''The Gathering of Infidels: A Hundred Years of the Rationalist Press Association''. Prometheus Books. p. 325. {{ISBN. 978-1591021964
- Goldman, Lawrence. (2013). ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography 2005-2008''. Oxford University Press. p. 121. {{ISBN. 978-0199671540
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