Non-religious show support for gay rights at Houston Pride

The Secular Center float at Pride Houston.
(c) Secular Center, USA.

This past weekend, the annual Houston Pride festival and parade took place in the Montrose area, celebrating the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) community. A number of groups made a showing and the SECULAR Center was one of them, hosting a booth and a place in the parade.

The SECULAR Center stands for (S)ecular (E)ducation (C)ommunity for (U)nderstanding, (L)earning, (A)ctivism, and (R)esearch. Their mission is to mobilize secular volunteers to contribute toward improving its communities, to coordinate non-theist charitable efforts, and to increase awareness and acceptance of secular worldview, contributions, and values. The center is a part of the Houston Freethought Alliance and partners with many national and local secular organizations, including the Humanists of Houston.

Humanists and other freethinkers have a long history of supporting gay rights and other LGBT issues. Central to Humanist values is the principle that all human beings are equal in dignity, worth, and value, regardless of their race, ethnicity, gender, religion, or orientation.

The center said of their experience, "We did get a few boos at the parade but it was mostly very supportive cheering and some parade attendees even joined in, dancing with us the whole route of the parade." Many churches and other religious groups also participated, including Unitarians, Methodists, Buddhists, Lutherans, and even a Baptist church.