Tobi Ruwase is a lifelong music enthusiast with a background in community outreach and early childhood education. As a graduate assistant in Texas, she supported grant-funded programs for migrant and underserved families and interned at the United Nations in New York. Raised in a non-religious home in Nigeria by Muslim and Christian parents, she understands firsthand the isolation of growing up without a secular community in a deeply religious society. Now a new mother, she joined Humanists Australia’s Altruistic label to help build the cultural infrastructure she wishes she’d had: humanist resources, music, and community for the next generation.
In meetups, hangouts, conferences, campaigns, virtual meetings, ceremonies, and communities — places where we can promote and champion our own values in art forms.
As humans, we also borrow art and make it ours.
Did you know “Here Comes the Bride” played at church weddings was first a bridal chorus from a 19th-century opera? Christianity borrowed it, and now it feels sacred.
Did you know “Live Long and Prosper” and the Vulcan salute came from the Hebrew Priestly Blessing, Birkat Kohanim? Star Trek borrowed it, and now it feels futuristic.
Watch this 30-second breakdown from Humanists International
I reached out to the creator of the video, Harry Linley, Fundraising and Communications Officer at Humanists International, to ask what attracted them to Star Trek. Harry said: “I chose to feature Star Trek partly as a way to reach like-minded people on social media, since it has such a large and engaged fan community, but also because of the strong connections between the show and humanism. Star Trek has always leaned into themes like rational inquiry, secular ethics, diversity, and a hopeful vision of humanity’s future without religion at its centre, so it felt like a natural fit for this kind of content.”
How many of us realize this fictional universe is humanist at its core?
Creator Gene Roddenberry imagined the United Federation of Planets built on reason, science, and empathy. No gods. No dogma. Just people figuring it out together.
Vulcans practice IDIC — Infinite Diversity in Infinite Combinations. The cosmic version of humanist dignity.
And Spock? Half-human, half-Vulcan. The bridge. He teaches the Federation to temper logic with empathy, and teaches humans the value of reason.
“Live Long and Prosper” isn’t just a line. It’s mutual flourishing.
Imagine humanism with that kind of mainstream presence.
In film. In music. The way Christian music transcends denominations — I have met Muslims who sing along.
Imagine the Happy Human symbol with the same instant recognition as the Vulcan salute.
As I write this, I juxtapose both symbols mentally — whether it’s the Happy Human outstretched hands or the extended fingers of the Vulcan salute. We are all reaching out for something…
It also makes me wonder if our symbol was influenced by the Vulcan salute.
I love contemporary Christian music and some gospel. I sing along.
And where the lyrics say “God” or “Jesus” and I feel uneasy, I take a musical rest. A fermata. A pause held just long enough to breathe, before the music modulates into something that fits me.
That’s the space we could fill.
Just look at artists already doing it, without calling it humanism.
Take Altruistic artist Madam Who? — Audra Coldiron. Genre-fluid. Pop anthems for underdogs.
She’s been through brain cancer, near-drowning, industry fallout, and came out writing songs like “Reclaim Your Power,” “You Are Not Alone,” “I Am Enough,” and most recently, “LLPA (Live Long And Prosper)”.
She’s not singing about doctrine. She’s singing about dignity, resilience, community. Humanist values.
And she’s not alone. There are musicians everywhere writing songs about hope and humanity — some already part of our own network through Altruistic — who’ve probably never heard the word “humanism” attached to their work.
At Humanists International, we are 100+ member organizations strong. Imagine we have a shared anthem.
A humanism sound. A music book club. Songs taught in ceremonies, played at conferences, shared online.
The opportunity is here. The stages are already built.
It’s time humanism stepped up and became the champion of its own art and sound. Then maybe others will notice.
Live Long and Prosper, o ye Happy Humans!
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