Felix Adler moved away from belief in a personal God during college, becoming a member of the Free Religious Association and was drawn to the belief that ethics should arise from experience, sentiment, and study. He founded ethical culture to help humanity focus on larger concerns and ampler interests, organizing community meetings devoid of prayer to educate, console, and inspire people to become ethical citizens. Adler emphasized humanitarian social action, demanding fairness before the law and equitable access to resources, and founded ethical societies in various cities, leading to the establishment of two dozen ethical societies connected through the American Ethical Union today.