The Atheism, Agnosticism and Criticism of Religion of Robert Ingersoll in the Context of the Czech Freethinking Movement
In the American society in the 19th century, still prevailingly Christian, proclamations of faithlessness and calls for a purely scientific worldview occasionally appeared. Religion was perceived as an obstacle to efforts toward scientific materialism. A leading representative and popularizer of su...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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University of Pardubice
2017-12-01
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| Series: | American and British Studies Annual |
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| Online Access: | https://absa.upce.cz/index.php/absa/article/view/2292 |
| _version_ | 1797832539741618176 |
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| author | Tomáš Bubík |
| author_facet | Tomáš Bubík |
| author_sort | Tomáš Bubík |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description |
In the American society in the 19th century, still prevailingly Christian, proclamations of faithlessness and calls for a purely scientific worldview occasionally appeared. Religion was perceived as an obstacle to efforts toward scientific materialism. A leading representative and popularizer of such an attitude was the American humanist, thinker, orator and lawyer Robert Green Ingersoll, whose works have been translated into many languages, including Czech. Ingersoll became a very popular figure, inspiring freethought circles both in the United States and in Europe. As a keen critic of religion, he ranked among the key American advocates for free thought, humanism, and the propagation of scientific knowledge. The paper discusses his specific form of faithlessness (agnosticism rather than atheism) and introduces a typology categorizing strategies of his criticism of the religious worldview in the context of Czech intellectual and freethinking movement of the first third of the 20th century.
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| first_indexed | 2024-04-09T14:10:37Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-19ef29a95bf648e9b2fff8edc75739ff |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1803-6058 2788-2233 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-09T14:10:37Z |
| publishDate | 2017-12-01 |
| publisher | University of Pardubice |
| record_format | Article |
| series | American and British Studies Annual |
| spelling | doaj.art-19ef29a95bf648e9b2fff8edc75739ff2023-05-06T14:00:22ZengUniversity of PardubiceAmerican and British Studies Annual1803-60582788-22332017-12-0110The Atheism, Agnosticism and Criticism of Religion of Robert Ingersoll in the Context of the Czech Freethinking MovementTomáš Bubík0Palacký University Olomouc In the American society in the 19th century, still prevailingly Christian, proclamations of faithlessness and calls for a purely scientific worldview occasionally appeared. Religion was perceived as an obstacle to efforts toward scientific materialism. A leading representative and popularizer of such an attitude was the American humanist, thinker, orator and lawyer Robert Green Ingersoll, whose works have been translated into many languages, including Czech. Ingersoll became a very popular figure, inspiring freethought circles both in the United States and in Europe. As a keen critic of religion, he ranked among the key American advocates for free thought, humanism, and the propagation of scientific knowledge. The paper discusses his specific form of faithlessness (agnosticism rather than atheism) and introduces a typology categorizing strategies of his criticism of the religious worldview in the context of Czech intellectual and freethinking movement of the first third of the 20th century. https://absa.upce.cz/index.php/absa/article/view/2292Robert Green IngersollFreethinkingAtheismAgnosticismCzech Freethought SocietyVolna myslenka |
| spellingShingle | Tomáš Bubík The Atheism, Agnosticism and Criticism of Religion of Robert Ingersoll in the Context of the Czech Freethinking Movement American and British Studies Annual Robert Green Ingersoll Freethinking Atheism Agnosticism Czech Freethought Society Volna myslenka |
| title | The Atheism, Agnosticism and Criticism of Religion of Robert Ingersoll in the Context of the Czech Freethinking Movement |
| title_full | The Atheism, Agnosticism and Criticism of Religion of Robert Ingersoll in the Context of the Czech Freethinking Movement |
| title_fullStr | The Atheism, Agnosticism and Criticism of Religion of Robert Ingersoll in the Context of the Czech Freethinking Movement |
| title_full_unstemmed | The Atheism, Agnosticism and Criticism of Religion of Robert Ingersoll in the Context of the Czech Freethinking Movement |
| title_short | The Atheism, Agnosticism and Criticism of Religion of Robert Ingersoll in the Context of the Czech Freethinking Movement |
| title_sort | atheism agnosticism and criticism of religion of robert ingersoll in the context of the czech freethinking movement |
| topic | Robert Green Ingersoll Freethinking Atheism Agnosticism Czech Freethought Society Volna myslenka |
| url | https://absa.upce.cz/index.php/absa/article/view/2292 |
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