About this book
What is Secularism? "Secularism espouses the cause of the world versus theology; of the secular and temporal versus the sacred and ecclesiastical. Secularism claims that religion ought never to be anything but a private affair; it denies the right of any kind of church to be associated with the public life of a nation, and proposes to supersede the official influence which religious institutions still exercise in both hemispheres." George Holyoake was an English freethinker and one of the last persons in England to be convicted and jailed for blasphemy. He coined the term "secularism" while being an editor for the secularist newspaper "The Reasoner". (Summary by Ava)
Chapters (23)
1 Open Thought the First Step to Intelligence
2 The Question Stated
3 The First Stage of Free Thought: Its Nature and Limitation
4 The Second Stage of Free Thought: Enterprise
5 Conquests of Investigation
6 Stationariness of Criticism
7 Third Stage of Free Thought: Secularism
8 Three Principles Vindicated
9 How Secularism Arose
10 How Secularism Was Diffused
11 Secular Instruction Distinct From Secularism
12 The Distinctiveness Made Further Evident
13 Self-Defensive For The People
14 Rejected Tenets Replaced By Better
15 Morality Independent of Theology
16 Ethical Certitude
17 The Ethical Method of Controversy
18 Its Discrimination
19 Apart From Christianism
20 Secularism Creates a New Responsibility
21 Through Opposition To Recognition
22 Self-Extending Principles
23 Secularist Ceremonies
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