English Secularism

English Secularism

by George J. Holyoake

24 chapters4h 8mEnglish1896

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)

1Open Thought the First Step to Intelligence
339
2The Question Stated
370
3The First Stage of Free Thought: Its Nature and Limitation
711
4The Second Stage of Free Thought: Enterprise
463
5Conquests of Investigation
579
6Stationariness of Criticism
638
7Third Stage of Free Thought: Secularism
365
8Three Principles Vindicated
672
9How Secularism Arose
540
10How Secularism Was Diffused
548
11Secular Instruction Distinct From Secularism
395
12The Distinctiveness Made Further Evident
631
13Self-Defensive For The People
544
14Rejected Tenets Replaced By Better
514
15Morality Independent of Theology
831
16Ethical Certitude
552
17The Ethical Method of Controversy
451
18Its Discrimination
400
19Apart From Christianism
515
20Secularism Creates a New Responsibility
493
21Through Opposition To Recognition
722
22Self-Extending Principles
958
23Secularist Ceremonies
1711

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