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Opposition to Christianity (view source)
Revision as of 23:45, December 19, 2009
, 23:45, December 19, 2009→Britain
Stressing their interpretation of the [[Separation of church and state]], secularists have fought court battles to remove prayer from public schools, deny the nation's Christian heritage and outlaw the display of the [[Ten Commandments]] in courts of law, and even replace the term "Merry Christmas" with "Happy Holidays," to the chagrin of [[Bill O'Reilly]].
Stressing their interpretation of the [[Separation of church and state]], secularists have fought court battles to remove prayer from public schools, deny the nation's Christian heritage and outlaw the display of the [[Ten Commandments]] in courts of law, and even replace the term "Merry Christmas" with "Happy Holidays," to the chagrin of [[Bill O'Reilly]].
==Britain==
==Britain==
In 19th century Britain the proportion of prominent people who maintained an anti-Christian materialist atheism was negligible, and a significant number of those who did embrace it were unsatisfied and returned to their religious beliefs. There was a a significant pattern among Victorian popular radicals: the regaining of their Christian faith. Arguments from design, the a priori ontological argument, and the ability of Christianity to offer a secure foundation for morality persuaded Victorian secularists to convert.<ref> Timothy Larsen, "The Regaining of Faith: Reconversions among Popular Radicals in Mid-victorian England," ''Church History'' 2001 70(3): 527-543</ref>
In 19th century Britain the proportion of prominent people who maintained an anti-Christian materialist atheism was negligible, and a significant number of those who did embrace it were unsatisfied and returned to their religious beliefs. There was a a significant pattern among Victorian popular radicals: the regaining of their Christian faith. Arguments from design, the a priori ontological argument, and the ability of Christianity to offer a secure foundation for morality persuaded Victorian secularists to convert.<ref> Timothy Larsen, "The Regaining of Faith: Reconversions among Popular Radicals in Mid-victorian England," ''Church History'' 2001 70(3): 527-543</ref>
==Germany==
The Vatican signed the Reichskonkordat in 1933 to try to normalize the status of the Catholic Church in nazi Germany. Nevertheless Catholicism faced much hostility from powerful Nazis, especially from the neo-pagan tendency associated with figures like Alfred Rosenberg. Disputes arose early on sensitive issues and in areas such as youth organizations, religious education, Catholic labor organizations, and the press, though Rosenberg's anti-Christian rhetoric provoked the Church to defend itself more assertively. Though only a minority of German Catholics actively resisted the regime, many kept a critical distance from it. The Church's predicament showed that traditionalism and hard-line fascism were essentially irreconcilable, but also revealed the limits of the German Church's political understanding in 1933.<ref> Günter Lewy, ''The Catholic Church and Nazi Germany'' (1964); Ernst Christian Helmreich, ''The German Churches under Hitler'' (1979)</ref>
==China==
==China==
In China the [[Boxer Rebellion]] of 1900 marked one of the darkest episodes of anti-Christian violence until it was defeated by an international military invasion. The Boxers began as an obscure, anti-Christian, anti-missionary, and anti-foreign peasant movement in northern China. The Empress Dowager Cixi was pleased when Boxers attacked foreigners who were building railroads, exploiting China's mineral wealth, dividing up the port trading concessions, and converting many peasants to an alien faith. In June the Boxers invaded the city and slaughtered many Chinese Christians and Westerners. The Chinese government was unable or unwilling to control the situation. Western civilians, military personnel, and Chinese Christians retreated to the legation quarter. For 55 days they survived with limited food and water. In August Western troops occupied the city by force of arms. The Empress Dowager grudgingly agreed to indemnify the Western governments and to make many additional concessions. Subsequent reforms laid the foundation for the end of Manchu rule and the establishment of a modern nation.
In China the [[Boxer Rebellion]] of 1900 marked one of the darkest episodes of anti-Christian violence until it was defeated by an international military invasion. The Boxers began as an obscure, anti-Christian, anti-missionary, and anti-foreign peasant movement in northern China. The Empress Dowager Cixi was pleased when Boxers attacked foreigners who were building railroads, exploiting China's mineral wealth, dividing up the port trading concessions, and converting many peasants to an alien faith. In June the Boxers invaded the city and slaughtered many Chinese Christians and Westerners. The Chinese government was unable or unwilling to control the situation. Western civilians, military personnel, and Chinese Christians retreated to the legation quarter. For 55 days they survived with limited food and water. In August Western troops occupied the city by force of arms. The Empress Dowager grudgingly agreed to indemnify the Western governments and to make many additional concessions. Subsequent reforms laid the foundation for the end of Manchu rule and the establishment of a modern nation.