Golden Age of Freethought
The Golden Age of Freethought describes the 19th century United States socio-political movement which promoted freethought/atheism/agnosticism. The period from 1875 to 1914 is referred to as "the high-water mark of freethought as an influential movement in American society".[1]
Politically, the atheist movement has leaned left in its politics (See: Secular left and Atheism and politics). Secular leftist utopianism and its exalted view of human nature did not line up with the horrors of the World War I. The Golden Age of Freethought ended at the start of World War I. In addition, atheism is negatively correlated with economic/political instability.[2]
The Christian view of the fall of man better explained the horrors of WWI and WWII. Furthermore, Christian apologist point out that atheistic evolutionism contributed to the start of WWI (See: World War I and Darwinism). See also: Evolutionary racism and Nazi Germany.
The Cold War between the United States and the Soviet Union further chilled Americans receptiveness to atheism.
Charles Louis Richter on the ending of the Golden Age of Freethought
See also: American atheism
Charles Louis Richter declared in his interview with the International Society for Historians of Atheism, Secularism, and Humanism (ISHASH) about America and atheism:
| “ | The turn of the century ended the golden age of nineteenth century freethought with two events: the death of Robert Ingersoll in 1899, and the assassination of President William McKinley in 1901. The lack of a widely popular voice for irreligion, combined with the murder of the president by an anarchist, led to a backlash against not only anarchism but also atheism. From that point, Americans tended to see irreligion in terms of whatever ostensibly foreign ideology seemed most threatening. So for the rest of the century, we see atheism and atheists associated with anarchism, fascism, socialism, and of course Soviet-style communism. By the late seventies, secular humanism became the buzzword for a whole suite of threats not only to religion, but to Americanism. It’s important to note that this phenomenon is not limited to the political or religious right; liberals also framed irreligion as un-American.[3] | ” |
See also
Notes
- ↑ Jacoby, Susan. Freethinkers: A History of American Secularism. New York, NY: Metropolitan Books, p. 151
- ↑ Economics and atheism
- ↑ ISHASH MEMBER INTERVIEW: CHARLES LOUIS RICHTER, International Society for Historians of Atheism, Secularism, and Humanism