Organized Freethought

This title, first published in 1987, explores the phenomenon of militant freethought among England's working classes from 1840-1870. In particular, it is an effort to explain the peculiarly theological and evangelistic overtones of much Victorian working class radicalism, and the resulting emergence of a Victorian religion of atheism. This title will be of interest to students of nineteenth-century religious and social history.

Introduction: Organized Freethought in Summary and in Context; 1. Child as Father of the Man 2. Orthodoxy: Immoral and Untrue 3. Personalities, Posturing, and Principles 4. Choosing a Creed and a Cause 5. Orthodoxy "Out-Orthodoxed"; Conclusion; Appendix; Bibliography; Index