Deism in Enlightenment England

Deism in Enlightenment England PDF Author: Jeffrey R Wigelsworth
Publisher: Manchester University Press
ISBN: 184779730X
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 417

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Book Description
This is the first complete study of English deists as a group in several decades and it argues for a new interpretation of deism in the English Enlightenment. While there have been many recent studies of the deist John Toland, the writings of other contemporary deists have been forgotten. With extensive analysis of lesser known figures such as Anthony Collins, Matthew Tindal, Thomas Chub, and Thomas Morgan, in addition to unique insights into Toland, Deism in Enlightenment England offers a much broader assessment of what deism entailed in the eighteenth century. Readers will see how previous interpretations of English deists, which place these figures on an irreligious trajectory leading towards modernity, need to be revised. This book uses deists to address a number of topics and themes and theme in English history and will be of particular interest to scholars of Enlightenment history, history of science, theology and politics, and the early modern era.

Deism in Enlightenment England

Deism in Enlightenment England PDF Author: Jeffrey R Wigelsworth
Publisher: Manchester University Press
ISBN: 184779730X
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 417

Get Book

Book Description
This is the first complete study of English deists as a group in several decades and it argues for a new interpretation of deism in the English Enlightenment. While there have been many recent studies of the deist John Toland, the writings of other contemporary deists have been forgotten. With extensive analysis of lesser known figures such as Anthony Collins, Matthew Tindal, Thomas Chub, and Thomas Morgan, in addition to unique insights into Toland, Deism in Enlightenment England offers a much broader assessment of what deism entailed in the eighteenth century. Readers will see how previous interpretations of English deists, which place these figures on an irreligious trajectory leading towards modernity, need to be revised. This book uses deists to address a number of topics and themes and theme in English history and will be of particular interest to scholars of Enlightenment history, history of science, theology and politics, and the early modern era.

Deism in Enlightenment England

Deism in Enlightenment England PDF Author: Jeffrey R. Wigelsworth
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781781703304
Category : Church and state
Languages : en
Pages : 238

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Book Description
This complete study of English deists as a group argues for a new interpretation of deism in the English Enlightenment. With extensive analysis of less known figures such as Anthony Collins, Matthew Tindal, Thomas Chubb, and Thomas Morgan, it offers a broader assessment of what deism entitled in the 18th century.

The English Deists

The English Deists PDF Author: Wayne Hudson
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1317316339
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 224

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Book Description
Interprets the works of an important group of writers known as 'the English deists'. This title argues that this interpretation reads Romantic conceptions of religious identity into a period in which it was lacking. It contextualizes these writers within the early Enlightenment, which was multivocal, plural and in search of self definition.

Enlightenment and Modernity

Enlightenment and Modernity PDF Author: Wayne Hudson
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1317316053
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 244

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Book Description
The writers known as the English deists were not simply religious controversialists, but agents of reform who contributed to the emergence of modernity. This title claims that these writers advocated a failed ideology which itself declined after 1730. It argues for an evolution of their ideas into a more modern form.

An Account of the Growth of Deism in England

An Account of the Growth of Deism in England PDF Author: William Stephens
Publisher: DigiCat
ISBN:
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 33

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Book Description
DigiCat Publishing presents to you this special edition of "An Account of the Growth of Deism in England" by William Stephens. DigiCat Publishing considers every written word to be a legacy of humankind. Every DigiCat book has been carefully reproduced for republishing in a new modern format. The books are available in print, as well as ebooks. DigiCat hopes you will treat this work with the acknowledgment and passion it deserves as a classic of world literature.

The Enlightenment and religion

The Enlightenment and religion PDF Author: S. J. Barnett
Publisher: Manchester University Press
ISBN: 1847795935
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 260

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Book Description
This electronic version has been made available under a Creative Commons (BY-NC-ND) open access license. This book offers a critical survey of religious change and its causes in eighteenth-century Europe, and constitutes a challenge to the accepted views in traditional Enlightenment studies. Focusing on Enlightenment Italy, France and England, it illustrates how the canonical view of eighteenth-century religious change has in reality been constructed upon scant evidence and assumption, in particular the idea that the thought of the enlightened led to modernity. For, despite a lack of evidence, one of the fundamental assumptions of Enlightenment studies has been the assertion that there was a vibrant Deist movement which formed the “intellectual solvent” of the eighteenth century. The central claim of this book is that the immense ideological appeal of the traditional birth-of-modernity myth has meant that the actual lack of Deists has been glossed over, and a quite misleading historical view has become entrenched.

An Account of the Growth of Deism in England

An Account of the Growth of Deism in England PDF Author: William Stephens
Publisher: Prabhat Prakashan
ISBN:
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 23

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Book Description
First published in the year 1696, the present book 'An Account of the Growth of Deism in England' by the famous anthropologist, historian William Stephens gives a concise religious history of the spread of deism in England.

Atheism and Deism Revalued

Atheism and Deism Revalued PDF Author: Wayne Hudson
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1317177576
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 305

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Book Description
Given the central role played by religion in early-modern Britain, it is perhaps surprising that historians have not always paid close attention to the shifting and nuanced subtleties of terms used in religious controversies. In this collection particular attention is focussed upon two of the most contentious of these terms: ’atheism’ and ’deism’, terms that have shaped significant parts of the scholarship on the Enlightenment. This volume argues that in the seventeenth and eighteenth century atheism and deism involved fine distinctions that have not always been preserved by later scholars. The original deployment and usage of these terms were often more complicated than much of the historical scholarship suggests. Indeed, in much of the literature static definitions are often taken for granted, resulting in depictions of the past constructed upon anachronistic assumptions. Offering reassessments of the historical figures most associated with ’atheism’ and ’deism’ in early modern Britain, this collection opens the subject up for debate and shows how the new historiography of deism changes our understanding of heterodox religious identities in Britain from 1650 to 1800. It problematises the older view that individuals were atheist or deists in a straightforward sense and instead explores the plurality and flexibility of religious identities during this period. Drawing on the most recent scholarship, the volume enriches the debate about heterodoxy, offering new perspectives on a range of prominent figures and providing an overview of major changes in the field.

Deism, Masonry, and the Enlightenment

Deism, Masonry, and the Enlightenment PDF Author: Joseph A. Leo Lemay
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 224

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Book Description


The Faiths of the Founding Fathers

The Faiths of the Founding Fathers PDF Author: David L. Holmes
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0199740968
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 241

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Book Description
It is not uncommon to hear Christians argue that America was founded as a Christian nation. But how true is this claim? In this compact book, David L. Holmes offers a clear, concise and illuminating look at the spiritual beliefs of our founding fathers. He begins with an informative account of the religious culture of the late colonial era, surveying the religious groups in each colony. In particular, he sheds light on the various forms of Deism that flourished in America, highlighting the profound influence this intellectual movement had on the founding generation. Holmes then examines the individual beliefs of a variety of men and women who loom large in our national history. He finds that some, like Martha Washington, Samuel Adams, John Jay, Patrick Henry, and Thomas Jefferson's daughters, held orthodox Christian views. But many of the most influential figures, including Benjamin Franklin, George Washington, John and Abigail Adams, Jefferson, James and Dolley Madison, and James Monroe, were believers of a different stripe. Respectful of Christianity, they admired the ethics of Jesus, and believed that religion could play a beneficial role in society. But they tended to deny the divinity of Christ, and a few seem to have been agnostic about the very existence of God. Although the founding fathers were religious men, Holmes shows that it was a faith quite unlike the Christianity of today's evangelicals. Holmes concludes by examining the role of religion in the lives of the presidents since World War II and by reflecting on the evangelical resurgence that helped fuel the reelection of George W. Bush. An intriguing look at a neglected aspect of our history, the book will appeal to American history buffs as well as to anyone concerned about the role of religion in American culture.