Description
Book SynopsisThe story of how prominent liberal intellectuals reshaped American religious and secular institutions to promote a more democratic, science-centered society. Winner of the Morris D. Forkosch Award for Best Book by the Center for InquiryRecent polls show that a quarter of Americans claim to have no religious affiliation, identifying instead as atheists, agnostics, or nothing in particular. A century ago, a small group of American intellectuals who dubbed themselves humanists tread this same path, turning to science as a major source of spiritual sustenance. In The Scientific Spirit of American Humanism, Stephen P. Weldon tells the fascinating story of this group as it developed over the twentieth century, following the fortunes of a few generations of radical ministers, academic philosophers, and prominent scientists who sought to replace traditional religion with a modern, liberal, scientific outlook. Weldon explores humanism through the networks of friendships and institutional rela
Trade ReviewThis book is an important read. Weldon carefully describes the development of humanism—key characters, publications, and organizations, as well as the philosophical struggles . . . To gain a fuller understanding of 'the scientific spirit' that imbues the humanist movement, it is well worth it to read Stephen Weldon's book.
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The Humanist MagazineThe volume under review, by
Stephen Weldon, Professor of the History of Science at the University of Oklahoma, has published a fascinating tale of how prominent liberal Protestant intellectuals...developed and supported, wittingly or unwittingly, the rise of secular humanism.
—James C. Ungureanu, University of Wisconsin-Madison,
Journal of the American Academy of ReligionTable of ContentsPreface
Introduction. The Scientific Spirit of American Humanism
Chapter 1. Liberal Christianity and the Frontiers of American Belief
Chapter 2. The Birth of Religious Humanism
Chapter 3. Manifesto for an Age of Science
Chapter 4. Philosophers in the Pulpit
Chapter 5. Humanists at War
Chapter 6. Scientists on the World Stage
Chapter 7. Eugenics and the Question of Race
Chapter 8. Inside the Humanist Counterculture
Chapter 9. Skeptics in the Age of Aquarius
Chapter 10. The Fundamentalist Challenge
Chapter 11. Battling Creationism and Christian Pseudoscience
Chapter 12. The Humanist Ethos of Science in Modern America
Epilogue. Science and Millennial Humanism
Notes
Archival Sources and Personal Papers
Index
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