Project Gutenberg 2005-08-11 Public domain in the USA. 61 Southwell, Charles 1814 1860 An apology for atheism : $b addressed to religious investigators of every denomination by one of its apostles Reading ease score: 51.7 (10th to 12th grade). Somewhat difficult to read. Produced by The Freethought Archives "An Apology for Atheism" by Charles Southwell is a philosophical treatise written in the mid-19th century. This work addresses the interconnectedness of religion and politics, arguing that the pervasive influence of religious belief, particularly in Christianity and Roman Catholicism, hinders political and social progress. It critiques the superstitions that plague society and argues for a rational understanding of existence without reliance on divine entities. At the start of the treatise, the author emphasizes the need for a deeper understanding of the gods people worship, suggesting that ignorance of one's beliefs leads to societal oppression. Southwell discusses the significant impact of religion on political practices and the need for intellectual emancipation to achieve genuine political freedom. He insists that prevailing superstitions, particularly among the Irish population, result in stagnation and challenges the notion that political rights can be achieved without addressing the underlying religious beliefs that shape societal behaviors. The opening sets a tone of intense critique aimed at both religious dogma and the societal complacency that allows such dogma to persist unchallenged. (This is an automatically generated summary.) en Atheism BL Text Browsing: Philosophy & Ethics Browsing: Religion/Spirituality/Paranormal 276833 276883 2024-10-07T10:52:25.176534 2023-09-07T11:18:17.150748 text/html text/html 276826 276876 2024-10-07T10:52:25.422545 2023-09-07T11:18:17.286788 text/html text/html 199794 2024-10-07T10:52:32.410455 application/epub+zip 202513 2024-10-07T10:52:28.718473 application/epub+zip 167002 2024-10-07T10:52:27.492497 application/epub+zip 358496 2024-10-07T10:52:35.287463 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 342568 2024-10-07T10:52:31.663497 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 296711 2022-09-08T05:53:23.852882 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 260558 260448 2024-10-07T10:52:24.846505 2023-09-07T11:18:16.830781 text/plain; charset=us-ascii text/plain 260460 2020-12-12T09:41:49 text/plain; charset=us-ascii 99579 2020-12-12T09:41:49 text/plain; charset=us-ascii application/zip 18730 2024-10-07T10:52:35.414453 application/rdf+xml 15332 2024-10-07T10:52:28.043513 image/jpeg 3913 2024-10-07T10:52:27.770488 image/jpeg 200682 2024-10-07T10:52:25.447530 application/octet-stream application/zip Archives containing the RDF files for *all* our books can be downloaded at https://www.gutenberg.org/wiki/Gutenberg:Feeds#The_Complete_Project_Gutenberg_Catalog en.wikipedia