|
|
Title: Freethinkers: A History of American Secularism
Purchase
Item
Manufacturer: Holt Paperbacks
List Price: $17.00
Our Price: $9.58
|
|
| Customer Reviews: |
| Freethinkers: A History of American Secularism by Holt Paperbacks Not just a history of American secularism | | It is that, and a well researched and well written one at that. But more importantly, Jacoby even-handedly describes the history of the push and pull between the forces--religious, secular, political, etc--that have shaped the America we find ourselves in today. She lucidly uncovers the tangled history of this balance of power starting with the early Deists, Atheists, Universalists, Calvinists, and Baptists and moving through the Abolitionists, Suffragists, Jewish and Catholic immigrants, and so on. Yes, it's written from the point of view of the "freethinkers" of American history, but it is thorough history, not overly biased. In fact, it is somewhat surprising in the last chapter when she comes back to the proposition that modern freethinkers need to take on the mantle of Ingersoll and others, not just challenging established religion's role in government, but giving a strong voice to unbelief, and challenging the idea that religion (or belief in God) is a necessary prerequisite for moral standards and government. | | Freethinkers: A History of American Secularism by Holt Paperbacks The Other History | Whenever I debate with a Christian about the origins of the U.S. Constitution or the supposed Christian base of our country, I always ask, "When was the last time you read something written by [insert historical figure]?" Of course this same reasoning applies to any historical writing and this one is no exception, so here is my disclaimer:
Don't take everything you read at face value. Don't be lazy, do the research yourself!
With that being said, I must say that Jacoby does provide a strong case for the much-denied, yet deep-seated influence of secularism in shaping the values of today's America. She does a good job of using the very words of these individuals to voice their opinions, rather than merely quote-mining their works to prove a point.
The message of this book is very important. Religious zealots today would have you believing that thoughts not guided by a "higher power" are evil. This simply is not so. Without some of that unbiased, unrestrained, reasoned-through logic many of our age-old peculiar institutions may not have fallen. In addition, they want you to think that it was by religiously-guided reasoning that these institutions ceased to exist. Not so. Religions were either highly undecided on issues such as emancipation, and women's rights, or they were blatently against them altogether! Of course this is not to say that only atheists and agnostics fought for political justice and civil rights. But it should be understood that were it not for secular (as opposed to biblical) reasoning, these revolutions would have had nowhere to go; it would have been just one interpretation of scripture verses another.
I recommend this book for anyone who has recently discovered disbelief in religion or who feels out of place because of disbelief. Take pride in your disbelief, you have something they don't have: FREEthought! | | Freethinkers: A History of American Secularism by Holt Paperbacks The history of America is the history of American secularism. | In FREETHINKERS: A HISTORY OF AMERICAN SECULARISM, author Susan Jacoby traces the origins and development of freethought in America - and demonstrates how the history of America is intimately intertwined with the history of American secularism.
Starting with the American Revolution and working through American history up to the present day Bush administration, Jacoby offers a concise - but colorful! - overview of secularism, freethought, and the separation of church and state. Though she does discuss the secular roots of the Constitution, only a small portion of FREETHINKERS focuses on the Founding Fathers and their religious beliefs (or lack thereof). Indeed, FREETHINKERS is not a treatise on the First Amendment; it does not claim to be. Volumes have been written on what sort of "wall" Jefferson, Adams, Madison, et.al., sought to erect; rather than add to the library, Jacoby offers her view and then moves on. What follows is an analysis of various social movements, such as abolition, women's suffrage, labor rights and civil rights, with an emphasis on the role in which secularists and freethinkers played in each. Especially interesting are Jacoby's accounts of abolition and women's suffrage, what with all the wheeling, dealing and backstabbing that went on behind the scenes. It's refreshing (or perhaps just downright depressing) to see how much contemporary political maneuvering resembles that of the golden days of freethought and radicalism.
As I devoured FREETHINKERS, I found myself wishing that I had been introduced to similar works during high school. Like many high school students, I found the sanitized, inoffensive history textbooks (both American and global) B-O-R-I-N-G. It wasn't until I graduated from college and again had time for leisure reading that I discovered uncensored, true-to-life historical nonfiction - and actually took an interest in American history and politics. History doesn't have to be boring, kids! In fact, it's almost always as exciting, if not more so, than the latest flick that Hollywood has regurgitated onto the big screen.
Perhaps if books such as FREETHINKERS (as well as James W. Loewen's Lies My Teacher Told Me and Michael Farquhar's A Treasury of Great American Scandals) were introduced into high school curriculums, we'd raise a new generation of politically engaged and active young citizens - knowledgeable voters who, armed with a profound respect for science, empiricism, and secularism, not to mention a healthy dose of skepticism, would not have elected dubya to office (twice!), and allowed him to wage a war based on 935+ "false statements". | | Freethinkers: A History of American Secularism by Holt Paperbacks Not what I wanted | | Not well written. Too many omissions and too much bias. I wanted the facts and the stories, not something intended to incense me or make a political point. I give her credit for writing a book about secularists and their influence on America, but at the same time this book is not the well written history that I wanted. | | Freethinkers: A History of American Secularism by Holt Paperbacks Why not appreciate both secular and religious American traditions? | "Freethinkers" by Susan Jacoby should be treated as an entry point to one's own exploration of American history. Her theme is unique. She attempts to flesh out a tradition of freethought as an identity for those who feel excluded from mainstream American culture because of its religious bend. At other times she defines freethought as the only legitimate American political tradition. Her rendering should be approached as controversial.
Our secular and religious histories are not so easily separable as Jacoby would have it; and indeed this is a strength and a sign of tolerance. In fact, the prototypical freethinker Thomas Paine argues that in France he was often politically dismissed as a religiously-motivated Quaker. (He was not a pure enough secularist for them.)
Though I am critical in this review, I think a study of this sort is long overdue and really got me thinking--I hope freely. My reaction to her approach challenged me to survey three biographies of Thomas Paine and all Paine's major works. My understanding and interpretation of Paine and America's response to him on his return from France is very different from Jacoby's, though I love and honor him as much as she does.
Jacoby carries over the antagonisms of a cultural warrior to what claims to be a scholarly book. She has an axe to grind and isn't ashamed to grind it. But the stronger her bias, the more meticulous and thorough, and absolutely honest, her scholarship should be in order to gain credibility. Unfortunately those who share her biases will eagerly lower the bar. I felt she was limiting herself to an audience of "true (un)believers" rather than seeking to draw in also those with religious values to honor a shared tradition.
Ironically, though she claims the cloak of reason she is primarily driven by an animus against religion, what the Greeks and the Romantics called a "spirit" or "daemon." If you are driven by an animus can you rightfully call yourself a "free" thinker?
In fact those who wish to claim Reason as their touchstone really should take on the Romantic critique of the age of Reason also rather than simply attacking and defining themselves against religions that have their roots much further back in history. Crusaders bogged down in the sludge of the culture wars, they encourage their followers to wear Reason as a escutcheon of superiority, proof resting solely on a categorical rejection of all religions.
The answer may be simply to take to heart her chapter on the renowned speaker, humorist, and agnostic, Robert Ingersoll, who was loved by the religious, the irreligious, theist and atheist, alike.
If secular institutions and traditions are to be living traditions, owned and appreciated by all Americans, then they must be envisioned and historically understood more inclusively than does Jacoby. She is trying too hard to make the secular tradition a separate club, (at its worst an angry club of victimhood,) rather than realizing that most religious people are highly secular in belief and behavior also. And this is an American strength.
"So Help Me God: the Founding Fathers and the First Great Battle Over Church and State" by Forrest Church, my present read, is promising a more balanced view.
| | Freethinkers: A History of American Secularism by Holt Paperbacks Product Description | "Jacoby accomplishes her task with clarity, thoroughness, and an engaging passion."
-Los Angeles Times Book Review
At a time when the separation of church and state is under attack as never before, Freethinkers offers a powerful defense of the secularist heritage that gave Americans the first government in the world founded not on the authority of religion but on the bedrock of human reason. In impassioned, elegant prose, celebrated author Susan Jacoby traces more than two hundred years of secularist activism, beginning with the fierce debate over the omission of God from the Constitution. Moving from nineteenth-century abolitionism and suffragism through the twentieth century's civil liberties, civil rights, and feminist movements, Freethinkers illuminates the neglected achievements of secularists who, allied with tolerant believers, have led the battle for reform in the past and today.
Rich with such iconic figures as Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln, Thomas Paine, and the once-famous Robert Green Ingersoll, Freethinkers restores to history the passionate humanists who struggled against those who would undermine the combination of secular government and religious liberty that is the glory of the American system.
|
| |
