Customer Reviews

Atheists, Agnostics, and Deists in America : A Brief History

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Don't let the history title fool you. This is not a difficult book. A bright 5th grader writing a book report could handle it. And it is short. But, as the author points out in his introduction, it is the only history of its kind in print. And, it is a useful reference.

For example, I found it useful to know that the American Humanist Association has its roots in the Unitarian Universalists who in turn have their roots in a single court decision made in Massachusetts about the then established Congregationalists church; while the American Ethical Union was formed by the son of a Rabbi trained as a Rabbi and initially was predominantly comprised of secular Jews.

He also presents some surprisingly strong evidenc for the influence of Epicurus and Democratis on Marx (Marx wrote his doctoral thesis on the differences between their philosophies), and for the influence of the Stoics on the Transcendentalists ( a group I wouldn't initally have considered part of the story of freethought in the U.S. at all).

The style can be too spare. A bit more detail might have helped the subject come alive, and given more authority to the presentation. But, how many people have time to read a 1,000 page history of Atheism in America?

The other weak part of the book is its discussion of the future of atheism and its analysis of why it hasn't gone further so far. The logic here is shallow, and unlike the rest of the book (a recitation of facts where simplicity can make it easy to read), this section definitely suffers for its lack of a more nuanced analysis.

This book is a pleasant-to-read survey of influential American heathens. It provides great history and lots of intriguing facts about Americans who have rejected a belief in an intervening god.

Unfortunately, the editing is terrible--names misspelled, facts given backwards, punctuation in the wrong places--I wonder if the writer even bothered to proofread this before handing it over to the obviously inept editor. It's hard to read a book when you're constantly having to go back over each paragraph to determine what was actually meant. Also, the writer has an annoying habit of "telling you what you're going to tell them, telling them, and telling them what you told them" a bit too often. It seems he's trying to use unnecessary words to fluff up the pages and make a longer book.

The 3 stars I gave this book are based on content--perhaps it might have earned 5 stars with better writing and editing.

When did atheism first appear in America? Why did many of the Founding Fathers become deists? Are atheism and deism a threat to the Christian, Jewish, and Moslem religions?

The book not only attempts to answer these questions, but also explores the influence of such philosophers as Epicurus, Marcus Aurelius and Voltaire on American leaders. You will meet not only Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry David Thoreau, Ralph Ingersoll, and Clarence Darrow, but also Fanny Wright, an atheist whom Thomas Jefferson invited to Monticello and Andrew Jackson invited to the Hermitage.

Finally, the book examines why atheism has never become more than a fringe belief in this country, as contrasted with much greater popularity in Europe, and whether it will have more influence in future years.

This is a general book, and is good for those who may have some doubts about their faith in Christ. As a Deist, I felt that deism was linked with atheism too much. Deism is the belief in God based on reason, and atheism isn't. The book covers Paine, Hume, Bolingbroke, Jefferson, Voltaire, among others, but leaves out John Locke. Overall it was an easy read, if you skip the buddist section?

Rinaldo has a bad habit here of collapsing distinctions that ought to be maintained. It's difficult to see the line between liberal Christians and deists in eighteenth century America, much less deists and agnostics, but Rinaldo skims over such perplexities....