The Religion of Humanity: The Impact of Comtean Positivism on Victorian Britain [Hardcover]

T. R. Wright (Author)

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Book Description

ISBN-10: 052130671X | ISBN-13: 978-0521306713 | Publication Date: April 30, 1986

The Religion of Humanity, first expounded by the founder of Positivism, Auguste Comte, focused the minds of a wide range of prominent Victorians on the possibility of replacing Christianity with an alternative religion based on scientific principles and humanist values. This new book traces the impact of Comte's 'religion' on Victorian Britain, showing how its ideas were championed by John Stuart Mill and George Henry Lewes before being institutionalised by Richard Congreve and Frederic Harrison, the leaders of the two main centres of Positivist worship. Widely discussed by scientists, philosophers, and theologians, it also attracted the attention of numerous literary figures, including Matthew Arnold, Walter Pater, and Leslie Stephen, achieving its widest circulation through the works of George Eliot, Thomas Hardy and George Gissing. A wide-ranging and interdisciplinary contribution to the history of ideas, this book sheds light on a significant but hitherto neglected strand of Victorian thought.

#outer_postBodyPS { display: none; } #psGradient { display: none; } #psPlaceHolder { display: none; } #psExpand { display: none; } The Religion of Humanity, first expounded by the founder of Positivism, Auguste Comte, focused the minds of a wide range of prominent Victorians on the possibility of replacing Christianity with an alternative religion based on scientific principles and humanist values. This new book traces the impact of Comte's 'religion' on Victorian Britain, showing how its ideas were championed by John Stuart Mill and George Henry Lewes before being institutionalised by Richard Congreve and Frederic Harrison, the leaders of the two main centres of Positivist worship. Widely discussed by scientists, philosophers, and theologians, it also attracted the attention of numerous literary figures, including Matthew Arnold, Walter Pater, and Leslie Stephen, achieving its widest circulation through the works of George Eliot, Thomas Hardy and George Gissing. A wide-ranging and interdisciplinary contribution to the history of ideas, this book sheds light on a significant but hitherto neglected strand of Victorian thought.

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Product Details

Hardcover: 319 pages
Publisher: Cambridge University Press (April 30, 1986)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 052130671X
ISBN-13: 978-0521306713
Product Dimensions: 8.7 x 5.7 x 1 inches
Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces
Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,560,185 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Surprise Me!

Inside This Book (learn more)

Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
literary positivism, positivist school, ethical church, professed sympathisers, secular dislike, cerebral theory, egoistic instincts, altruistic instincts, subjective synthesis

Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Religion of Humanity, George Eliot, Newton Hall, Chapel Street, Positivist Society, Positivist Review, Frederic Harrison, General View, Organised Positivism, Church of Humanity, Positivist Calendar, Fortnightly Review, Harriet Martineau, Auguste Comte, Westminster Review, Leslie Stephen, Daniel Deronda, John Stuart Mill, Temple of Humanity, Henry Crompton, The Times, Maggie Tulliver, Ethel Harrison, Sociological Society, Gilbert Murray

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Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Surprise Me!

Citations (learn more)

23 books cite this book:

Mystery Beneath the Real by Peter C. Hodgson in Back Matter (1), and Back Matter (2)
Origins of Narrative: The Romantic Appropriation of the Bible by Stephen Prickett on page 166, and Back Matter
Science and Spirituality: The Volatile Connection by David Knight in Back Matter (1), and Back Matter (2)
Gender, Genre, and Victorian Historical Writing (Literature and Society in Victorian Britain) by Rohan Amanda Maitzen on page 134, and Back Matter
George Eliot, Music and Victorian Culture by Delia Da Sousa Correa in Back Matter

See all 23 books citing this book

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