Leigh Eric Schmidt on Village Atheists

tonygill — Sun, 06 Nov 2016 09:00:28 +0000

In an era dominated by a Protestant ethos, how did atheists manage to make their presence known? Prof. Leigh Eric Schmidt, a Distinguished Professor of Humanities at Washington University in St. Louis and fellow at the Danforth Center on Religion & Politics, joins us to discuss his latest book Village Atheists: How America’s Unbelievers Made Their Way in a Godly Nation. We begin with Prof. Schmidt’s own intellectual journey from studying evangelicals to his latest work on unbelievers in the 19th century (give or take a few decades). We then talk about the religious landscape of the 1800s and the types of social pressure and legal penalties freethinkers faced in expressing their unbelief in Christianity. Noting that Thomas Paine was the first doubter to openly express his views in the public square, Prof. Leigh talks about how a number of other atheists began coming out of the closet by the mid-1800s. He explains that he chose the title Village Atheists as it recognizes the more localized and vernacular style of many of these unbelievers. We review a number of other names that these folks adopted, including freethinkers, liberals, humanists, and infidels – a name initially meant as a derogatory term, but one in which many of them embraced to the point of sponsoring Infidel Conventions. After pointing out a number of common themes that all these atheists shared — e.g., anticlericalism, separation of church & state, promotion of scientific inquiry — we move to a discussion of several of the more colorful characters that represented some of the diverse ways in which freethinkers interacted with their surrounding culture. Leigh covers the life and legacy of Samuel Porter Putnam (the secular pilgrim), Watson Heston (the cartoonist of the movement), and Elmina Drake Slenker (a feminist freethinker ). Prof. Schmidt shares his thoughts about what this history means for our society today as well as what he has learned over the course of his several decades of superb scholarship. Recorded: Nov. 4, 2016.

Thomas Farr on Religion, Religious Liberty & US Diplomacy

tonygill — Mon, 13 Jun 2011 08:00:27 +0000

To what extent should religion and the promotion of religious liberty abroad be part of the United States’ foreign policy? Prof. Thomas Farr — visiting associate professor at Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service and senior fellow at the Berkley Center for Religion, Peace and World Affairs — brings 21 years of experience in foreign policymaking circles to bear on these questions. (Thomas Farr is also the director of the Task Force on Religious Freedom at the Witherspoon Institute’s Center on Religion and the Constitution.) Prof. Farr details his personal experiences working within the foreign policy bureaucracy, including a four-year stint as the director of the State Department’s Office of International Religious Freedom. Our discussion notes how diplomacy is often made from a “realist” perspective of the world and why US diplomats have often neglected the important role of religion, often intentionally turning a blind eye to this important aspect of life despite evidence that religion is increasingly important throughout the world (including the US). We then talk about how the promotion of religious freedom can actually promote stable governance and why promoting religious liberty is in the national security interests of America (as well as other states). Egypt, Afghanistan and a few other nations are used to illustrate the importance of religious freedom abroad. Tony plays the skeptic and wonders whether or not our diplomatic corps is capable of bringing about significant changes in other nations, but Tom lays out a convincing argument that things can, and are, changing for the better but it will take more public dialogue to change the way our top political leaders and career diplomats think about these issues. We close by noting some recent changes being proposed to the International Religious Freedom Act by Congressmen Frank Wolf. Recorded: May 25, 2011.

Research On Religion » blasphemy laws

Leigh Eric Schmidt on Village Atheists

Thomas Farr on Religion, Religious Liberty & US Diplomacy