Inventing Secularism

The late Ray Argyle was a journalist and media consultant. His articles appeared in such magazines as Reader's Digest, France Today, and World War II History. He lived in Kingston, Ontario.

• Table of ContentsAcknowledgmentsMain Dramatis PersonaeChronologyForeword by Robert ForderIntroductionPart I—Reform and Rebellion1. An Inge Street Boy and the Capitalist Who Preached Socialism2. The Roar of the Blast Furnace in a Time of Turmoil3. In Which It Is Hard to Change the Mind of a Midlands Man4. Is It Possible to Be Rational About Religion?Part II—Dare to Be an Atheist5. An Honest Answer to a Difficult Question6. The Lure of London and a Trial by Tyranny7. How a Prisoner Became the Watchmaker’s Nemesis8. The Light of Freedom Shines on a Liberated BlasphemerPart III—Discovering Secularism9. Fleet Street Ink and the Fight for an Unstamped Press10. Throwing Bombs in the “Springtime of the Peoples”11. How the Idea of Secularism Came Into BeingPart IV—A Respectable12. Finding Yourself in Company of the Famous13. She Heard No Evil, but Saw Much14. A Funeral in Wales and Rallying the Faithless15. The High Cost of a Clash of Ideas16. The ­Co-operative Man Makes a Change of DirectionPart V—Goals Gained17. Charles Bradlaugh, Birth Control and Mrs. Besant18. Going Blind, but Keeping the Vision of a Secular State19. An Innocent in America Finds the Ties That Bind20. “The Queen Is Dead, Long Live the King!”21. A Life, a Legend, a LegacyEpilogue: In Our Time: Secularism Under SiegeChapter NotesBibliographyIndex

“Ray Argyle is an author who writes exceptionally fascinating stories on social and cultural change.”—Toronto Globe and Mail