Religion has an important bearing on all the relations and conditions of life. The connexion between religious faith and political practice is, in truth, far closer than is generally thought. Public opinion has not yet ripened into a knowledge that religious error is the intangible but real substratum of all political injustice. Though the ' Schoolmaster' has done much, there still remain among us, many honest and energetic assertors of 'the rights of man, ' who have to learn that a people in the fetters of superstition cannot, secure political freedom. These reformers admit the vast...

"An Apology for Atheism" from Charles Southwell. English journalist and freethinker (1814-1860).

"Superstition Unveiled" from Charles Southwell. English journalist and freethinker (1814-1860).

An Apology for Atheism is a classic religious essay by Charles Southwell. It would be absurd to doubt that religion has an important bearing on all the relations and conditions of life. The connexion between religions faith and political practice is, in truth, far closer than is generally thought. Public opinion has not ripened into a knowledge that religious error is the intangible but real substratum of all political injustice. Though the 'schoolmaster' has done much, there still remain and hold some away among us, many honest and energetic assertors of 'the rights of man, ' who have to...