Blasphemy in Modern Britain

Blasphemy in Modern Britain PDF

Author: David S. Nash

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2019-10-10

Total Pages: 294

ISBN-13: 0429537468

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Originally published in 1999, this book deals with the cultural and legal debates which have counterposed the right to free speech and the need to protect Christian sensibilities in Britain from the time of the French Revolution to the present day. Central to the book is a close study of the content and public reception of the anti-Christian literature of the 19th century associated with the names G.W.Foote and J.W. Gott, the Freethinker and The Truthseeker. David Nash here also examines a variety of critical-theoretical approaches to blasphemy and blasphemous writing, including postmodernism and the work of Foucault and Said. The book concludes with a detailed examination of 20th-century blasphemy cases, up to and including the Gay News case, The Last Temptation of Christ and Visions of Ecstasy.

The Humanist Movement in Modern Britain

The Humanist Movement in Modern Britain PDF

Author: Callum G. Brown

Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing

Published: 2022-12-15

Total Pages: 345

ISBN-13: 1350136638

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Humanists have been a major force in British life since the turn of the 20th century. Here, leading historians of religious non-belief Callum Brown, David Nash, and Charlie Lynch examine how humanist organisations brought ethical reform and rationalism to the nation as it faced the moral issues of the modern world. This book provides a long overdue account of this dynamic group. Developing through the Ethical Union (1896), the Rationalist Press Association (1899), the British Humanist Association (1963) and Humanists UK (2017), Humanists sought to reduce religious privilege but increase humanitarian compassion and human rights. After pioneering legislation on blasphemy laws, dignity in dying and abortion rights, they went on to help design new laws on gay marriage, and sex and moral education. Internationally, they endeavoured to end war and world hunger. And with Humanist marriages and celebration of life through Humanist funerals, national ritual and culture have recently been transformed. Based on extensive archival and oral-history research, this is the definitive history of Humanists as an ethical force in modern Britain.

Religion and Change in Modern Britain

Religion and Change in Modern Britain PDF

Author: Linda Woodhead

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2013-03-01

Total Pages: 595

ISBN-13: 1136475001

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This book offers a fully up-to-date and comprehensive guide to religion in Britain since 1945. A team of leading scholars provide a fresh analysis and overview, with a particular focus on diversity and change. They examine: relations between religious and secular beliefs and institutions the evolving role and status of the churches the growth and ‘settlement’ of non-Christian religious communities the spread and diversification of alternative spiritualities religion in welfare, education, media, politics and law theoretical perspectives on religious change. The volume presents the latest research, including results from the largest-ever research initiative on religion in Britain, the AHRC/ESRC Religion and Society Programme. Survey chapters are combined with detailed case studies to give both breadth and depth of coverage. The text is accompanied by relevant photographs and a companion website.

Religion, Identity and Conflict in Britain: From the Restoration to the Twentieth Century

Religion, Identity and Conflict in Britain: From the Restoration to the Twentieth Century PDF

Author: Frances Knight

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2016-04-08

Total Pages: 331

ISBN-13: 1317067231

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The British state between the mid-seventeenth century to the early twentieth century was essentially a Christian state. Christianity permeated society, defining the rites of passage - baptism, first communion, marriage and burial - that shaped individual lives, providing a sense of continuity between past, present and future generations, and informing social institutions and voluntary associations. Yet this religious conception of state and society was also the source of conflict. The Restoration of the monarchy in 1660 brought limited toleration for Protestant Dissenters, who felt unable to worship in the established Church, and there were challenges to faith raised by biblical and historical scholarship, science, moral questioning and social dislocations and unrest. This book brings together a distinguished team of authors who explore the interactions of religion, politics and culture that shaped and defined modern Britain. They consider expressions of civic consciousness in the expanding towns and cities, the growth of Welsh national identity, movements for popular education and temperance reform, and the influence of organised sport, popular journalism, and historical writing in defining national life. Most importantly, the contributors highlight the vital role of religious faith and religious institutions in the understanding of the modern British state.

The Human Tradition in Modern Britain

The Human Tradition in Modern Britain PDF

Author: C. J. Litzenberger

Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield

Published: 2006

Total Pages: 280

ISBN-13: 9780742537354

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This engaging book provides a gateway to larger themes in modern British history through a set of fascinating portraits of individuals that explore important events and movements from the perspective of the people involved. As a rich and humanized supplement to traditional survey texts, this book offers readers a deeper understanding of key facets of British life in the early modern and modern periods.

Language and Statecraft in Early Modern Venice

Language and Statecraft in Early Modern Venice PDF

Author: Elizabeth Horodowich

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Published: 2008-04-21

Total Pages: 23

ISBN-13: 0521894964

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This book demonstrates that a crucial component of statebuilding in Venice was the management of public speech. Using a variety of historical sources, Horodowich shows that the Venetian state constructed a normative language - a language based on standards of politeness, civility, and piety - to protect and reinforce its civic identity.

Religion, Identity and Conflict in Britain: From the Restoration to the Twentieth Century

Religion, Identity and Conflict in Britain: From the Restoration to the Twentieth Century PDF

Author: Dr Frances Knight

Publisher: Ashgate Publishing, Ltd.

Published: 2013-08-28

Total Pages: 463

ISBN-13: 1409472221

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The British state between the mid-seventeenth century to the early twentieth century was essentially a Christian state. Christianity permeated society, defining the rites of passage - baptism, first communion, marriage and burial - that shaped individual lives, providing a sense of continuity between past, present and future generations, and informing social institutions and voluntary associations. Yet this religious conception of state and society was also the source of conflict. The Restoration of the monarchy in 1660 brought limited toleration for Protestant Dissenters, who felt unable to worship in the established Church, and there were challenges to faith raised by biblical and historical scholarship, science, moral questioning and social dislocations and unrest. This book brings together a distinguished team of authors who explore the interactions of religion, politics and culture that shaped and defined modern Britain. They consider expressions of civic consciousness in the expanding towns and cities, the growth of Welsh national identity, movements for popular education and temperance reform, and the influence of organised sport, popular journalism, and historical writing in defining national life. Most importantly, the contributors highlight the vital role of religious faith and religious institutions in the understanding of the modern British state.

The Fall and Rise of Blasphemy Law

The Fall and Rise of Blasphemy Law PDF

Author: P. B. Cliteur

Publisher: Leiden University Press

Published: 2016

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 9789087282684

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In contemporary politics two conflicting trends have influenced freedom of expression. The first confirms that many Western countries have become less strict about sacrilegious expression and repealed their blasphemy laws or withdrew much of their punishment for blasphemy. Yet the second trend manifests in an opposing movement, often couched in terms of religious freedom, which attempts to reconcile free speech with freedom of religion by punishing expressions deemed, for instance, "hate speech." With contributions by scholars from a wide range of disciplines, this book offers an examination of topical issues relating to both of these movements, looking at freedom of expression, censorship, and blasphemy in contemporary multicultural democracies.