Why did the Victorians hate and fear Roman Catholics so much? This question has long preoccupied literary and cultural scholars alike. Masked Atheism: Catholicism and the Secular Victorian Home by Maria LaMonaca begins with the assumption that anti-Catholicism reveals far more about the Victorians than simple theological disagreements or religious prejudice. An analysis of anti-Catholicism exposes a host of anxieties, contradictions, and controversies dividing Great Britain, the world's most powerful nation by the mid-nineteenth century. Noting that Catholicism was frequently caricatured by the Victorians as "masked atheism"--that is, heathenism and paganism masquerading as legitimate Christianity--LaMonaca's study suggests that much anti-Catholic rhetoric in Victorian England was fueled by fears of encroaching secularism and anxieties about the disappearance of God in the modern world. For both male and female writers, Catholicism became a synonym for larger, "ungodly" forces threatening traditional ways of life: industrialization, rising standards of living, and religious skepticism. LaMonaca situates texts by Charlotte Brontë, George Eliot, Christina Rossetti, Elizabeth Barrett Browning, Michael Field, and others against a rich background of discourses about the growing visibility of Anglo and Roman Catholicism in Victorian England. In so doing, she demonstrates the influence of both pro- and anti-Catholic sentiment on constructs of Victorian domesticity, and explores how writers appropriated elements of Catholicism to voice anxieties about the growing secularization of the domestic sphere: a bold challenge to sentimental notions of the home as a "sacred" space. Masked Atheism will contribute a fresh perspective to an ongoing conversation about the significance of Catholicism in Victorian literature and culture.

On his popular science blog, Pharyngula, PZ Myers has entertained millions of readers with his infectious love of evolutionary science and his equally infectious disdain for creationism, biblical literalism, intelligent design theory, and other products of godly illogic. This funny and fearless book collects and expands on some of his most popular writings, giving the religious fanaticism of our times the gleeful disrespect it deserves by skewering the apocalyptic fantasies, magical thinking, hypocrisies, and pseudoscientific theories advanced by religious fundamentalists of all stripes. Forceful and articulate, scathing and funny, The Happy Atheist is a reaffirmation of the revelatory power of humor and the truth-revealing powers of science and reason.

The outspoken half of magic duo Penn & Teller presents an atheist reinterpretation of the Ten Commandments, discussing why doubt, skepticism, and wonder should be celebrated and offering humorous stories from his own experiences.

The big questions. Is there a God? Is there meaning and purpose to life? What happens after our physical death? Why are religions that claim to access Truth often in violent conflict with each other? If there is a God, why is there so much suffering and evil?Drawing on over forty years of personal transcendent experiences together with studies in spirituality, psychology and theology, the author considers the foundations of spiritual experience, belief and practice. In the process, religious and spiritual beliefs are categorized, basic conceptions about spirituality and knowledge are considered, spiritual paths are described, the role of morality and gender in spirituality is touched upon, and the nature of existence and experience is contemplated. Does 'Inner Spirituality' offer real answers to the big questions or are such adepts mistaken?This second edition outlines a 'Spiritual Matrix'. The main text has been grammatically revised throughout and an index has been added for easy reference.

Although Thomas Jefferson's status as a champion of education is widely known, the essays in Light and Liberty make clear that his efforts to enlighten fellow citizens reflected not only a love of learning but also a love of freedom. Using as a starting point Jefferson's conviction that knowledge is the basis of republican self-government, the contributors examine his educational projects not as disparate attempts to advance knowledge for its own sake but instead as a result of his unyielding, almost obsessive desire to bolster Americans' republican virtues and values. Whether by establishing schools or through broader, extra-institutional efforts to disseminate knowledge, Jefferson's endeavors embraced his vision for a dynamic and meritocratic America. He aimed not only to provide Americans with the ability to govern themselves and participate in the government of others but also to influence Americans to remake their society in accordance with his own principles. Written in clear and accessible prose, Light and Liberty reveals the startling diversity of Jefferson's attempts to rid citizens of the ignorance and vice that, in the view of Jefferson and many contemporaries, had corroded and corrupted once-great civilizations. Never wavering from his faith that "knowledge is power," Jefferson embraced an expansive understanding of education as the foundation for a republic of free and responsible individuals who understood their rights and stood ready to defend them.

This book tells the story of how nineteenth-century writers turned to the realist novel in order to reimagine Jesus during a century where traditional religious faith appeared increasingly untenable. Re-workings of the canonical Gospels and other projects to demythologize the story of Jesus are frequently treated as projects aiming to secularize and even discredit traditional Christian faith. The novels of Charles Kingsley, George Eliot, Eliza Lynn Linton, and Mary Augusta Ward, however, demonstrate that the work of bringing the Christian tradition of prophet, priest, and king into conversation with a rapidly changing world can at times be a form of authentic faith-even a faith that remains rooted in the Bible and historic Christianity, while simultaneously creating a space that allows traditional understandings of Jesus' identity to evolve.

Even prior to her widely observed 500th anniversary, Teresa of Ávila (1515-1582) was already considered one of the most important authors of occidental mysticism. This volume gathers together contributions from a multitude of disciplines to explore the writings and reception of the Spanish author and saint. Previously disregarded lines of tradition are explored for a new understanding of her oeuvre, which is examined here with special regard to the potential to affect its readers. Teresa proves to not only be an accomplished, but also a very literary writer. Santa Teresa proves to be a figure of cultural memory, and the diffusion of her thinking is traced up to the present, whereby a recurrent focus is put on the phenomenon of ecstasy. Part of the widespread resonance of her work is the image of the iconic saint whose emergence as an international phenomenon is presented here for the first time. The volume is closed by an interview with Marina Abramovi answering four questions about Teresa.