Book contents
- The Cambridge History of Atheism
- The Cambridge History of Atheism
- Copyright page
- Dedication
- Contents
- Acknowledgments
- Contributors
- Introduction
- Part I Preliminaries
- Part II Atheisms in History
- Part III Reformation, Renaissance, Enlightenment
- Part IV Classical Modernity: Philosophical and Scientific Currents
- Part V Classical Modernity: Social and Political Currents
- 23 The French Revolution
- 24 Freethinkers, Atheists, and Anticlericals: Spanish American Struggles for Independence
- 25 Marx and Marxisms
- 26 Nineteenth-Century Russia
- 27 Secularism and Humanism
- 28 Bertrand Russell
- 29 Robert Ingersoll
- 30 Early Women’s Movement
- 31 Early African American Secularism
- Part VI Twentieth and Twenty-First Centuries: Intellectual and Artistic Currents
- Part VII Lived Atheism in the Twentieth- and Twenty-First Centuries: Case-Studies
- Part VIII Emerging Atheisms in the Twenty-First Century
- Part IX Conclusion
- Index
- References
31 - Early African American Secularism
from Part V - Classical Modernity: Social and Political Currents
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 25 September 2021
Book contents
- The Cambridge History of Atheism
- The Cambridge History of Atheism
- Copyright page
- Dedication
- Contents
- Acknowledgments
- Contributors
- Introduction
- Part I Preliminaries
- Part II Atheisms in History
- Part III Reformation, Renaissance, Enlightenment
- Part IV Classical Modernity: Philosophical and Scientific Currents
- Part V Classical Modernity: Social and Political Currents
- 23 The French Revolution
- 24 Freethinkers, Atheists, and Anticlericals: Spanish American Struggles for Independence
- 25 Marx and Marxisms
- 26 Nineteenth-Century Russia
- 27 Secularism and Humanism
- 28 Bertrand Russell
- 29 Robert Ingersoll
- 30 Early Women’s Movement
- 31 Early African American Secularism
- Part VI Twentieth and Twenty-First Centuries: Intellectual and Artistic Currents
- Part VII Lived Atheism in the Twentieth- and Twenty-First Centuries: Case-Studies
- Part VIII Emerging Atheisms in the Twenty-First Century
- Part IX Conclusion
- Index
- References
Summary
In Frederick Douglass’ second autobiography, My Bondage and My Freedom, published in 1855, he notes that his religious views during the course of his life “pass[ed] over the whole scale and circle of belief and unbelief, from faith in the overruling Providence of God, to the blackest atheism” (Blassingame et al. 2003). Just three years earlier, in what is perhaps his most well-known speech, Douglass likewise noted that rather than embrace a pro-slavery gospel or a gospel indifferent to the institution of slavery, “I would say welcome infidelity! Welcome atheism! Welcome anything! In preference to the gospel, as preached by those Divines!” (Douglass 1852) While his 1852 speech, “What to the slave is the fourth of July,” is more well known for its harsh denunciations of American republicanism, his critique of Christian Churches and ministers occupies just as prominent a role and, when combined with insights from his autobiographies and other sources, marks him as one of the earliest black intellectuals to embrace secularism.
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- The Cambridge History of Atheism , pp. 568 - 582Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2021
References
Ball, C. 1837. Slavery in the United States: A Narrative of the Life and Adventures of Charles Ball, a Black Man, Who Lived Forty Years in Maryland, South Carolina and Georgia, as a Slave Under Various Masters, and was One Year in the Navy with Commodore Barney, During the Late War. New York: John S. Taylor. Available at: http://docsouth.unc.edu/neh/ballslavery/ball.html.Google Scholar
Bibb, H. 1849. Narrative of the Life and Adventures of Henry Bibb, an American Slave, Written by Himself. With an Introduction by Lucius C. Matlack. New York: Published by the author. Available at: http://docsouth.unc.edu/neh/bibb/bibb.html.Google Scholar
Blassingame, J. W., McKivigan, J. R. and Hinks, P. P. (eds.) 2003. The Frederick Douglass Papers, Series Two: Autobiographical Writings, Volume 2. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press.Google Scholar
Brown, W. W. 1999 [1847]. “Narrative of William W. Brown, a Fugitive Slave. Written by Himself. Boston: American Anti-Slavery Society, 1847” in Taylor, Y. (ed.) I Was Born a Slave: An Anthology of Classic Slave Narratives, Volume I: 1772–1849. Chicago, IL: Lawrence Hill Books.Google Scholar
Brown, W. W. 2004 [1853]. Clotel or, The President’s Daughter. New York: Penguin Books.Google Scholar
Douglass, F. 1845. Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave, Written by Himself. Boston, MA: American Anti-Slavery Society. Available at: http://docsouth.unc.edu/neh/douglass/douglass.html.Google Scholar
Douglass, F. 2003 [1852]. “What to the slave is the fourth of July?” in Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave: Written by Himself, with Related Documents, 2nd edition, ed. Blight, D. W.. Boston, MA: Bedford/St. Martin’s.Google Scholar
Holland, F. M. 1969. Frederick Douglass: The Colored Orator, revised edition. New York: Haskell House Publishers Ltd.Google Scholar
The Iconoclast. 1870. “Fred. Douglass on the Supernatural.” Boston Investigator, 14 December.Google Scholar
Jacobs, H. 1861. Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl. Written by Herself, ed. Child, Lydia Maria. Boston, MA: Published for the author.Google Scholar
James, W. 2000. A Fierce Hatred of Injustice: Claude McKay’s Jamaica and his Poetry of Rebellion. London: Verso.Google Scholar
Jea, J. 1811. The Life, History, and Unparalleled Sufferings of John Jea, the African Preacher, Compiled and Written by Himself. Portsea, England.Google Scholar
King, R. S. 1904. “‘Is there a God?’ Asks a colored brother.” Truth Seeker, 17 December.Google Scholar
Logan, R. W. and Winston, M. R. (eds.) 1982. Dictionary of American Negro Biography. New York: W. W. Norton.Google Scholar
McKay, C. 1979. My Green Hills of Jamaica and Five Jamaican Short Stories, ed. Morris, Mervyn. Kingston and Port of Spain: Heinemann Educational Books (Caribbean) Ltd.Google Scholar
Perry, J. B. (ed.) 2001. A Hubert Harrison Reader. Middletown, CT: Wesleyan University Press.Google Scholar
Pinn, A. B. 2001. By These Hands: A Documentary History of African American Humanism. New York: NYU Press.Google Scholar
Randolph, P. 1855. Sketches of Slave Life: Or, Illustrations of the “Peculiar Institution.” Boston, MA: Published for the author.Google Scholar
Schmidt, L. E. 2016. Village Atheists: How America’s Unbelievers Made Their Way in a Godly Nation. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Steward, A. 1857. Twenty-Two Years a Slave, and Forty Years a Freeman; Embracing a Correspondence of Several Years, while President of Wilberforce Colony, London, Canada West. Rochester: William Alling. Available at: http://docsouth.unc.edu/fpn/steward/steward.html.Google Scholar