Doubt, atheism, and the nineteenth-century Russian intelligentsia / Victoria Frede.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Frede, Victoria.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Atheism--Russia--History--19th century.

Atheism.

Anti-clericalism--Russia--History--19th century.

Anti-clericalism.

Intellectuals--Russia--History--19th century.

Intellectuals.

Russia--Religion--19th century.

Russia.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (316 p.)

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Madison : University of Wisconsin Press, c2011.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

The autocratic rule of both tsar and church in imperial Russia gave rise not only to a revolutionary movement in the nineteenth century but also to a crisis of meaning among members of the intelligentsia. Personal faith became the subject of intense scrutiny as individuals debated the existence of God and the immortality of the soul, debates reflected in the best-known novels of the day. Friendships were formed and broken in exchanges over the status of the eternal. The salvation of the entire country, not just of each individual, seemed to depend on the answers to questions about belief. Victoria Frede looks at how and why atheism took on such importance among several generations of Russian intellectuals from the 1820s to the 1860s, drawing on meticulous and extensive research of both published and archival documents, including letters, poetry, philosophical tracts, police files, fiction, and literary criticism. She argues that young Russians were less concerned about theology and the Bible than they were about the moral, political, and social status of the individual person. They sought to maintain their integrity against the pressures exerted by an autocratic state and rigidly hierarchical society. As individuals sought to shape their own destinies and searched for truths that would give meaning to their lives, they came to question the legitimacy both of the tsar and of Russia's highest authority, God.

Contents:

pt. 1. Doubt

pt. 2. Atheism

pt. 3. Two modes of living without God.

Notes:

Bibliographic Level Mode of Issuance: Monograph

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9786613486134

9781283486132

128348613X

9780299284435

0299284433

OCLC:

779881505