Religion after the gods : Edwin H. Wilson and the American Humanist Association / John S. Haller Jr.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Haller, John S., Jr., 1940- Author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Wilson, Edwin H.

American Humanist Association--History.

American Humanist Association.

Humanism, Religious--History.

Humanism, Religious.

Genre:

History

Physical Description:

1 online resource : illustrations

Other Title:

Edwin H. Wilson and the American Humanist Association

Place of Publication:

Urbana : University of Illinois Press, [2026]

Summary:

"Sometimes called America's fourth religion, religious humanism emerged in the Midwest as a product of Enlightenment rationality, the Social Gospel, and the philosophy of pragmatism. John S. Haller Jr. examines religious humanism's first fifty years alongside Edwin H. Wilson's pivotal role in the American Humanist Association (AHA). Started by a group of Unitarian faculty and students, religious humanism applied the rituals of the theocentric universe of Judeo-Christianity to the non-theistic, anthropocentric universe of agnostics, altruists, humanitarians, and meliorists. Their beliefs found expression in the AHA, founded in 1941 with Wilson as the secretary and editor of its magazine. Wilson's actions in these and other roles weighed heavily on the organization's reputation, influence, successes, and failures. At the same time, his multifaceted work reflected the relationship between power and the possibilities inherent in the pluralistic and democratic heritage he pursued. Rigorous and astute, Religion After the Gods reveals how the tensions between individual aspirations and bureaucratic constraints culminated in hopeful humanist practices"-- Provided by publisher.

Contents:

Making the man

Student days

Forging a career

Challenging Goliath

Goliath denied?

Exchanging hats

Fellowship of religious humanists

Troubled times

Manifesto II

Complications

Consolidation.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Online resource; title from PDF title page (JSTOR, viewed April 3, 2026).

Other Format:

Print version: Haller, John S., Jr., 1940- Religion after the gods

ISBN:

9780252048746

0252048741

OCLC:

1574043893

Publisher Number:

CIPO000355356