{"product_id":"atheists-and-atheism-before-the-enlightenment-the-english-and-scottish-experience-hardback-9781009268776","title":"Atheists and Atheism before the Enlightenment; The English and Scottish Experience (Hardback) 9781009268776","description":"\u003cfont face=\"Georgia\"\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"6\"\u003eAtheists and Atheism before the Enlightenment\u003c\/font\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\r\n\u003cfont size=\"5\"\u003eThe English and Scottish Experience\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003ePresents detailed case-studies of the expression of atheistic opinion in early modern England and Scotland.\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"4\"\u003eMichael Hunter (Author)\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003e9781009268776, Cambridge University Press\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003eHardback, published 27 July 2023\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003e280 pages\u003cbr\u003e23.5 x 15.8 x 1.8 cm, 0.49 kg\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\u003cp align=\"justify\"\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003e'Hunter leads us into his subject with authority, deftly uncovering the irreligious underbelly of pre-Enlightenment England and Scotland.' Alexandra Walsham, London Review of Books\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp align=\"justify\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003eAnxiety about the threat of atheism was rampant in the early modern period, yet fully documented examples of openly expressed irreligious opinion are surprisingly rare. England and Scotland saw only a handful of such cases before 1750, and this book offers a detailed analysis of three of them. Thomas Aikenhead was executed for his atheistic opinions at Edinburgh in 1697; Tinkler Ducket was convicted of atheism by the Vice-Chancellor's court at the University of Cambridge in 1739; whereas Archibald Pitcairne's overtly atheist tract, Pitcairneana, though evidently compiled very early in the eighteenth century, was first published only in 2016. Drawing on these, and on the better-known apostacy of Christopher Marlowe and the Earl of Rochester, Michael Hunter argues that such atheists showed real 'assurance' in publicly promoting their views. This contrasts with the private doubts of Christian believers, and this book demonstrates that the two phenomena are quite distinct, even though they have sometimes been wrongly conflated.\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003eAcknowledgements\u003cbr\u003e 1. Introduction\u003cbr\u003e 2. The Problem of 'Atheism' in Early Modern England\u003cbr\u003e 3. Atheism among the Godly: The Covert History of Religious Doubt\u003cbr\u003e 4. 'This degenerate Age… so miserably over-run with Scepticism and Infidelity': The Culture of Atheism after 1660\u003cbr\u003e 5. 'Aikenhead the Atheist': The Context and Consequences of Articulate Irreligion in the late Seventeenth Century\u003cbr\u003e 6. An Atheist Text by Archibald Pitcairne: Introduction to Pitcairneana\u003cbr\u003e 7. The Text of Pitcairneana: Houghton Library, Harvard, MS Eng 1114\u003cbr\u003e 8. The Trial of Tinkler Ducket: Atheism and Libertinism in Eighteenth-century England\u003cbr\u003e Appendix\u003cbr\u003e Conclusion\u003cbr\u003e Bibliography\u003cbr\u003e Index.\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003eSubject Areas: British \u0026amp; Irish history [\u003ca title=\"See our other books on British \u0026amp; Irish history\" href=\"https:\/\/freshlyprintedbooks.co.uk\/search?q=%22British%20\u0026amp;%20Irish%20history%20%5BHBJD1%5D%22\"\u003eHBJD1\u003c\/a\u003e]\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\r\n\u003c\/font\u003e","brand":"Cambridge University Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46265414713624,"sku":"9781009268776","price":27.98,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0730\/2037\/5320\/products\/9781009268776i_08a909e6-19a1-44ad-8b60-1027190df625.jpg?v=1696791724","url":"https:\/\/freshlyprintedbooks.co.uk\/products\/atheists-and-atheism-before-the-enlightenment-the-english-and-scottish-experience-hardback-9781009268776","provider":"Freshly Printed Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}