Introduction: the tangled histories of Christianity,
secularization, and race
1 Were Adam and Eve our first parents? Atheism and polygenesis
2 Brute men: race and society in evolution
3 A London Zulu: savagery and civilisation
4 The wise men of the east: India, China, and Japan
5 The best friends the negro ever had: African Americans and white
atheists
6 The curse of race prejudice: rethinking race at the turn of the
century
Epilogue: what next for racism in a godless world?
Notes
Bibliography
Index
Nathan G. Alexander is a Postdoctoral Fellow at the Max Weber Centre for Advanced Cultural and Social Studies, University of Erfurt, Germany
'Presents not only a fascinating glimpse into complex racial
discussions in the late 19th century but also a wonderful, updated
overview of the movement and the intellectual history of
free-thought in general.'
Anton Jansson, History of Intellectual Culture 2/2023
'Race in a Godless World is a great contribution to the study of
historical atheism, but also intellectual and religious history. It
is timely, balanced, well-researched, laying bare the wide range of
racial views atheists held.'
Global Intellectual History
'The book will be of interest to both scholars and general readers,
who are likely to find this alternative narrative of the origins of
racism in Britain and the United States as compelling as it is
convincing.'
The Journal of American History
'Race in a Godless World is a timely and important contribution to
a growing field.'
The American Historical Review
‘Race in a Godless World is an excellent study. This is
intellectual history at its best, demonstrating how the
discriminated against minority of unbelievers, at the foot of the
religious pecking order, challenged racial hierarchies and
championed racial minorities. The book shows that a commitment to
science and reason underpinned racial views amongst both atheist
and religionist intellectuals of the nineteenth century. But
scepticism and contrariness drew atheists to apply the same reason
in shifting towards a more inclusive and progressive social agenda.
With a strong structure and vivid clarity, this is the best
contribution so far to scholarly study of how racist thinking came
to be linked with, but also rejected by, atheists in the USA and
Britain.’
Callum G. Brown, University of Glasgow
‘An exhaustively researched and gracefully written book that makes
a signal contribution to our understanding of the intersection of
atheism and racial thought. The first book to fully flesh out the
ties between racial thought and atheism, it is a masterful
achievement that will be required reading for students and scholars
of race, freethought, and British and American history more
broadly.’
Christopher Cameron, University of North Carolina at Charlotte
‘Situating the history of freethought in a fully transatlantic
framework, Alexander carefully unpacks the ambivalences and
contradictions of white atheist views on race and civilisation.
Certain about the superiority of science over Christianity,
freethinkers were far less clear about the racial and
cross-cultural implications of their irreligion. Many embraced
scientific racism and white supremacy, while others resisted
xenophobia and race prejudice. Alexander captures these secularist
complexities with admirable nuance and insight.’
Leigh E. Schmidt, Washington University in St. Louis
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