The British Ethical Societies

Originally published in 1986, this was a study of the British ethical societies in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. These societies emerged out of the vortex of distinctive social, philosophical, and religious ideas in the middle of the nineteenth century with the specific educative aim of providing society with non-religious moral instruction. They became havens of discussion, rallying-points for progressive campaigns (notably involving education and the Boer War), and places of secular worship for those estranged by Church and dissent. This network of humanistic clubs was established by an American, Stanton Coit, who had already set up a Society for Ethical Culture in New York. By 1906, the ethical movement in Britain comprised forty-six societies, though its influence began to wane after World War I. Dr Mackillop's comprehensive account considers the significant events and personalities in the history of the ethical movement.

A study of the British ethical societies in the nineteenth- and early twentieth-centuries.

A 1986 study of the British ethical societies in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Dr Mackillop's comprehensive account explores these societies, which became havens of discussion, rallying-points for progressive campaigns and places of secular worship along with the significant events and personalities in the history of the ethical movement.

Preface; Prologue; 1. Ethical epoch; 2. South place in Finsbury and Holborn; 3. Bloomsbury and the Strand: the London ethical society; 4. Bayswater: Stanton Coit's ethical church; 5. The ethical movement; Epilogue; Bibliographical notes; Indices.