That will mean a rise in the scale of values of what one may call the intellectual virtues--the duty of truthseeking and truth speaking.
Hitherto the type of character held up for admiration by Christianity has been that of the blind believer who allowed nothing to stand in the way of his belief, who required no proofs of its truth and allowed no disproofs to enter his mind. A society in which religion does not hold a controlling place is not likely to place a very high value upon such precepts as "Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed,"
or "Though he slay me yet will I trust him." But a very high value will be placed upon the duty of investigation and the right of criticism. And one cannot easily over-estimate the consequences of a generation or two brought up in an atmosphere where such teachings obtain. It would mean a receptiveness to new ideas, a readiness to overhaul old inst.i.tutions, a toleration of criticism such as would rapidly transform the whole mental atmosphere and with it enormously accentuate the capacity for, and the rapidity of, social progress.
There is also to be borne in mind the effect of the liberation of the enormous amount of energy at present expended in the service of religion. Stupid religious controversialists often a.s.sume that it is part of the Freethinker"s case that religion enlists in its service bad men, and much time is spent in proving that religious people are mostly worthy ones. That could hardly be otherwise in a society where the overwhelming majority of men and women profess a religion of some sort.
But that is, indeed, not the Freethinker"s case at all, and if the badness of some religious people is cited it is only in answer to the foolish argument that religionists are better than others. The real complaint against religion is of a different kind altogether. Just as the worst thing that one can say about a clergyman intellectually is, not that he does not believe in what he preaches, but that he does, so the most serious indictment of current religion is not that it enlists in its service bad characters, but that it dissipates the energy of good men and women in a perfectly useless manner. The dissipation of Christian belief means the liberating of a store of energy for service that is at present being expended on ends that are without the least social value. A world without religion would thus be a world in which the sole ends of endeavour would be those of human betterment or human enlightenment, and probably in the end the two are one. For there is no real betterment without enlightenment, even though there may come for a time enlightenment without betterment. It would leave the world with all the means of intellectual and aesthetic and social enjoyment that exist now, and one may reasonably hope that it will lead to their cultivation and diffusion over the whole of society.
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ANNOUNCEMENTS.
THE SECULAR SOCIETY, Limited.
_Registered Office_: 62 Farringdon Street, London, E.C. 4.
_Secretary_: Miss E. M. VANCE.
The Memorandum of a.s.sociation sets forth that the Society"s Objects are:--To promote the principle that human conduct should be based upon natural knowledge, and not upon supernatural belief, and that human welfare in this world is the proper end of all thought and action. To promote freedom of inquiry. To promote universal Secular Education. To promote the complete secularization of the State, etc. And to do all such lawful things as are conducive to such objects. Also to have, hold, receive, and retain any sums of money paid, given, devised, or bequeathed by any person, and to employ the same for any of the purposes of the Society.
Members pay an entrance fee of ten shillings, and a subsequent yearly subscription of five shillings. The liability of members is limited to 1, in case the Society should ever be wound up.
The Society"s affairs are managed by an elected Board of Directors, one-third of whom retire (by ballot), each year, but are eligible for re-election.
Friends desiring to benefit the Society are invited to make donations, or to insert a bequest in the Society"s favour in their wills. The now historic decision of the House of Lords in _re_ Bowman and Others _v._ the Secular Society, Limited, in 1917, a verbatim report of which may be obtained from its publishers, the Pioneer Press, or from the Secretary, makes it quite impossible to set aside such bequests.
_A Form of Bequest._--The following is a sufficient form of bequest for insertion in the wills of testators:--
I give and bequeath to the Secular Society, Limited, the sum of ---- free from Legacy Duty, and I direct that a receipt signed by two members of the Board of the said Society and the Secretary thereof shall be a good discharge to my Executors for the said Legacy.
It is advisable, but not necessary, that the Secretary should be formally notified of such bequests, as wills sometimes get lost or mislaid. A form of membership, with full particulars, will be sent on application to the Secretary, 62 Farringdon Street, London, E.C. 4.
NATIONAL SECULAR SOCIETY.
_President_: CHAPMAN COHEN.
_Secretary_: MISS E. M. VANCE. 62 FARRINGDON STREET, LONDON, E.C. 4.
PRINCIPLES AND OBJECTS.
Secularism teaches that conduct should be based on reason and knowledge.
It knows nothing of divine guidance or interference; it excludes supernatural hopes and fears; it regards happiness as man"s proper aim, and utility as his moral guide.
Secularism affirms that Progress is only possible through Liberty, which is at once a right and a duty, and therefore seeks to remove every barrier to the fullest equal freedom of thought, action, and speech.
Secularism declares that theology is condemned by reason as superst.i.tious, and by experience as mischievous, and a.s.sails it as the historic enemy of Progress.
Secularism accordingly seeks to dispel superst.i.tion; to spread education; to disestablish religion; to rationalize morality; to promote peace; to dignify labour; to extend material well-being; and to realize the self-government of the people.
_P.S._--Beyond a minimum of Two Shillings per year, every member is left to fix his own subscription according to his means and interest in the cause.
_All applications for Membership to be made to the Secretary as above._