Atheists and Atheism before the Enlightenment: The English and Scottish Experience [Hardcover]

Presents detailed case-studies of the expression of atheistic opinion in early modern England and Scotland.Anxiety about the threat of atheism was rampant in the early modern period yet, paradoxically, examples of openly-expressed irreligious opinion are surprisingly rare. This book offers a detailed analysis of three cases, and contrasts the real 'assurance' shown by such figures with the doubts expressed, often privately, by believers.Anxiety about the threat of atheism was rampant in the early modern period yet, paradoxically, examples of openly-expressed irreligious opinion are surprisingly rare. This book offers a detailed analysis of three cases, and contrasts the real 'assurance' shown by such figures with the doubts expressed, often privately, by believers.Anxiety 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 o