The Secularization of the European Mind in the Nineteenth Century [Paperback]

Owen Chadwick's acclaimed lectures on the secularisation of the European mind trace the declining hold of the Church and its doctrines on European society in the nineteenth century.The roles of the rise of technology, the growth of big cities and a cheap press, as well as the philosophies of evolutionary science and Marxism, are explored in an acclaimed analysis of the nineteenth century erosion of the Church's power.The roles of the rise of technology, the growth of big cities and a cheap press, as well as the philosophies of evolutionary science and Marxism, are explored in an acclaimed analysis of the nineteenth century erosion of the Church's power.The declining hold of the Church and its doctrines on European society represents a major shift in Western life and thought. Owen Chadwick's acclaimed lectures on the secularisation of the European mind trace this movement in the nineteenth century, identifying and exploring both the social and the intellectual aspects of this momentous change. The rise of technology, the growth of big cities and a cheap press take their place alongside evolutionary science and Marxism in this fascinating analysis of the erosion of the Church's power. Woven into its brilliant discussion are brief but very illuminating studies of familiar major thinkers, including Marx, Darwin, Mill and Comte.1. Introduction; Part I. The Social Problem: 2. On liberalism; 3. Karl Marx; 4. The attitude of the worker; 5. The rise of anticlericalism; Part II. The Intellectual Problem: 6. Voltaire in the nineteenth century; 7. Science and religion; 8. History and the secular; 9. The moral nature of man; 10. On a sense of providence; Notes to the text; Index. We are provided not only with food but with a feast for thought. Otto Scott's Compass