The Great Agnostic (25 page)

politics and government,
57
–76; barriers to agnostics/atheists and,
56
,
178
–79,
200
–201; Catholics' influence on,
55
–57,
139
,
141
,
185
; Christian nation advocates and,
4
,
98
–99,
139
,
179
,
195
; corruption cases and,
59
,
101
–2; current conservative strands and,
4
,
108
n; divine authority belief and,
63
–64,
95
,
98
,
137
,
143
–45,
144
n,
150
,
195
; freethought movement and,
54
,
68
–70,
150
,
170
; humanistic values and,
97
–98; Ingersoll's ties with,
10
,
11
,
27
,
50
–55,
57
–61,
63
–71,
97
–98,
100
,
101
–3,
163
,
178
–79,
200
–201; obeisance to religion and,
55
,
150
; proper role of religion in,
1
,
2
,
6
,
20
; public religiosity and,
136
–37,
150
–52,
178
,
200
,
201
; religious hypocrisy and,
27
,
55
; religiously based moral principles and,
152
; religious tests for officeholders and,
131
,
136
,
137
,
138
,
139
; religion-based tyranny and,
143
–44,
199
–200; role of religious belief and,
4
n,
11
,
26
–27,
54
–56,
57
,
66
–68; secular basis of (
see
church-state separation; Constitution, U.S.) slavery issue and,
49
,
50
,
53
; social Darwinist beliefs and,
106
–7.
See also
state governments

populism,
100
,
149

pornography,
99

postal service,
99
,
101
–2,
106

poverty,
24
,
162
–63,
199
–200; birth control and,
186
; social alleviation policy and,
97
,
189
; social Darwinist belief about,
24
,
106
,
107
,
126
–27.
See also
wealth disparities

pragmatism,
158

“Preacher, The” (Whittier),
52
–53

predestination,
46

Presbyterians,
16
,
32
,
54
,
66
,
140
,
177
; Ingersoll's father's ministry and,
33
,
34
–35,
36
,
40
–41

press: Ingersoll obituaries/ editorials and,
22
,
27
,
173
–75,
178
–81; Ingersoll's agnosticism and,
67
,
178
–79; Ingersoll's last words and,
173
–74; reports of Ingersoll's speeches by,
13
,
75
–76,
89
,
92
n

progress,
85
,
107
,
162
; Ingersoll's belief in,
5
,
87
,
127
,
168
; verifiable evidence of,
77
–78,
79
–80

Progressive movement,
11

Prometheus Books,
181

property taxes.
See
tax policy

prostitution,
99

Protestantism,
41
,
98
–99,
114
,
139
; dominance in America
of,
153
–55,
177
,
195
; nonconformist sects and,
32
,
133
,
139
; obscenity laws and,
152
; political anti-Catholicism and,
65
,
66
–67,
139
; religious pluralism increase and,
141
; sermons on Ingersoll's death and,
176
–78; slavery issue and,
32
–33.
See also
fundamentalism; liberal Protestantism;
specific denominations

pseudoscience,
199
.
See also
social Darwinism

public accommodations,
110
–12

Public Accommodations Act (1964),
110

public schools: Catholic opposition to,
141
; church-state separation and,
9
,
105
,
142
,
153
–55,
186
–87; importance to Jewish immigrants of,
70
,
154
; Protestant influences on,
153
–55; secular issues and,
9
,
105
,
141
–42,
153
–55; social Darwinist opponents of,
106
; southern resistance to,
136
; tax support for,
64
–65,
70
,
106
,
154
,
155
; teaching of evolution and,
23
,
183
,
186
–88

Puck
(magazine),
21

Puritanism,
92
–93,
138
,
145
,
186

Quakers,
20
,
32
,
52
–53

racial inequality,
109
–13; civil rights laws and,
100
,
103
,
110
–11,
134
; immigration laws and,
114
–16; inferiority beliefs and,
24
,
107
,
108
,
113
,
116
,
117
; segregation and,
110
–13

radical politics,
70
,
183

railroads,
58
,
59
,
115

Rand, Ayn,
24
,
107
,
108
n,
109

rape,
121
,
145

reason,
1
,
7
,
24
–25,
88
; Ingersoll's belief in,
158
,
166
–67,
170
,
196
; religion vs.,
164
,
199
–200

Red Scare (1919–21),
183

Reform Judaism,
16
,
90

religion.
See
organized religion;
specific religions

religious books,
36
–37,
42
,
48
.
See also
Bible

religious freedom.
See
establishment clause; freedom of conscience; freedom of religion

religious fundamentalism.
See
fundamentalism

religious right,
4
,
6
,
9
,
90
; historical revisionism of,
129
,
136
–37

religious schools.
See
parochial schools

religious skeptics.
See
agnostics/atheists; freethinkers

Republican Party,
57
–68; African American civil rights and,
112
; economic positions of,
103
; immigration law and,
115
; Ingersoll's agnosticism and,
178
–79; Ingersoll's ties
to,
10
,
53
,
54
,
57
–61,
63
–65,
67
–68,
70
–71,
97
,
98
,
100
,
101
,
102
–3,
163
,
178
; nineteenth-century policies of,
64
–65,
98
,
99
–101

revealed religion.
See
organized religion

Reynolds, C. B.,
129
,
131
–36,
142

Riddle, Oscar,
187

rights of man: secular basis of,
3
; as unalienable,
128
.
See also
equal rights; human rights; women's rights

Rights of Man, The
(Paine),
143

Robespierre, Maximilien,
40

Roman Catholic Church.
See
Catholicism

Roosevelt, Franklin D., “Happy Warrior” speech,
60
n

Roosevelt, Theodore,
18
,
94
,
147

Rose, Ernestine L.,
114

Rose, Robert Selden,
33

Rose Hill Mansion (NY),
33

Round Oak Company,
72
–73

Ruple, Jack,
190
,
191

Russian Orthodox Church,
165
n

St. Nicholas Orchestra,
175

Salubria (utopian community),
133

Sand, George,
73

Sanger, Margaret,
10
,
107
,
186

Santorum, Rick,
4
n

Satan,
36
–37,
86

Scalia, Antonin,
144
n

science and technology,
1
,
5
,
6
,
7
,
24
,
31
,
77
–96,
160
,
166
; animal vivisection evils and,
169
–70,
203
–5; birth control and,
118
; as challenge to biblical literalism,
16
,
17
–18,
23
,
136
,
148
–49; as freethinker proof,
77
–78; Ingersoll's communications skills and,
88
–90,
95
–96,
198
–99; nineteenth-century communication and,
45
; observation-based verifiability of,
77
–78,
79
–80; optimism and,
127
; political parties and,
61
; potential dangers of,
169
–70; religious accommodation with,
16
,
90
–91,
93
,
95
; religious beliefs vs.,
79
–80,
85
–86,
141
,
148
,
167
–68,
183
,
197
.
See also
evolution theory

Scopes, John T.,
23

Scopes trial (1925),
22
–23,
25
–26,
133
,
149
,
176
,
182
,
187

Scott, William,
Lessons in Elocution, Or, A Selection of Pieces, in Prose and Verse
,
44

Scottish Enlightenment,
46

Second Inaugural Address (Lincoln),
62
n,
112
,
150

secular government.
See
church-state separation

secular humanism.
See
humanism

secularism: existential questions and,
157
–58; as founders' constitutional intent,
2
–5 (
see also
church-state separation); freedom of conscience and,
202
; humanism and,
7
,
24
,
97
–128,
191
; influences on young Ingersoll and,
42
–49; Ingersoll's creed of,
161
–62,
189
; Ingersoll's definition of,
125
–27; Ingersoll's legacy to,
196
–97; primary argument of,
77
; public schools and,
105
,
153
–55; religion balanced with,
9
,
16
,
26
,
29
–30,
94
,
148
; religious enemies of,
69
,
156
–57,
183
–84; social Darwinism and,
24
,
25
,
107
–8,
113
–14,
125
; two divergent American strands of,
24
–25,
107
–9.
See also
agnostics/atheists; freethinkers

segregation,
110
–13

Seidl, Anton,
42

self-education.
See
autodidacts

Seneca Falls (NY),
29

“separate but equal” doctrine,
110

sexual behavior,
6
,
120
,
164
–66; obscenity (Comstock) laws and,
99
–100.
See also
birth control

Shakespeare, William,
62
,
73
,
74
,
123
,
160
,
161
,
196
; Ingersoll's love of,
42
–44,
174
–75; Lear's soliloquy,
161
,
162
,
163

Shelley, Percy Bysshe,
46

Sherman (TX),
41

Shiloh, Battle of (1862),
52

Sibbes, Richard,
Believers' Bowels Opened
,
36

single land tax,
103

slavery: border areas and,
48
–49; contentious issues of,
49
–50,
136
; de jure,
110
; religious sanctions for,
32
–33,
52
–53,
63
,
140
,
163
–64,
199
.
See also
abolitionism

smallpox vaccination,
78

Smith, Al,
60
n

Smith, Frank,
181

Smith, Joseph,
32

social conservatives,
108
n

social Darwinism,
24
–25,
104
–9,
199
; inferiority beliefs of,
24
,
107
,
108
,
113
–14,
116
; Ingersoll's view of,
24
,
104
–6,
109
,
115
–16,
127
–28,
158
; secular humanism vs.,
125
–27