In this chapter, I consider what secularization meant for non-religious minorities (secularists) from the 1890s to the end of the First World War. Such minorities have to date received only limited attention in historical discussions of secularization. Yet as much as Christians they sought influence in a range of societal institutions, including schools. Through the Moral Instruction League, they promoted moral instruction as a replacement for or an addition to (Christian) religious instruction. In so doing they aimed to form future citizens. However, it does not follow that those involved pursued a unified secularizing mission. Secularists held different views of the way that their ‘secular’ morality connected withor challenged religion. They responded in varied ways to critiques from Christian lobbies. Some welcomed alliances with Christians who wished to challenge what they deemed unwarranted and destructive intervention of churches and church personnel in schools. Others rejected such alliances. I examine in detail two elements of the Moral Instruction League’s activities which bring to the fore secula-rists’intentions in relation to secularization: its interventions in connection with the Bible and religious instruction lessons in schools, and its demonstration lessons which involved encounters with people and spaces of religious belief. Rather than presenting a clear, single mission, this analysis reveals tensions between secularists and ambiguities within secularists’ positions.
Wright, Susannah
School of Education, Humanities and Languages
Year of publication: 2024Date of RADAR deposit: 2024-11-29