1.

Record Nr.

UNINA9910461151403321

Autore

Sheppard Kenneth

Titolo

Anti-atheism in early modern England 1580-1720 : the atheist answered and his error confuted / / by Kenneth Sheppard

Pubbl/distr/stampa

Leiden, Netherlands ; ; Boston, [Massachusetts] : , : Brill, , 2015

©2015

ISBN

90-04-28816-3

Descrizione fisica

1 online resource (347 pages) : illustrations

Collana

Studies in the History of Christian Traditions, , 1573-5664 ; ; Volume 176

Disciplina

211.80942

Soggetti

Apologetics - England - History

Atheism - England - History

Christianity and atheism

Electronic books.

England Church history

Lingua di pubblicazione

Inglese

Formato

Materiale a stampa

Livello bibliografico

Monografia

Nota di bibliografia

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Nota di contenuto

Preliminary Material -- Introduction -- Anxieties About Atheism -- The Atheist Answered and His Error Confuted -- Atheist Epicurus -- Anti-Atheist Plato -- Atheism and Apostasy -- Atheism and Society -- Atheism and Happiness -- From Confutation to Criticism -- Conclusion -- Bibliography -- Index.

Sommario/riassunto

Atheists generated widespread anxieties between the Reformation and the Enlightenment. In response to such anxieties a distinct genre of religious apologetics emerged in England between 1580 and 1720. By examining the form and the content of the confutation of atheism, Anti-Atheism in Early Modern England demonstrates the prevalence of patterned assumptions and arguments about who an atheist was and what an atheist was supposed to believe, outlines and analyzes the major arguments against atheists, and traces the important changes and challenges to this apologetic discourse in the early Enlightenment.