Beyond Denominations and Atheism: a review of a collective book “Freethought and atheism: concepts and personas”

Abstract

This paper present a review on a collective book "Freethought and atheism: concepts and personas' by Prof. Z. A. Tazhurizina and S. V. Ivaneev, published in 2018. The book is a collection of diverse papers considering various aspects of religious freethought. Collection includes scientific articles, op-ed essays and memorial papers.

In theoretical papers the authors consider the theory and ideology of religious freethought. Of particular interest is the proposed typology of different flavours of freethought. Historical materials present review and analysis of different manifestations of freethought: anti-religious movement in USSR in the decades before WWII, consideration of atheism in Christian writings, the phenomenon of heresies, etc. Memorial materials picture the life and works of prominent ideologists and researchers of freethought, many of whom were personal acquaintances of the authors.

The book stands out even from the fact that religious freethought has been incredibly scarcely considered by scholars in the recent years. At the same time, as authors reasonably argue, this phenomenon is very widespread, and more than once in history it has played significant role in the evolution of beliefs, religions and human society in general. Despite a number of shortcomings described in the review, it can be stated that the book presents significant value as a scientific work and non-fiction.