The Prometheus Society (, ) was a Finnish

student society A student society, student association, university society, student club, university club, or student organization is a society or an organization, operated by students at a university or a college institution, whose membership typically consists ...

at the

University of Helsinki The University of Helsinki ( fi, Helsingin yliopisto, sv, Helsingfors universitet, abbreviated UH) is a public research university located in Helsinki, Finland since 1829, but founded in the city of Turku (in Swedish ''Åbo'') in 1640 as the ...

from 1905 to 1914, whose main purpose was to promote

religious freedom Freedom of religion or religious liberty is a principle that supports the freedom of an individual or community, in public or private, to manifest religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship, and observance. It also includes the freedom ...

Views

Its program included the abolition of compulsory

baptism Baptism (from grc-x-koine, βάπτισμα, váptisma) is a form of ritual purification—a characteristic of many religions throughout time and geography. In Christianity, it is a Christian sacrament of initiation and adoption, almost inv ...

confirmation In Christian denominations that practice infant baptism, confirmation is seen as the sealing of the covenant created in baptism. Those being confirmed are known as confirmands. For adults, it is an affirmation of belief. It involves laying on ...

and communion, the abolition of compulsory religious oaths, the abolition of compulsory

religious education In secular usage, religious education is the teaching of a particular religion (although in the United Kingdom the term ''religious instruction'' would refer to the teaching of a particular religion, with ''religious education'' referring to te ...

in schools, the introduction of

civil marriage A civil marriage is a marriage performed, recorded, and recognized by a government official. Such a marriage may be performed by a religion, religious body and recognized by the state, or it may be entirely secular. History Every country maintai ...

and the introduction of the right to leave the

state church A state religion (also called religious state or official religion) is a religion or creed officially endorsed by a sovereign state. A state with an official religion (also known as confessional state), while not secular, is not necessarily a t ...

without the obligation to join another religious denomination at the same time, as well as the separation of church and state. The society was an early expression of the

anti-clericalism Anti-clericalism is opposition to religious authority, typically in social or political matters. Historical anti-clericalism has mainly been opposed to the influence of Roman Catholicism. Anti-clericalism is related to secularism, which seeks to ...

that existed among Finnish-Swedish intellectuals. Most of the reforms promoted by the society were achieved during the first few years of Finland's independence.

Members

The chairman of the Prometheus Society, who came under fierce attack from church circles, was

Edvard Westermarck Edvard Alexander Westermarck (Helsinki, 20 November 1862 – Tenala, 3 September 1939) was a Finnish philosopher and sociologist. Among other subjects, he studied exogamy and the incest taboo. Biography Westermarck was born in 1862 in a ...

; the vice-chairman was and the longest-serving secretary was historian

Svante Dahlström Svante Dahlström (14 October 1883 – 21 January 1965) was a Finland-Swedish historian. He married music educator Greta Dahlström in 1925 and was the father of musicologist . Dahlström was born in Turku, Finland, in 1883 to Johan Edvard Dah ...

. Other members of the society included

Rafael Karsten Sigfrid Rafael Karsten (16 August 1879 — 21 February 1956) was a Finnish social anthropologist and philosopher of religion, known especially for his work among the indigenous people of Southern America. Career Rafael Karsten was born in Kvevla ...

, ,

Gunnar Landtman Gunnar Landtman (6 May 1878, Helsinki – 30 October 1940, Helsinki) was a Finnish philosopher as well as a sociology and philosophy professor. A pupil of Edvard Westermarck, he graduated from the University of Helsinki in 1905. He later became a ...

, , , ,

Hjalmar Magnus Eklund Hjalmar Magnus Eklund (12 January 1880 in Turku – 10 June 1937 in Pargas) was the first Finnish expert in mathematical logic and philosophy and also a pioneer in the Ido language. Life and career Eklund was born in Turku in 1880, the son of a se ...

, ,

Alma Söderhjelm Alma Söderhjelm (10 May 1870 – 16 March 1949) was a Swedish-speaking Finnish historian and the first female professor in Finland. Academic career After gaining an M.A. in history, Söderhjelm spent three years in Paris, preparing her doc ...

, , K. H. Wiik,

Viktor Heikel Frans Viktor Heikel (23 August 1842 – 27 July 1927) was a Finland-Swedish gymnastics teacher, known as "the father of Finnish school gymnastics". Life Heikel was born in Turku to educator and priest Henrik Heikel and Wilhelmina Johanna Scha ...

, and

Hermann Friedmann Adolph Hermann Friedmann (11 April 1873, in Białystok – 25 May 1957, in Heidelberg) was a German philosopher and jurist, Finnish Finnish may refer to: * Something or someone from, or related to Finland * Culture of Finland * Finnish people o ...

History

The society was founded by students of the

, including members of the Euterpe Society, on 20 October 1905, shortly before the beginning of the

general strike A general strike refers to a strike action in which participants cease all economic activity, such as working, to strengthen the bargaining position of a trade union or achieve a common social or political goal. They are organised by large co ...

. The society was ideologically

secularist Secularism is the principle of seeking to conduct human affairs based on secular, naturalistic considerations. Secularism is most commonly defined as the separation of religion from civil affairs and the state, and may be broadened to a sim ...

humanist Humanism is a philosophical stance that emphasizes the individual and social potential and agency of human beings. It considers human beings the starting point for serious moral and philosophical inquiry. The meaning of the term "humani ...

and

liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...

. Its principles were rooted in the pan-European revolution in which empiricism, evolution, and liberalism were gaining ground in the scholarly world. The society's adherents were not united in their social positions. Westermarck himself thought that the Prometheus meetings were more popular than those of any other learned society. The Prometheus Society gave lectures not only on humanistic subjects but also on

theology Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the ...

and

theosophy Theosophy is a religion established in the United States during the late 19th century. It was founded primarily by the Russian Helena Blavatsky and draws its teachings predominantly from Blavatsky's writings. Categorized by scholars of religion a ...

, with future Archbishop

Erkki Kaila Erkki Kaila, previously Erik Johansson (2 June 1867 in Huittinen – 9 December 1944 in Turku) was the Archbishop of Turku, and the spiritual head of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland between 1935 and 1944. He was a Member of Parliament ...

, among others. In the mid-1910s, the society's activities waned as the social situation in Finland became more tense. The society was dissolved after the

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

, when the state authorities found its activities to be propagandistic. Civil marriage was made legal in Finland by a separate law passed in 1917. The Finnish Freedom of Religion Act was passed in 1922 and was enacted at the beginning of 1923. The new law allowed citizens not to belong to religious communities. It was only this law that gave atheists in Finland full civil rights. However, the demand for

separation of church and state The separation of church and state is a philosophical and jurisprudential concept for defining political distance in the relationship between religious organizations and the state. Conceptually, the term refers to the creation of a secular sta ...

was not fully met.

References

Notes

Sources

Prometheus
in ''

Uppslagsverket Finland ''Uppslagsverket Finland'' ('Encyclopedia Finland') is a Swedish-language encyclopedia with a focus on Finland and in particular Finland-Swedish subjects. The encyclopedia is published by initiative of an association dedicated to this task, ( ...

'' (web edition, 2012). CC-BY-SA 4.0