''The Freethinker'' was a British

secular humanist Secular humanism is a philosophy, belief system or life stance that embraces human reason, secular ethics, and philosophical naturalism while specifically rejecting religious dogma, supernaturalism, and superstition as the basis of morality an ...

magazine, founded by G.W. Foote in 1881. One of the world's oldest surviving

freethought Freethought (sometimes spelled free thought) is an epistemological viewpoint which holds that beliefs should not be formed on the basis of authority, tradition, revelation, or dogma, and that beliefs should instead be reached by other meth ...

publications, it moved online-only in 2014. It has always taken an unapologetically

atheist Atheism, in the broadest sense, is an absence of belief in the existence of deities. Less broadly, atheism is a rejection of the belief that any deities exist. In an even narrower sense, atheism is specifically the position that there no ...

, anti-religious stance. In Issue 1 (May, 1881), Foote set out ''The Freethinker's'' purpose: Although closely linked with the

National Secular Society The National Secular Society (NSS) is a British campaigning organisation that promotes secularism and the separation of church and state. It holds that no one should gain advantage or disadvantage because of their religion or lack of it. It was ...

for most of its history (NSS Presidents and General Secretaries have at various times also served as ''Freethinker'' editor), ''The Freethinker'' is strictly autonomous and is not, and never has been, published by the NSS; it has been published by G. W. Foote & Co. Ltd. since its inception. In 2006, the magazine's front-page masthead was changed from "Secular humanist monthly" to "The Voice of

Atheism Atheism, in the broadest sense, is an absence of belief in the existence of deities. Less broadly, atheism is a rejection of the belief that any deities exist. In an even narrower sense, atheism is specifically the position that there no ...

since 1881".

Barry Duke Barry Duke (born 1 February 1947 in Johannesburg) is a journalist, atheist, gay rights activist, former editor of '' The Freethinker'' and current editor of '' The Pink Humanist'' an''The Angry Atheist'' Life and career Born in apartheid Sou ...

was the editor from 1998 until January 2022. Emma Park succeeded him from January 2022.

History

Following the publication of anti-religious cartoons in the

Christmas Christmas is an annual festival commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people around the world. A feast central to the Christian liturgical year ...

1882 edition of ''The Freethinker'', Foote was prosecuted for

blasphemy Blasphemy is a speech crime and religious crime usually defined as an utterance that shows contempt, disrespects or insults a deity, an object considered sacred or something considered inviolable. Some religions regard blasphemy as a religio ...

, and sentenced to 12 months imprisonment with hard labour. On receiving his sentence from Mr Justice North (a devout Catholic), Foote said "with great deliberation" to the Judge "My Lord, I thank you; it is worthy of your creed". His description of this experience was published in 1886 as ''Prisoner for Blasphemy''. The April 2014 edition of ''The Freethinker'' contained an announcement that the May issue would be the last to appear in print; publication would continue online. ''The Freethinker'' kept its own website until all new content was moved to a section of the

Patheos Patheos is a non-denominational, non-partisan online media company providing information and commentary from various religious and nonreligious perspectives. Upon its launch in May 2009, the website was primarily geared toward learning about r ...

website, th
first article
appearing on 16 July 2021. ''The Freethinker'' bulletin of 22 January 2022 announced that Barry Duke was moving to the newly established OnlySky website. His successor, Emma Park, was announced on ''The Freethinker'' website on 27 January 2022. In June 2022 Barry Duke explained that although ''The Freethinker'' was due to move from the Patheos website to OnlySky, the board of G. W. Foote & Co. Ltd. decided to keep its own dedicated website and to terminate his editorship.

List of ''Freethinker'' editors

* George William Foote, May 1881 – October 1915 ( Edward Aveling edited the paper during Foote's imprisonment, 1883) *

Chapman Cohen Chapman Cohen (1 September 1868 – 4 February 1954) was an English freethinker, atheist, and secularist writer and lecturer. Life Chapman Cohen (known by his contemporaries as CC) was the elder son of Enoch Cohen, a confectioner, and his wife ...

, October 1915 – June 1951 * Frank Ridley, June 1951 – April 1954 * A Committee consisting of

F. A. Hornibrook Frederick Arthur Hornibrook (1878–1965) was an Irish physical culturalist and writer best known for his book ''The Culture of the Abdomen''. Biography Hornibrook was born in Dublin in 1878 from a middle-class professional family. He was inf ...

Bayard Simmons Bayard may refer to: People *Bayard (given name) *Bayard (surname) *Pierre Terrail, seigneur de Bayard (1473–1524) French knight Places *Bayard, Delaware, an unincorporated community *Bayard (Jacksonville), Florida, a neighborhood *Bayard, Io ...

G. H. Taylor G is the seventh letter of the Latin alphabet. G may also refer to: Places * Gabon, international license plate code G * Glasgow, UK postal code G * Eastern Quebec, Canadian postal prefix G * Melbourne Cricket Ground in Melbourne, Australia, ...

May 1954 – August 1959. *

Colin McCall Colin may refer to: * Colin (given name) * Colin (surname) * ''Colin'' (film), a 2008 Cannes film festival zombie movie * Colin (horse) (1905–1932), thoroughbred racehorse * Colin (humpback whale), a humpback whale calf abandoned north of Sydney, ...

replaced Simmons in 1957, his name appearing alongside Hornibrook and Taylor from December that year. He became sole editor from August 1959 until December 1965 *

David Tribe David Harold Tribe (1931 – 2017) was an Australian secularist, humanist, and author of numerous books, articles and pamphlets. He was born in Sydney, Australia, grew up in Brisbane, and lived in the United Kingdom from the 1950s into the ...

, January 1966 – May 1966 *

Kit Mouat Kit Mouat (1 March 1920 – 3 September 1986 ) was an English poet, author and secular humanist activist and editor. She worked and wrote under the pseudonym "Kit Mouat" to protect her diplomat husband. She also used the names Jane MacKay and Je ...

, June 1966 – January 1967 * David Collis, January 1967 – October 1967 * Karl Hyde, November 1967 – August 1968 * David Reynolds, September 1968 – July 1970 * William McIlroy, August 1970 – December 1971 *

Nigel Sinnott Nigel ( ) is an English masculine given name. The English ''Nigel'' is commonly found in records dating from the Middle Ages; however, it was not used much before being revived by 19th-century antiquarians. For instance, Walter Scott published ...

, January 1972 – September 1973 *

Christopher Morey Christopher is the English version of a Europe-wide name derived from the Greek name Χριστόφορος (''Christophoros'' or '' Christoforos''). The constituent parts are Χριστός (''Christós''), "Christ" or "Anointed", and φέρει� ...

, October 1973 – December 1974 * William McIlroy, January 1975 – 1976 * Jim Herrick, January 1977 – 1981 * William McIlroy, September 1981 – December 1992 * Peter Brearey, January 1993 – 1998 *

, 1998 – January 2022 * Dr Emma Park, January 2022 –

Citations

Bibliography

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External links