Draper, the "Conflict Thesis" and Secularising Politics in Late Nineteenth-Century Argentina
Despite appearances to the contrary, late nineteenth-century Buenos Aires (Argentina) seems to be a suitable scale model to explore the relationships between the "conflict thesis" and secularisation. John W. Draper's History of the Conflict between Religion and Science (1874) arrived...
Main Author: | |
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Format: | Electronic Article |
Language: | English |
Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
Journals Online & Print: | |
Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
Published: |
Wiley-Blackwell
[2019]
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In: |
Journal of religious history
Year: 2019, Volume: 43, Issue: 3, Pages: 305-327 |
Standardized Subjects / Keyword chains: | B
Draper, John William 1811-1882, History of the conflict between religion and science
/ Argentina
/ Secularism
/ Religious policy
/ Religion
/ Natural sciences
/ History 1875-1885
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RelBib Classification: | AA Study of religion AB Philosophy of religion; criticism of religion; atheism KBR Latin America |
Online Access: |
Volltext (Resolving-System) Volltext (doi) |
Summary: | Despite appearances to the contrary, late nineteenth-century Buenos Aires (Argentina) seems to be a suitable scale model to explore the relationships between the "conflict thesis" and secularisation. John W. Draper's History of the Conflict between Religion and Science (1874) arrived in the country in the midst of political battles over the shape of the future relationships between the state and the majoritarian Catholic Church. In the decade between 1875 and 1885 variants of the "conflict thesis" were expounded, discussed, and used as rhetorical weapons in the battles over the issue of religious teaching in elementary schools. This article analyses the discussions over the "conflict thesis" between liberal secularists and Catholics in newspaper articles, public speeches, parliamentary debates, and other forms of public discourse during that period. Against the backdrop of a weak institutional church, a vigorous growth of nascent scientific institutions, and a cultural atmosphere permeated by positivism, the opposing parties argued about the "conflict thesis" while each reclaimed for itself the legitimacy of science. The episode permits a close look at how the intellectual leaders who conceived the project of a secularised state utilised science-based philosophies for purposes of political argument and ideological legitimation. |
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ISSN: | 1467-9809 |
Contains: | Enthalten in: Journal of religious history
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Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1111/1467-9809.12614 |