This lecture, by dr. Anton Jansson, is held as part of the course on the history of freethought and secular humanism in Belgium in the postgraduate program Praktisch Humanisme. dr. Jansson holds this lecture as part of his stay in SSAB in the framework of a Eutopia Alliance exchange.
Content: Sweden is known for being one of the most secular countries in the world. In a country which have historically had a strong Lutheran state church, few people today state that they believe in God. Anton Jansson’s research deals with the character of this absence of belief in God. In this lecture, Jansson will give an overview of the intellectual history of atheism in Sweden from late the 19th century till mid-20th century. Who propagated publicly against Christianity for non-belief in God? What arguments did they use and what were their goals? How did they fit in in the general political and social developments of modern Sweden? Apart from giving empirical examples, Jansson will discuss theoretical and methodological aspects of researching the intellectual history of non-belief.
This lecture is open to anyone wishing to attend free of charge. Please contact niels.de.nutte@vub.be to confirm.