George Jacob Holyoake (April 13, 1817 – January 22, 1906)
was a significant activist in the British Secular and Cooperative Movements. He
created the term “secularism,” and stopped using the description “atheist,” not
out of any rancor towards atheists, but because “he wanted to describe what he
was, not what he declined to be…he wanted men to give all their devotion to the
problems of this world (saeculum)…Secularist was the best name to adopt”
(McCabe, p. 31). He worked all his life alongside people who described
themselves as atheists, agnostics, freethinkers, secularists, etc., to reform
the UK to be more secular in government and education. His activism with the
Cooperative Movement involved support for business ventures that were owned and
democratically managed by their members. Most of his work was as a newspaper
editor and a lecturer. The latter activity resulted in his prosecution for
“Blasphemy,” a religiously-motivated form of legal censorship that was not
eliminated in British law until 2008.*
Joseph McCabe’s biography of Holyoake is itself a piece of
history. It is part of the “Life Stories of Famous Men” series, created by
secularist publisher Charles Albert Watts, and issued for the Rationalist Press
Association. Like the Little Blue Book Series in the United States (for whom
McCabe also wrote), this book was intended as brief, low-cost propaganda aimed
at working class readers. The writing is ghastly. McCabe’s bio has all the sobriety
and rationalism of an eager choir boy’s school report on his favorite nun. He
characterizes secularism as “the noblest struggle on which the sun has ever shone”
and Holyoake’s advocacy as setting out “to slay dragons” (McCabe, p. 31). But a
modern reader does not approach this book for its content. It is to be examined
as a historical, propagandistic document. Given the elements that its author
emphasizes, this book is more valuable for what it reveals about the UK of 1922,
than what it tells us about Holyoake. So what does it reveal? What are the
points that McCabe leans upon to press his case?
First, it is significant that this book and series are aimed
at the working class, given that this is a group whose political influence is
on the rise in 1922. Before World War I, aristocracy was highly regarded in
Britain. Herbert Henry Asquith, Earl of Oxford, was the Prime Minister who led
the United Kingdom into that war. While the Great War was patriotically
regarded by the populace at large, there was a great deal of criticism for the
way that aristocratic generals conducted campaigns. Aristocratic officers with
no experience but great titles, sent thousands of working class soldiers over
the tops of trenches to die for a few feet of soil, only to see those conquests
re-captured the next day. It was this perception of aristocratic responsibility
for the slaughter which prompted Parliament to finally give the sacrificing
working class universal suffrage. By the time that McCabe had written this
biography, the Labor Party had surpassed the Liberal Party as the primary
opposition to the Conservatives in Parliament. Of course it did help that
George Jacob Holyoake had working class roots and that he was a leader in the
Cooperative Movement, both good reasons to select him for the series. But the
constant emphasis on his roots does show the growing political importance of
the working class at the time of the writing.
Second, this book, a piece of secularist propaganda,
ironically displays the importance of religion in UK society. Language is used
in reference to Holyoake that evokes religious feeling. Phrases like “Holyoake
was touched by the sacred fire” (McCabe, p. 14) and “then his real martyrdom
began” (McCabe, p. 19) show that religious feeling still exist and can be
evoked to support even the cause of secularism. Throughout the book, this
reformer is shown inviting theists to join his society (McCabe, p. 32) or being
praised by clerics (i.e. “even Bishops avowed the same esteem as Ingersoll”
[McCabe, p. 95]). These examples are meant to express to readers who have
grown-up in Christian households, that it’s okay to see the good in a
secularist and even join-in with them. Such encouragement would be unnecessary
were religion unimportant to the target audience.
Third, there is a marked attempt to secure the interest of
women in the Secular Movement. Women who were householders obtained the right
to vote in 1918. There was significant feminist agitation for the franchise to
be extended to all women, which succeeded in 1928. As the women’s movement is
increasingly important in the public sphere, Holyoake’s support is emphasized:
“the woman movement (sic)…round him gathered the little band of early pioneers
in the struggle. Harriet Martineau admired him enthusiastically” (McCabe, p. 35).
Fourth, in spite of a growing egalitarianism in Great
Britain, big names still impress circa 1922. Litanies of socially prominent
admirers are a frequent occurrence in this biography. For example: “Sir Wilfrid
Lawson writes: ‘I have long thought that you are one of our few original
thinkers and writers.’ Jacob Bright says: ‘I value highly your judgment.’ The
Marquis of Ripon says: ‘I am glad to see your handwriting again.’” It goes on
for a page and a half (McCabe, p. 111-2). Regardless of how progressive and
educated society has become, the rich and famous remain a source of public
fascination.
The purpose of this evaluation is not to single-out
secularists for criticism. Whether secular or religious, left-wing or
right-wing, all movements use propaganda. Examining propaganda allows a reader
to step back from a document and see both how it is attempting to influence,
and what it shows about the values of the society it is directed towards. This
kind of analysis helps one understand the historical uses of this technique,
and makes one more mindful of its use in our own time. The biography George
Jacob Holyoake is useful for some factual information on the activist’s
life, for what it shows about 1920s Britain and for its exemplification of
propaganda.
McCabe, Joseph. George Jacob Holyoake. London:
Forgotten Books, 2015.
*Ruth
Geller. "Goodbye to Blasphemy in Britain". Institute for Humanist
Studies. Archived from the original on 2008-06-07
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