Ep. 67: Lessons from the Atheists of Interwar Canada – Elliot Hanowski

In this episode, we’re joined by Elliot Hanowski, a Canadian historian and author of Towards a Godless Dominion: Unbelief in Interwar Canada (McGill-Queen’s University Press, 2023). We discuss the small but vocal atheist and secular movement in 1920s and 1930s Canada. Elliot explains how this period represents an important link between the nineteenth-century freethought movement and the explosive, radical change of the 1960s. We learn how atheist groups developed alliances with socialists and communists and became a part of the free speech movement in “Toronto the Good.” We also reflect on what lessons these past experiences can offer for present-day secularists. Finally, we learn whether a “True Agnostic” can hate religious people.

Towards a Godless Dominion: Unbelief in Interwar Canada: https://www.mqup.ca/towards-a-godless-dominion-products-9780228018834.php?page_id=46&

Beyond Atheism is produced and distributed by Atheists United Studios: https://www.atheistsunited.org/au-studios