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Am I An Atheist Or An Agnostic?
A Plea For Tolerance In The Face Of New Dogmas

by Bertrand Russell (1947)

I speak as one who was intended by my father to be brought up as a
Rationalist. He was quite as much of a Rationalist as I am, but he died
when I was three years old, and the Court of Chancery decided that I
was to have the benefits of a Christian education.

I think perhaps the Court of Chancery might have regretted that since.
It does not seem to have done as much good as they hoped. Perhaps you
may say that it would be rather a pity if Christian education were to
cease, because you would then get no more Rationalists.

They arise chiefly out of reaction to a system of education which
considers it quite right that a father should decree that his son
should be brought up as a Muggletonian, we will say, or brought up on
any other kind of nonsense, but he must on no account be brought up to
think rationally. When I was young that was considered to be......

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Approximate Word Count: 2570
Approximate Pages: 11 (250 words per double-spaced page)

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