Albert Eustace Haydon (January 17, 1880 – 1 April 1975) was a Canadian historian of religion and a leader of the

humanist Humanism is a philosophical stance that emphasizes the individual and social potential, and agency of human beings, whom it considers the starting point for serious moral and philosophical inquiry. The meaning of the term "humanism" ha ...

movement.

Biography

Haydon was ordained to

Baptist Baptists are a Christian denomination, denomination within Protestant Christianity distinguished by baptizing only professing Christian believers (believer's baptism) and doing so by complete Immersion baptism, immersion. Baptist churches ge ...

ministry and served a church in

Dresden Dresden (; ; Upper Saxon German, Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; , ) is the capital city of the States of Germany, German state of Saxony and its second most populous city after Leipzig. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, 12th most p ...

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

, in 1903–04. He ministered to the

First Unitarian Society of Madison The First Unitarian Society of Madison (FUS) is a Unitarian Universalist congregation in Shorewood Hills, Wisconsin. Its meeting house was designed by Frank Lloyd Wright and built by Marshall Erdman in 1949–1951, and has been designated a ...

Wisconsin Wisconsin ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest of the United States. It borders Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michig ...

, from 1918 to 1923. He was head of the Department of

Comparative Religion Comparative religion is the branch of the study of religions with the systematic comparison of the doctrines and practices, themes and impacts (including human migration, migration) of the world's religions. In general the comparative study ...

at the

University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, or UChi) is a Private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Its main campus is in the Hyde Park, Chicago, Hyde Park neighborhood on Chicago's South Side, Chic ...

from 1919 to 1945. While there, he was an influential voice of naturalist humanism. In 1933 he was one of signers of the

Humanist Manifesto ''Humanist Manifesto'' is the title of three manifestos laying out a humanist worldview. They are the original '' A Humanist Manifesto'' (1933, often referred to as ''Humanist Manifesto'' I), the '' Humanist Manifesto II'' (1973), and '' Human ...

. The

American Humanist Association The American Humanist Association (AHA) is a 501(c) organization, non-profit organization in the United States that advances secular humanism. The American Humanist Association was founded in 1941 and currently provides legal assistance to defe ...

awarded him the Humanist of the Year award in 1956. Haydon's ''Biography of the Gods'' is an account of the origin of human belief in Gods and the rise and decline of Gods throughout history. Chapters are dedicated to the belief in

Ahura Mazda Ahura Mazda (; ; or , ),The former is the New Persian rendering of the Avestan form, while the latter derives from Middle Persian. also known as Horomazes (),, is the only creator deity and Sky deity, god of the sky in the ancient Iranian ...

, the Gods of China, India, Japan and the

God in Abrahamic religions Monotheism—the belief that there is only one deity—is the focus of the Abrahamic religions, which like-mindedly conceive God as the all-powerful and all-knowing deity from whom Abraham received a divine revelation, according to their res ...

. Haydon concludes that just as belief in most of the old Gods is dead, the Christian God is no exception and is on the road to extinction. According to Haydon, Gods are invented so long as they meet real human needs (emotional and economic) and fulfill desires, fantasies and longings. When man's beliefs and fancies change the Gods die and substitutions take their place. Personal Gods outnumber abstract deities because the latter do not serve man's emotional nature or demands of practical living.

Selected publications

*''The Quest of the Ages'' (1929) *''Man's Search for the Good Life'' (1937) *''Biography of the Gods'' (1941, 1967) *''Modern Trends in World Religions'' (1968)

References

External links

Dictionary of Unitarian & Universalist Biography - Eustace Haydon
{{DEFAULTSORT:Haydon, A. Eustace 1880 births 1975 deaths 20th-century Canadian Baptist ministers Canadian historians of religion Canadian humanists Canadian skeptics Canadian Unitarian Universalists Former Baptists People from Chatham-Kent Scholars of comparative religion Secular humanists