George Jacob Holyoake (13 April 1817 – 22 January 1906) was an English secularist,

co-operator A cooperative (also known as co-operative, coöperative, co-op, or coop) is "an autonomous association of persons united voluntarily to meet their common economic, social and cultural needs and aspirations through a jointly owned and democra ...

and newspaper editor. He coined the terms

secularism Secularism is the principle of seeking to conduct human affairs based on naturalistic considerations, uninvolved with religion. It is most commonly thought of as the separation of religion from civil affairs and the state and may be broadened ...

in 1851 and "

jingoism Jingoism is nationalism in the form of aggressive and proactive foreign policy, such as a country's advocacy for the use of threats or actual force, as opposed to peaceful relations, in efforts to safeguard what it perceives as its national inte ...

" in 1878. He edited a secularist paper, ''The Reasoner'', from 1846 to June 1861, and a co-operative one, ''The English Leader'', in 1864–1867.

Early life

George Jacob Holyoake was born in

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands, within the wider West Midlands (region), West Midlands region, in England. It is the Lis ...

, where his father worked as a

whitesmith A whitesmith is a metalworker who does finishing work on iron and steel such as filing, lathing, burnishing or polishing. The term also refers to a person who works with "white" or light-coloured metals, and is sometimes used as a synonym for tinsm ...

and his mother as a button maker. He attended a

dame school Dame schools were small, privately run schools for children aged two to five. They emerged in Great Britain and its colonies during the Early modern Britain, early modern period. These schools were taught by a “school dame,” a local woman ...

and a Wesleyan Sunday School, began working half-days at the same foundry as his father at the age of eight, and learnt his trade. At 18 he began attending lectures at the Birmingham

Mechanics' Institute Mechanics' institutes, also known as mechanics' institutions, sometimes simply known as institutes, and also called schools of arts (especially in the Australian colonies), were educational establishments originally formed to provide adult edu ...

, where he encountered the

socialist Socialism is an economic ideology, economic and political philosophy encompassing diverse Economic system, economic and social systems characterised by social ownership of the means of production, as opposed to private ownership. It describes ...

writings of

Robert Owen Robert Owen (; 14 May 1771 – 17 November 1858) was a Welsh textile manufacturer, philanthropist, political philosopher and social reformer, and a founder of utopian socialism and the cooperative movement, co-operative movement. He strove to ...

and later became an assistant lecturer. He married Eleanor Williams in 1839 and decided to become a full-time teacher, but was rejected for his

views. Unable to teach full-time, Holyoake took a job as an

Owenite Owenism is the utopian socialist philosophy of 19th-century social reformer Robert Owen and his followers and successors, who are known as Owenites. Owenism aimed for radical reform of society and is considered a forerunner of the cooperativ ...

social missionary. His first posting was in Worcester, but the following year he was transferred to a more important one in Sheffield.

Owenism

Holyoake joined

Charles Southwell Charles Southwell (1814 – 7 August 1860) was a radical English journalist, freethinker and colonial advocate. Early life Charles Southwell was born in London, the youngest of 33 children in a poor family. His father, William, was a piano m ...

in dissenting from the official Owenite policy that lecturers should take a religious oath to enable them to take collections on Sundays. Southwell had founded an atheist publication, '' Oracle of Reason'', and was soon imprisoned on those grounds. Holyoake took over as editor, having moved to an

atheist Atheism, in the broadest sense, is an absence of belief in the existence of deities. Less broadly, atheism is a rejection of the belief that any deities exist. In an even narrower sense, atheism is specifically the position that there no ...

position as a result of his experiences. Holyoake was influenced by the French

philosopher of science Philosophy ('love of wisdom' in Ancient Greek) is a systematic study of general and fundamental questions concerning topics like existence, reason, knowledge, Value (ethics and social sciences), value, mind, and language. It is a rational an ...

Auguste Comte Isidore Auguste Marie François Xavier Comte (; ; 19 January 1798 – 5 September 1857) was a French philosopher, mathematician and writer who formulated the doctrine of positivism. He is often regarded as the first philosopher of science in the ...

, notable in

sociology Sociology is the scientific study of human society that focuses on society, human social behavior, patterns of Interpersonal ties, social relationships, social interaction, and aspects of culture associated with everyday life. The term sociol ...

and famous for the doctrine of

positivism Positivism is a philosophical school that holds that all genuine knowledge is either true by definition or positivemeaning '' a posteriori'' facts derived by reason and logic from sensory experience.John J. Macionis, Linda M. Gerber, ''Soci ...

. Comte had himself attempted to establish a secular " religion of humanity" to fulfil the cohesive

function Function or functionality may refer to: Computing * Function key, a type of key on computer keyboards * Function model, a structured representation of processes in a system * Function object or functor or functionoid, a concept of object-orie ...

of traditional religion. Holyoake was an acquaintance of

Harriet Martineau Harriet Martineau (12 June 1802 – 27 June 1876) was an English social theorist.Hill, Michael R. (2002''Harriet Martineau: Theoretical and Methodological Perspectives'' Routledge. She wrote from a sociological, holism, holistic, religious and ...

, who translated various works by Comte and was perhaps the first female sociologist. She wrote to him excitedly on reviewing Darwin's ''

On the Origin of Species ''On the Origin of Species'' (or, more completely, ''On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection, or the Preservation of Favoured Races in the Struggle for Life'')The book's full original title was ''On the Origin of Species by M ...

'' in 1859.

Prosecution

In 1842, Holyoake became one of the last persons convicted for

blasphemy Blasphemy refers to an insult that shows contempt, disrespect or lack of Reverence (emotion), reverence concerning a deity, an object considered sacred, or something considered Sanctity of life, inviolable. Some religions, especially Abrahamic o ...

in a public lecture, held in April 1842 at the

Cheltenham Cheltenham () is a historic spa town and borough adjacent to the Cotswolds in Gloucestershire, England. Cheltenham became known as a health and holiday spa town resort following the discovery of mineral springs in 1716, and claims to be the mo ...

, though this had no theological character and the incriminating words were merely a reply to a question addressed to him from the body of the meeting. It took an intervention by supporters to stop him being walked in chains from Cheltenham to

Gloucester Gloucester ( ) is a cathedral city, non-metropolitan district and the county town of Gloucestershire in the South West England, South West of England. Gloucester lies on the River Severn, between the Cotswolds to the east and the Forest of Dean ...

Gaol, and there was a formal complaint to the Home Secretary, which was upheld. He was well supported by the ''Cheltenham Free Press'' at the time in his actions, but attacked in the ''Cheltenham Chronicle'' and ''Examiner''. Those at the lecture, the second in a series, moved and carried a motion "that free discussion was equally beneficial in the departments of politics, morals and religion." In 1842 Holyoake and the socialist Emma Martin formed the Anti-Persecution Union to support

free thinkers Freethought (sometimes spelled free thought) is an unorthodox attitude or belief. A freethinker holds that beliefs should not be formed on the basis of authority, tradition, revelation, or dogma, and should instead be reached by other meth ...

in danger of arrest.

Secularism

Holyoake nonetheless underwent six months' imprisonment and editorship of the ''Oracle'' changed hands. After the paper closed at the end of 1843, Holyoake founded a more moderate one, ''The Movement'', which survived into 1845. Holyoake also founded ''The Reasoner'', where he developed the concept of ''

'',. Among the causes he supported through the paper was that of Thomas Pooley, who was imprisoned for twenty-one months on a blasphemy charge in 1857. It was followed by the ''

Secular Review ''Secular Review'' (1876–1907) was a freethought/secularist weekly publication in nineteenth and early twentieth-century Britain that appeared under a variety of names. It represented a "relatively moderate style of Secularism," more open to old ...

'' in August 1876. He was the last person indicted for publishing an unstamped newspaper, but the prosecution was dropped when the tax was withdrawn. He retained his disbelief in God, but after the ''Oracle'' soon came to see "atheism" as a negative term, preferring "secularism". He then adopted the term "

agnostic Agnosticism is the view or belief that the existence of God, the divine, or the supernatural is either unknowable in principle or unknown in fact. (page 56 in 1967 edition) It can also mean an apathy towards such religious belief and refer to ...

", when it appeared. In the 1850s Holyoake and

were lecturing in East London.

Harriet Law Harriet Teresa Law (née Frost, 5 November 1831 – 19 July 1897) was a leading British freethinker in 19th-century London. The daughter of a small farmer, she was raised as a "Strict Baptist" but later converted to atheism. She became a salar ...

, then a Baptist, began debating with them, and in the process changed her beliefs. She "saw the light of reason" in 1855 and became a supporter of Holyoake and a prominent secular speaker. After an 1877 split with

Charles Bradlaugh Charles Bradlaugh (; 26 September 1833 – 30 January 1891) was an English political activist and atheist. He founded the National Secular Society in 1866, 15 years after George Holyoake had coined the term "secularism" in 1851. In 1880, Br ...

and

Annie Besant Annie Besant (; Wood; 1 October 1847 – 20 September 1933) was an English socialist, Theosophy (Blavatskian), theosophist, freemason, women's rights and Home Rule activist, educationist and campaigner for Indian nationalism. She was an arden ...

, leaders of the

National Secular Society The National Secular Society (NSS) is a British campaigning organisation that promotes secularism and the separation of church and state. It holds that no one should gain advantage or disadvantage because of their religion or lack of it. The Soc ...

(NSS), Holyoake, Charles Watts and Harriet Law founded the

British Secular Union The British Secular Union was a secularist organisation, founded in August 1877, primarily as a response to what its founders regarded as the "dictatorial" powers of Charles Bradlaugh as President of the National Secular Society.Edward Royle, ''R ...

, which remained active until 1884. On 6 March 1881, Holyoake was a speaker at the opening of

Leicester Secular Society Leicester Secular Society is the world's oldest Secularism, Secular Society. It meets at its headquarters, the Leicester Secular Hall in the centre of Leicester, England, at 75 Humberstone Gate. Founding Founded in 1851, the society is the oldest ...

's Secular Hall in Humberstone Gate, along with

and

. He chaired the

Rationalist Press Association The Rationalist Association was a charity in the United Kingdom which published '' New Humanist'' magazine between 1885 and 2025. Since 2025, the Rationalist Press has been the publishing imprint of Humanists UK. The original Rationalist Press ...

in 1899–1906.

Co-operative movement

Holyoake's later years were mainly spent on the working-class co-operative movement. He served as

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

for the first day of the 1887

Co-operative Congress The Co-operative Congress is the national conference of the UK Co-operative Movement. The first of the modern congresses took place in 1869 following a series of meetings called the " Owenite Congress" in the 1830s. Members of Co-operatives UK ...

. He wrote a history of the ''Rochdale Pioneers'' (1857), ''The History of Co-operation in England'' (1875; revised ed. 1906) and ''The Co-operative Movement of To-day'' (1891). He also published (1892) an autobiography entitled ''Sixty Years of an Agitator's Life'', and in 1905 two volumes of reminiscences, ''Bygones Worth Remembering''. Highgate Cemetery - East - George Holyoake 04

Highgate Cemetery - East - George Holyoake 04

Holyoake died in

Brighton Brighton ( ) is a seaside resort in the city status in the United Kingdom, city of Brighton and Hove, East Sussex, England, south of London. Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze Age Britain, Bronze Age, R ...

Sussex Sussex (Help:IPA/English, /ˈsʌsɪks/; from the Old English ''Sūþseaxe''; lit. 'South Saxons'; 'Sussex') is an area within South East England that was historically a kingdom of Sussex, kingdom and, later, a Historic counties of England, ...

, on 22 January 1906, and was buried in the eastern section of

Highgate Cemetery Highgate Cemetery is a place of burial in North London, England, designed by architect Stephen Geary. There are approximately 170,000 people buried in around 53,000 graves across the West and East sides. Highgate Cemetery is notable both for so ...

in London. The grave lies in a north-east section, off the main paths, and is not readily accessible, but visible between graves on the east side of the main central-north path, behind

George Eliot Mary Ann Evans (22 November 1819 – 22 December 1880; alternatively Mary Anne or Marian), known by her pen name George Eliot, was an English novelist, poet, journalist, translator, and one of the leading writers of the Victorian era. She wrot ...

's grave. The Co-operative Movement decided to build a lasting monument to him: a permanent home for the

Co-operative Union Co-operatives UK is a British co-operative federation described as "the central membership organisation for co-operative enterprise throughout the UK". It was founded in 1870 as the Co-operative Central Board, changing its name to the Co-opera ...

Manchester Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...

. Holyoake House was opened in 1911 and also houses the National Co-operative Archive. A second collection is held at

Bishopsgate Library Bishopsgate Library , now known as Bishopgate Institute's Special Collections and Archives is an independent, charity-funded library located within the Bishopsgate Institute in the City of London. Description The library's particular strengths ...

Other aspects

Holyoake coined the term "

" in a letter to '' The Daily News'' on 13 March 1878, referring to the patriotic song "By Jingo" by

G. W. Hunt George William Hunt (c.1837 – 1 March 1904), known in later life as 'Jingo' Hunt,Peter Gammond, ''The Oxford Companion to Popular Music'', Oxford University Press, 1991, p.279 was an English writer of music hall songs, best known for "MacDe ...

, popularised by the

music hall Music hall is a type of British theatrical entertainment that was most popular from the early Victorian era, beginning around 1850, through the World War I, Great War. It faded away after 1918 as the halls rebranded their entertainment as Varie ...

singer

G. H. MacDermott Gilbert Hastings MacDermott (born John Farrell; 27 February 1845 – 8 May 1901) was an English comic singer or lion comique, who was one of the biggest stars of the Victorian English music hall. He performed under the name of The Great MacDerm ...

. Referring back to this he wrote, "I had certainly intended to mark, by a convenient name, a new species of patriots...

hose A hose is a flexible hollow tube or pipe designed to carry fluids from one location to another, often from a faucet or hydrant. Early hoses were made of leather, although modern hoses are typically made of rubber, canvas, and helically wound w ...

characteristic was a war-urging pretentiousness which discredited the silent, resolute, self-defensiveness of the British people." Holyoake was the uncle of an independent MP and convicted fraudster,

Horatio Bottomley Horatio William Bottomley (23 March 1860 – 26 May 1933) was an English financier, journalist, editor, newspaper proprietor, swindler, and Member of Parliament. He is best known for his editorship of the popular magazine ''John Bull (maga ...

, and contributed to the cost of Bottomley's upkeep after he was orphaned in 1865. The New Zealand Prime Minister

Keith Holyoake Sir Keith Jacka Holyoake (11 February 1904 – 8 December 1983) was a New Zealand politician who served as the 26th prime minister of New Zealand, serving for a brief period in 1957 and then from 1960 to 1972, and also as the 13th governor-g ...

was related to him.

Memorials

Holyoake is listed on the south face of the Reformers' Memorial in London's

Kensal Green Cemetery Kensal Green Cemetery is a cemetery in the Kensal Green area of North Kensington in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea and the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham in London, England. Inspired by Père Lachaise Cemetery in P ...

. The Cooperative Union Limited Holyoake House, Hanover Street, Manchester, Greater Manchester, M60 0AS has Holyoake commemorated on the side of the building as “one of the pioneers of Co-operation who for nearly 70 years was a strenuous worker for liberty and reform”. The

unveiled a blue plaque commemorating Holyoake on Friday 17 August 2018. It is mounted on the front of a newsagents' at 4 Woburn Walk in

Bloomsbury Bloomsbury is a district in the West End of London, part of the London Borough of Camden in England. It is considered a fashionable residential area, and is the location of numerous cultural institution, cultural, intellectual, and educational ...

, London, WC1H 0JL, as part of the Marchmont Association's scheme of local history commemorative plaques. Holyoake Road in

Headington Headington is an eastern suburb of Oxford, in the county of Oxfordshire, England. It is at the top of Headington Hill overlooking the city in the Thames valley below, and bordering Marston, Oxford, Marston to the north-west, Cowley, Oxfordshire ...

, Oxford, Holyoake Walk in

Ealing Ealing () is a district in west London (sub-region), west London, England, west of Charing Cross in the London Borough of Ealing. It is the administrative centre of the borough and is identified as a major metropolitan centre in the London Pl ...

, London, Holyoake Terrace in

Penrith, Cumbria Penrith (, ) is a market town and civil parish in the Westmorland and Furness district of Cumbria, England. It is less than outside the Lake District, Lake District National Park and about south of Carlisle. It is between the Rivers River Pet ...

and Holyoake Terrace in

Sevenoaks Sevenoaks is a town in Kent with a population of 29,506, situated south-east of London, England. Also classified as a civil parishes in England, civil parish, Sevenoaks is served by a commuter South Eastern Main Line, main line railway into Lo ...

, Kent, are named after George Holyoake.

Publications

''Rationalism: A Treatise for the Times''
(London: J. Watson, 1845)
''The History of the Last Trial by Jury for Atheism in England: A Fragment of Autobiography''
(London: J. Watson, 1850)
''Christianity and Secularism Report of a Public Discussion Between Rev. Brewin and G. J. Holyoake''
(London: Ward & Co, 1853)
''Rudiments of Public Speaking and Debate or, Hints on the Application of Logic''
(New York: McElrath & Barker, 1853);
''The Trial of Theism''
(London, 1858)
''The Principles of Secularism''
(London, 1870) *''The History of Co-operation in England: Its Literature and its Advocates''
Volume IVolume II
(London: Trübner & Co, 1875)
''English Secularism: A Confession of Belief''
(Chicago: The Open Court Publishing Company, 1896)

Notes

References

*David Berman (1990), ''A history of atheism in Britain: from Hobbes to Russell'', London: Routledge. *Joseph McCabe (1908), ''Life and Letters of George Jacob Holyoake'', 2 vols. London: Watts & Co. It includes ''A contribution towards a bibliography of the writings of George Jacob Holyoake'', by C. W. F. Goss, pp. 329–344.) * *

Michael Rectenwald Michael D. Rectenwald is an American author and former professor. A member of the Mises Caucus of the Libertarian Party, he has written about 19th-century British secularism and is a critic of the contemporary social justice movement. Early li ...

(2013), "Secularism and the Cultures of Nineteenth-century Scientific Naturalism". ''The British Journal for the History of Science'' 46, no. 2: pp. 231–254
Found at JSTOR here
*Michael Rectenwald (2016), ''Nineteenth-century British Secularism Science, Religion and Literature.'' Basingstoke, Hampshire: Palgrave Macmillan *Ray Argyle (2021), ''Inventing Secularism: The Radical Life of George Jacob Holyoake.'' Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland

External links

George Jacob Holyoake biography
on the Humanist Heritage website
Oxford Reference Online Premium
–

Edward Royle Edward Royle (born 29 March 1944) is a British academic who is Emeritus Professor of History at the University of York and author of several books on the history of religious ideas, particularly in York and Yorkshire. Career Royle gained his Ph ...

"Holyoake, George Jacob" The Oxford Companion to British History. Ed. John Cannon. Oxford University Press, 1997
George Jacob Holyoake
biography & selected writings at gerald-massey.org.uk * *
''The Reasoner''
on

Internet Archive The Internet Archive is an American 501(c)(3) organization, non-profit organization founded in 1996 by Brewster Kahle that runs a digital library website, archive.org. It provides free access to collections of digitized media including web ...

*
Secularism 101: Defining Secularism: Origins with George Jacob Holyoake
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Holyoake, George Jacob 1817 births 1906 deaths Burials at Highgate Cemetery English agnostics English autobiographers English criminals English humanists English socialists British cooperative organizers British critics of Christianity Freethought writers Owenites People convicted of blasphemy Writers from Birmingham, West Midlands Presidents of Co-operative Congress