Ignace Lepp (born John Robert Lepp; 26 October 1909 in Orajõe,

Pärnu County Pärnu County ( or ''Pärnumaa''; ) is one of 15 counties of Estonia. It is situated in the south-western part of the country, on the coast of Gulf of Riga, and borders Lääne and Rapla counties to the north, Järva and Viljandi counties to ...

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– 29 May 1966 near

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),Eesti kirjanike leksikon, Tallinn: Eesti Raamat, 2000, pp. 285-286 (in Estonian) was a French writer of

Estonian Estonian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Estonia, a country in the Baltic region in northern Europe * Estonians, people from Estonia, or of Estonian descent * Estonian language * Estonian cuisine * Estonian culture See also

...

origin. According to his book ''Atheism in Our Time,'' Lepp was 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 ...

and

Marxist Marxism is a political philosophy and method of socioeconomic analysis. It uses a dialectical and materialist interpretation of historical development, better known as historical materialism, to analyse class relations, social conflic ...

for many years and claimed to have occupied important positions in the communist party with whom he later became very disillusioned. He then converted to

Roman Catholicism The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

and was ordained a

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deity, deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in parti ...

in 1941. He wrote many

non-fiction Non-fiction (or nonfiction) is any document or content (media), media content that attempts, in good faith, to convey information only about the real life, real world, rather than being grounded in imagination. Non-fiction typically aims to pre ...

books including some about

atheism Atheism, in the broadest sense, is an absence of belief in the Existence of God, existence of Deity, deities. Less broadly, atheism is a rejection of the belief that any deities exist. In an even narrower sense, atheism is specifically the ...

religion Religion is a range of social system, social-cultural systems, including designated religious behaviour, behaviors and practices, morals, beliefs, worldviews, religious text, texts, sanctified places, prophecies, ethics in religion, ethics, or ...

. He was a

psychologist A psychologist is a professional who practices psychology and studies mental states, perceptual, cognitive, emotional, and social processes and behavior. Their work often involves the experimentation, observation, and explanation, interpretatio ...

and

psychoanalyst PsychoanalysisFrom Greek: and is a set of theories and techniques of research to discover unconscious processes and their influence on conscious thought, emotion and behaviour. Based on dream interpretation, psychoanalysis is also a talk th ...

. He wrote among other books: ''The Ways of Friendship'', ''The Psychology of Loving'', ''The Authentic Existence'', ''The Communication of Existences''. He also wrote ''The faith of men; meditations inspired by Teilhard de Chardin'' (''Teilhard et la foi des homme''), about the French thinker

Pierre Teilhard de Chardin Pierre Teilhard de Chardin (; 1 May 1881 – 10 April 1955) was a French Jesuit, Catholic priest, scientist, palaeontologist, theologian, and teacher. He was Darwinian and progressive in outlook and the author of several influential theologi ...

Bibliography

*''The Challenges of Life: Viewing Ourselves In Our Existential Totality'', 1969 *''The Art of Being an Intellectual'', 1968 *''The Depths of the Soul: a Christian Approach to Psychoanalysis'', Staten Island, N.Y.: Alba House, 1966 (orig. ''Clarté et ténèbres de l’âme: Essai de psychosynthèse'', Paris: Aubier, 1956) *''The Ways of Friendship'', New York: Macmillan Co., 1966 *''The Authentic Morality'', 1965 *''A Christian Philosophy of Existence'', 1965 *''Atheism In Our Time'', New York: Macmillan Co., 1963 *''The Psychology of Loving'', 1963 *''The Christian Failure'', 1962 *''Health of Mind and Soul'', New York: Alba, 1966 (orig. ''Hygiène De L'Âme'', Paris: Aubier, 1958) *''Death & Its Mysteries'', 1968

References

External links

*
''Time'' magazine from 1963
1909 births 1966 deaths People from Häädemeeste Parish People from Kreis Pernau French people of Estonian descent 20th-century French Roman Catholic priests Converts to Roman Catholicism from atheism or agnosticism French religious writers French political writers French psychology writers 20th-century French non-fiction writers 20th-century French male writers French male non-fiction writers {{france-nonfiction-writer-stub