2. Chapter 3
“It Doesn’t Pay to Be Religious” by G. W. Foote
https://www.secularism.org.uk/the-freethinker-
blasphemy-trials.html/
3. About the author...
Over a century ago, G. W. Foote (1850-1950) joined
the British secular movement in London under the
leadership of Charles Bradlaugh.
He attacked religious thought and founded The
Freethinker, a journal still in existence today. As the
editor of The Freethinker, he published a series of
cartoons attacking the church and was charged and
convicted of blasphemy in the 1882 by a Roman
Catholic judge.
Sentenced to one year of hard-labor, reportedly
Foote replied to the judge, “Thank you, my lord, the
sentence is worthy of your creed.”
https://www.youtube.co
m/watch?v=Mk05Ye-MFd4
4. His defense and subsequent refusal to be silenced eventually
effected a change in which the crimes of religious criticism
in Victorian England changed from Biblical blasphemy to civil
offense. The movement in societal values from religious
standards to more secular literary standards was a major
cultural shift in 19th England—a change presaging similar
cultural concerns in other countries
https://www.secularism.org.uk/the-freethinker-
blasphemy-trials.html/
5. About the work...
In his Infidel Death-Beds1 G. W. Foote, responds to the then popular
view that a repentant conscience and overwhelming guilt would
accompany anyone who strayed from the path of religious morality.
His response is designed to defuse the claim that we ought do what’s
right because, from a religious point of view, “It pays.”
https://www.bookdepository.com/Infidel-Death-Beds-
1888-George-William-Foote/9781164163893
6. [Religious Use of Dying Repentance]
Death is a fact of life that must be experienced by human being.
When we are in critical condition, the Shadow of death feels very dark
and frightening, how should we respond to it?,
The faith is a belief in God, a very important thing. In this life
we grow, struggle in joy and sorrow. But everything has its time,
everything has its end, only our souls are still alive, facing God with
faith, hope and love. A Death-Bed recantation is the key to our
repentance to God and trust in God.
https://islam.nu.or.id/post/read/843
83/lakukan-empat-hal-ini-saat-
menghadapi-orang-sakaratul-maut
https://www.merdeka.com/peristiwa/kisah-haru-romo-
katolik-tuntun-seorang-muslim-ucapkan-syahadat-
sebelum-meninggal.html
7. When “infidels” are few, and their relatives are orthodox, what could
be more natural than what is called “a death-bed recantation?” Their
minds are enfeebled by disease, or the near approach of death;
they are surrounded by people who continually urge to be reconciled
to the popular faith;
Should the dying man be old, there is still less reason for surprise. Old
age yearns back to the cradle, and as Dante Rossetti says: —. “Life all
past Is like the sky when the sun sets in it, Clearest where furthest
off.” The “recantation” of old men, if it occurs, is easily understood.
https://preventsatan.com/read-the-book-for-
free/satan-goes-into-gods-presence/
8. [Psychological Aspect of Dying]
Throughout the world the religion of mankind is determined by the geo-
graphical accident of their birth. In England men grow up Protestants; in
Introduction to Ethical Studies
Italy, Catholics; in Russia, Greek Christians; in Turkey, Mohammedans; in
India, Brahmans; in China, Buddhists or Confucians. What they are taught
in their childhood they believe in their manhood; and they die in the
faith in which they have lived.
Here and there a few men think for themselves. If they discard the faith
in which they have been educated, they are never free from its
influence. Between them is the average man, whose tendency will
depend on several things. If he is isolated, or finds but few sympathizers,
he may revert to the ranks of faith
9. Here and there a few men think for themselves. If they
discard the faith in which they have been educated, they are
never free from its influence. Between them is the average
man, whose tendency will depend on several things. If he is
isolated, or finds but few sympathizers, he may revert to the
ranks of faith
https://balitribune.co.i
d/content/gereja-
katolik-silvester-pecatu-
jadi-paroki-definitif
https://blog.tourism.gov.my/ma
sjid-wilayah-masjid-of-choice/
https://id.wikipedia.org/w
iki/Keyakinan_dalam_aga
ma_Buddha
10. Reference
Ethics Book (Foote, 2003)
George William Foote : “It Doesn’t Pay To Be Religious”
