e it is mis-stated or
misunderstood.

But most people dislike clear cut terms. They prefer to exist in an
atmosphere of mental ambiguity and intellectual fog which blurs outlines
and obscures differences. Unbeliever is preferable to some,
sceptic--presumably because of its age and philosophical associations,
is a greater favourite, and Agnostic is more beloved than either--the
latter has indeed been pressed into the service of a more or less
nebulous "religion." As it is said, "We are all Socialists nowadays," so
it is said that we are unbelievers or Agnostics nowadays. But no one
says we are all Atheists nowadays. Timidity can find no use for a word
of that character. Of course, if a man believes that some word other
than Atheism best describes his state of mind, he has a perfect right to
select the one that seems fittest. But when one finds non-theists
repudiating the name of Atheist with as much moral indignation as though
they had been accused of shoplifting, one cannot help the suspicion
that the heat displayed is not unconnected with some lurking fear of the
"respectabilities." It does seem that while many may have outgrown all
fear of the God of orthodoxy, the fear of the god of social pressure
remains.

So far as the Theist is concerned it is quite understandable that his
objection to Atheism should involve a certain moral element. That would
result from what has already been said concerning the cause of the fear
of heresy. Still one would have thought that in these days it would
require a person of almost abnormal stupidity to assume that disbelief
in God has its roots in a defective moral character. The facts would
warrant a quite opposite conclusion. In the first place, the rejection
of any well-established belief argues a degree of independence of mind
that is, unfortunately, not common. The ordinary mind follows the common
route. It is the extraordinary mind that strikes out from the beaten
path. The heretic, whether in politics or in religion, may be wrong, but
there is always with him the guarantee of a certain measure of mental
strength that is not, on the face of the matter, present with one who
follows the orthodox path. And that in itself represents a type of mind
of no little social value. Moreover, I for one, am quite ready to assert
that, class for class, the Freethinker does represent a type of mind
considerably above the average. That this is not more generally
recognised is due to the policy o