Chapter 1 - A Complete System of Atheism: Jonathan Swift

Summary

This chapter argues that Jonathan Swift’s satires depict godless worlds dominated by atheists. First, I provide brief readings of the “Ode to the Athenian Society” (1692), The Sentiments of a Church-of-England Man (1708), the “Letter to a Young Gentleman, Lately entered into Holy Orders” (1720), and Swift’s published sermons. Then, I demonstrate how Swift’s major satires oppose atheism not by arguing against it but by paradoxically taking its premises for granted. A Tale of a Tub (1704), the Argument Against Abolishing Christianity (1708), Gulliver’s Travels (1726), and A Modest Proposal (1729), for instance, all present counterfactual, dystopian worlds in which all reality is reducible to matter alone. I conclude the chapter by arguing that, when atheism is Swift’s satiric target, his satires demonstrate a considerable amount of compassion and understanding for groups he typically presents as detestable. From the Turks of An Argument Against Abolishing Christianity, to the Irish Catholics of A Modest Proposal, to the Jews, Turks, and “Bonzes in China” of Mr C-Ns’s Discourse, atheism incites Swift to abandon his animosity against various religious groups and social classes.