RELIGION AND THE STRUGGLE FOR EXISTENCE. A NOTE ON THE SIMON N. PATTEN - THOMAS N. CARVER DEBATE

Abstract

Simon N. Patten and Thomas N. Carver were among the most influential American social scientists during the so-called Progressive Era. This paper offers a reconstruction of the debate between the two men over the religious foundations ofsocial reform. The polemical exchange between them originated in 1911 with the publicationof Patten’s The Social Basis of Religion – a book which intended to transfer Christian doctrines from the traditional basis to the realm of social science. The volume’s general reception was far from enthusiastic, and Carver joined the chorus of the critics with a rather unfavorable review which appeared in the American Economic Review. Patten rejoined with a note in 1912, where he expanded on his views on religion and evolution, both social and biological. Carver replied to Patten (but without ever mentioning his name) the same year with the publication of The Religion Worth Having. In this small, yet significant volume, Carver presented a reading of religion which differed from Patten’s in virtually all respects and that, contrary to some classic interpretations, owed far more to eugenics than to Darwinism.