The Gladstone-Ingersoll Debates in The American Periodical Press

Abstract

William Ewart Gladstone’s 1888 dispute with the popular agnostic Rob-ert Ingersoll was among the British statesman’s historic ventures into religious controversy. Their exchange was part of a larger symposium on faith and agnosticism published in the North American Review magazine. Gladstone’s entry into the forum captivated many in the American press, eliciting numerous editorials from a wide array of opinion in newspapers and periodicals. Through an examination of those published views, this essay focuses on how Americans perceived Gladstone’s effectiveness as a Christian apologist. At a time of increasing specialization it probes the extent to which Americans believed a lay theologian of Gladstone’s stat-ure could successfully combat the agnostic challenge. The paper further seeks to contextualize his orthodox defense of faith relative to the trends then current in higher critical theology and free-thought agnosticism. It also sheds some light on the use of religious controversy by nineteenth-century writers and editors in order to sell copy.