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Huxley coins agnosticism

1869 · London (United Kingdom)

Thomas Henry Huxley coins the word agnosticism in 1869, at the founding of the Metaphysical Society, for the position that conclusions must follow evidence and that what cannot be demonstrated should not be pretended. The name gives the skeptical stream its standing label.

Tagged: Agnosticism Secular and Non-Theistic

The Event

Date
1869 (exact)
Era
Secular Modernity; Standard periodization of secular and non-religious history
Location
London; today United Kingdom
Traditions
Secular
Streams
Agnosticism
Key figures
Thomas Henry Huxley

Connections

Illustration for Sextus Empiricus History Event Sextus Empiricus c. 200 CE inherits Illustration for Hume's Treatise History Event Hume's Treatise 1738-1740 inherits Illustration for Darwin's Origin of Species History Event Darwin's Origin of Species 1859 follows

Primary Sources

  • The tradition's own record of the event.

Secondary Sources

  • Gottlieb, Anthony. The Dream of Enlightenment: The Rise of Modern Philosophy. New York: Liveright, 2016.
  • Jacoby, Susan. Freethinkers: A History of American Secularism. New York: Metropolitan Books, 2004.
  • Taylor, Charles. A Secular Age. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2007.
  • Zuckerman, Phil, ed. Atheism and Secularity. Santa Barbara: Praeger, 2010.

Provenance: HIST-1317; confidence 0.95; accessed 2026-10-28.

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