ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses the story of the development of the language of ‘altruism’ in Britain in the second half of the nineteenth century, and by reflecting on the different religious and political projects that were at stake as this discourse developed. The story provides a new perspective on the well-worn topic of relationships between religion and science in Victorian Britain. There have been many different ways of telling stories about these engagements, often focusing on debates about Darwin, geology, evolution, biblical criticism, scientific professionalisation, or religious tests at Oxford and Cambridge. It is illuminating to compare debates about science, religion and altruism in the present day with these Victorian discussions. The growth and development of discourses of ‘altruism’ in Victorian Britain illustrates not only the impact of Comtean thought and language, but also something important specifically about attitudes to religion and theology.
