Entangled Atheism

Abstract This article deals with Einar Adamson (1894–1953), a Swedish atheist, newspaper man and leftist political activist based in Gothenburg, who was most productive during the interwar period. It uses Adamson to advance the concept of entangled atheism—that is, an understanding of atheism as a transnational phenomenon, as well as a phenomenon closely related to other issues and engagements. Adamson’s involvement in the transnational communist and Esperantist movements is the key to understanding his atheism. The article argues that the biographical method is suited to understand such historical entanglements. Apart from discussing entangled atheism and the relation between secularist studies and biography, this article aims to contribute to an understanding of atheism in interwar Sweden—a period neglected in existing scholarship.