Samuel Kerkham Ratcliffe
From Philosopedia
Ratcliffe, Samuel Kerkham (Born 1868)
Ratcliffe, a journalist and lecturer, was one of the regular lecturers for the Ethical Societies at London. He edited the Echo in 1900 and from 1903 to 1906 was acting editor of the Calcutta Statesman.
He was a secretary of the Sociological Society and the London representative of the New York New Republic. In 1915, he was appointed a lecturer at the South Place Ethical Society. In A Generation of Religious Progress (1916), Ratcliffe contributed a chapter. He concluded that “the very revival of superstition and the manufacture of new creeds are evidence of profound dissatisfaction with the established orthodoxies, and of the determination of the human spirit to find a satisfying means of expression for the craving after reality.”
Writing about Charles A. Watts, Ratcliffe stated, “I have always associated the name of Charles A. Watts with causes the advocacy of which demanded courage and tenacity and unremitting watchfulness, and we could always be sure of finding him at his post. The Rationalist Press Association stands as a most unusual monument to his memory.” Ratcliffe’s grandson is Nicolas Walter, of the Rationalist Press Association.
