The Icelandic Canadian - 01.06.1967, Page 53

THE ICELANDIC CANADIAN
51
The Introduction to the Constitution of the Icelandic Cultural Society in Stephansson’s
own handwriting.
Humanity — Research — Freedom
This society has adopted as its avowed objective the promotion of good morals and culture and
the cultivation of the kind of faith which is based on objective research. Instead of lending
support to growing discontent within the Church, this society wishes to strengthen the idea of
fellowship and a humanitarian outlook among men. The society will emphasize that unimpeded
assessment of spiritual values must replace uncritical acceptance of conventional dogmas,
further, it is the aim of this oganization to let personal conviction replace blind faith and to
force narrow-mindedness and prejudice to give way to unrestricted spiritual freedom and
progress.
Stephansson wrote a polite rebuttal
'to the criticisms which were levelled
at the Cultural Society (Logberg, June
20, 1888). In his reply Stephansson
showed firmness and ingenuity. How-
ever, he did not wish to become further
engaged in religious polemics at this
time. Shortly after his first direct en-
counter with the Church he moved
to Alberta where at a comfortable
distance from petty disputes he later
increased his literary output both in
quantity and quality, (icf. Oskar Hall-
dorsson Studia Islandica 19, 23-24).
Stephansson has written about his
participation in the Icelandic Cultural