Charles Lee Smith

Who was Charles Lee Smith?

Charles Lee Smith was an atheist and Freethought activist in the United States, and editor of The Truth Seeker Freethought magazine in New York from 1937 until his death. In November 1925 he founded the American Association for the Advancement of Atheism, which lasted until the death of his successor James Hervey Johnson.

Smith was the last documented person to be convicted of blasphemy in the United States. In 1928 Smith rented a storefront in Little Rock, Arkansas, where he gave out free anti-religious atheist literature. The sign in the window read: "Evolution Is True. The Bible's a Lie. God's a Ghost." For this he was charged with violating the city ordinance against blasphemy. Because he was an atheist and therefore couldn't swear the court's religious oath to tell the truth, he wasn't permitted to testify in his own defense. The judge then dismissed the original charge, replacing it with one of distributing obscene, slanderous, or scurrilous literature. Smith was convicted, fined $25, and served most of a twenty-six-day jail sentence. His high-profile fast while behind bars drew national media attention.