Puck — February 26, 1879 — page 1: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This cartoon satirizes religious intolerance toward a peaceful community. Well-dressed gentlemen in top hats appear alarmed by a distant settlement with factories and farmland. The caption reveals their concern: a community exists "in peace and harmony" without "church scandals" and must be "wiped out." The satire mocks the hypocrisy of religious institutions—suggesting they see communities functioning harmoniously *without* organized religion as a threat requiring elimination. The gentlemen's formal dress and distressed expressions emphasize how threatening they find social order independent of ecclesiastical control. The headline "What fools these Mortals be!" reinforces mockery of their bigotry and fear of alternatives to church authority during an era of religious skepticism and debate about secularism's role in society.