Religious views of Charles Darwin
Charles Darwin's views on religion have been the subject of much interest and dispute. His pivotal work in the development of modern
While Darwin came to heavily dispute the dogmatic prescriptions of the
- "In my most extreme fluctuations I have never been an atheist in the sense of denying the existence of a God.— I think that generally (& more and more so as I grow older) but not always, that an agnostic would be the most correct description of my state of mind."[1]
Following Darwin's marriage to
Darwin continued to play a leading part in the parish work of the local church,
Darwin's religious background
Charles Darwin was born during the
Edinburgh – medical studies and Lamarckian evolution theory
The two universities in England, namely
Natural history had grown from the idea that the different kinds of plants and animals showed the wonder of God's
Cambridge – theology and geology
When Darwin proved unable to persevere at medical studies, his father sent him to Christ's College, Cambridge, for a Bachelor of Arts degree as the first step towards becoming an Anglican parson.[22] Darwin was at first uncertain, he later wrote: "from what little I had heard and thought on the subject I had scruples about declaring my belief in all the dogmas of the Church of England; though otherwise I liked the thought of being a country clergyman. Accordingly I read with care 'Pearson on the Creed' and a few other books on divinity; and as I did not then in the least doubt the strict and literal truth of every word in the Bible, I soon persuaded myself that our Creed must be fully accepted. It never struck me how illogical it was to say that I believed in what I could not understand and what is in fact unintelligible. I might have said with entire truth that I had no wish to dispute any dogma; but I never was such a fool as to feel and say 'credo quia incredibile".[4] He was particularly convinced by the reasoning of John Bird Sumner's Evidences of Christianity which set out the logic that the unbelief of sceptics gave them the dilemma that if Christianity were untrue, then either "Jesus did not live, or he actually lived, but was not the Son of God, hence an imposter." The Gospels made this highly improbable, as his miracles had convinced unbelievers, hence we had "no right to deny" that such events were probable. Jesus's religion was "wonderfully suitable… to our ideas of happiness in this & the next world" and there was "no other way… of explaining the series of evidence & probability."[23]
The university was essentially tied into the Church of England, with virtually all of the college heads and most of the professors and fellows having been ordained. About half of the undergraduates were destined for the church, like Darwin hoping for a comfortable parish. During Darwin's second year, the harmony was disturbed when Cambridge was briefly visited by the Radicals Richard Carlile and the Revd Robert Taylor on an "infidel home missionary tour", causing a stir before being banned. Taylor would be remembered by Darwin as "the Devil's Chaplain", a warning example of an outcast from society who had challenged Christianity and had been imprisoned for blasphemy.[24]
In his third year, he joined
Under pressure in the fourth year, Darwin worked hard at his studies, getting tuition in theology by Henslow. Darwin became particularly interested in the Revd
After doing particularly well in his final exam questions on Paleys' books, Darwin read Paley's
He read John Herschel's new Preliminary Discourse on the Study of Natural Philosophy, learning that nature was governed by laws, and the highest aim of natural philosophy was to understand them through an orderly process of induction, balancing observation and theorising. This exemplified the natural theology that Darwin had learnt in previous years.[25][30] He also read Alexander von Humboldt's Personal Narrative, and the two books were immensely influential, stirring up in him "a burning zeal to add even the most humble contribution to the noble structure of Natural Science."[26]
Voyage of the Beagle
Darwin planned a visit to the tropics before settling down as a clergyman, and on Henslow's advice studied geology with
Darwin was questioning from the outset, and in his first zoology notes he wondered why deep-ocean
Lyell's second volume explained extinctions as a "succession of deaths" due to changed circumstances with new species then being created, but Darwin found giant fossils of extinct mammals with no geological signs of a "diluvial debacle" or environmental change, and so rejected Lyell's explanation in favour of
In
FitzRoy too had seen geological features as supporting Lyell's timescale, and on his return to England extracts from his diary stressing the immense age of the Patagonian raised beaches were read to the Royal Geographical Society,[41] but he married a very religious lady and in his Narrative of the voyage added a supplement regretting having "remarked to a friend" that these vast plains "could never have been effected by a forty days' flood", remarks he ascribed to his own "turn of mind and ignorance of scripture" during the voyage.[42][43]
Darwin's loss of faith
In his later private autobiography, Darwin wrote of the period from October 1836 to January 1839:
- "During these two years I was led to think much about religion. Whilst on board the sacred books of the Hindoos, or the beliefs of any barbarian."[44]
In seeking to explain his observations, by early 1837 Darwin was speculating in his notebooks on transmutation of species and writing of "my theory". His journal for 1838 records "All September read a good deal on many subject: thought much upon religion. Beginning of October ditto." At this time he outlined ideas of comparative anthropology, from his knowledge of different religious beliefs around the world as well as at various times in history, and came to the view that scriptures were unreliable and contradictory.[45]
Discussions with Emma
Having decided to marry, Darwin visited his cousin Emma on 29 July 1838 and told her of his ideas on transmutation. On 11 November, he returned and proposed to Emma. Again he discussed his ideas, and about ten days later she wrote,
"When I am with you I think all melancholy thoughts keep out of my head but since you are gone some sad ones have forced themselves in, of fear that our opinions on the most important subject should differ widely. My reason tells me that honest & conscientious doubts cannot be a sin, but I feel it would be a painful void between us. I thank you from my heart for your openness with me & I should dread the feeling that you were concealing your opinions from the fear of giving me pain. It is perhaps foolish of me to say this much but my own dear Charley we now do belong to each other & I cannot help being open with you. Will you do me a favour? yes I am sure you will, it is to read our Saviours farewell discourse to his disciples which begins at the end of the 13th Chap of John. It is so full of love to them & devotion & every beautiful feeling. It is the part of the New Testament I love best. This is a whim of mine it would give me great pleasure, though I can hardly tell why I don't wish you to give me your opinion about it."[46]
Darwin had already wondered about the
Following Darwin's marriage to
Soon after their marriage, Emma, while writing about Darwin, felt that "while you [Charles] are acting conscientiously & sincerely wishing, & trying to learn the truth, you cannot be wrong", and though concerned at the threat to faith of the "habit in scientific pursuits of believing nothing till it is proved", Emma’s hope that he did not "consider his opinion as formed" proved correct. Methodical conscientious doubt as a state of inquiry rather than disbelief made him open to nature and revelation, and they remained open with each other.[8][50]
Theorising
Darwin was interested in ideas of Natural "laws of harmony", and made enquiries into animal breeding. Having read the new 6th edition of the Revd.
Early in 1842, Darwin wrote about his ideas to Lyell, who noted that his ally "denies seeing a beginning to each crop of species".[53] On 11 January 1844 Darwin mentioned his theorising to the botanist Joseph Dalton Hooker, writing with melodramatic humour "I am almost convinced (quite contrary to opinion I started with) that species are not (it is like confessing a murder) immutable. Heaven forfend me from Lamarck nonsense of a 'tendency to progression' 'adaptations from the slow willing of animals' &c,—but the conclusions I am led to are not widely different from his—though the means of change are wholly so—I think I have found out (here's presumption!) the simple way by which species become exquisitely adapted to various ends."[54][55] Hooker replied "There may in my opinion have been a series of productions on different spots, & also a gradual change of species. I shall be delighted to hear how you think that this change may have taken place, as no presently conceived opinions satisfy me on the subject."[56]
In November 1844 public controversy erupted over ideas of evolutionary progress in the anonymously published Vestiges of the Natural History of Creation, a well written best-seller which widened public interest in transmutation. Darwin scorned its amateurish geology and zoology, but carefully reviewed his own arguments.[57][58]
From around 1849 Darwin stopped attending church, but Emma and the children continued to attend services.
Death of Annie
At the end of June 1850 his bright nine-year-old daughter
On the Origin of Species
Darwin continued to avoid public controversy and to accumulate evidence supporting his theory against the anticipated arguments. In 1858 the information that
In 1860 seven
There was close correspondence between Darwin and his American collaborator Asa Gray, a devout Presbyterian who discussed with him the relationship of natural selection to natural theology and published several reviews arguing in detail that they were fully compatible. Darwin financed a pamphlet publishing a collection of these reviews for distribution in Britain.[61] In one 1860 letter to Gray, Darwin expressed his doubts about the teleological argument which claimed nature as evidence of god, though he was still inclined to vaguely believe in an impersonal God as first cause:[63]
With respect to the theological view of the question; this is always painful to me.— I am bewildered.– I had no intention to write atheistically. But I own that I cannot see, as plainly as others do, & as I [should] wish to do, evidence of design & beneficence on all sides of us. There seems to me too much misery in the world. I cannot persuade myself that a beneficent & omnipotent God would have designedly created the Ichneumonidæ with the express intention of their feeding within the living bodies of caterpillars, or that a cat should play with mice. Not believing this, I see no necessity in the belief that the eye was expressly designed. On the other hand I cannot anyhow be contented to view this wonderful universe & especially the nature of man, & to conclude that everything is the result of brute force. I am inclined to look at everything as resulting from designed laws, with the details, whether good or bad, left to the working out of what we may call chance. Not that this notion at all satisfies me. I feel most deeply that the whole subject is too profound for the human intellect. A dog might as well speculate on the mind of Newton.— Let each man hope & believe what he can.[64]
Autobiography on gradually increasing disbelief
In his autobiography written in 1876 Darwin reviewed questions about Christianity in relation to other religions and how "the more we know of the fixed laws of nature the more incredible do miracles become". Though "very unwilling to give up my belief", he found that "disbelief crept over me at a very slow rate, but was at last complete. The rate was so slow that I felt no distress, and have never since doubted even for a single second that my conclusion was correct." He noted how "The old argument of design in nature, as given by Paley, which formerly seemed to me so conclusive, fails, now that the law of natural selection has been discovered", and how Paley's teleological argument had difficulties with the problem of evil.[65]
Even when writing On the Origin of Species in the 1850s he was still inclined to theism, but his views gradually changed to agnosticism:
Another source of conviction in the existence of God, connected with the reason and not with the feelings, impresses me as having much more weight. This follows from the extreme difficulty or rather impossibility of conceiving this immense and wonderful universe, including man with his capacity of looking far backwards and far into futurity, as the result of blind chance or necessity. When thus reflecting I feel compelled to look to a First Cause having an intelligent mind in some degree analogous to that of man; and I deserve to be called a Theist.
This conclusion was strong in my mind about the time, as far as I can remember, when I wrote the Origin of Species; and it is since that time that it has very gradually with many fluctuations become weaker. But then arises the doubt–can the mind of man, which has, as I fully believe, been developed from a mind as low as that possessed by the lowest animal, be trusted when it draws such grand conclusions? May not these be the result of the connection between cause and effect which strikes us as a necessary one, but probably depends merely on inherited experience? Nor must we overlook the probability of the constant inculcation in a belief in God on the minds of children producing so strong and perhaps an inherited effect on their brains not yet fully developed, that it would be as difficult for them to throw off their belief in God, as for a monkey to throw off its instinctive fear and hatred of a snake.
I cannot pretend to throw the least light on such abstruse problems. The mystery of the beginning of all things is insoluble by us; and I for one must be content to remain an Agnostic.[66]
Downe parish
Although he is commonly portrayed as being in conflict with the Church of England, Darwin was supportive of the local parish church.[16]
On moving to Downe, Kent in 1842, Darwin supported the parish church's work, and became a good friend of the Revd. John Innes who took over in 1846. Darwin contributed to the church, helped with parish assistance and proposed a benefit society which became the Down Friendly Society with Darwin as guardian and treasurer. His wife Emma Darwin became known throughout the parish for helping in the way a parson's wife might be expected to, and as well as providing nursing care for her own family's frequent illnesses she gave out bread tokens to the hungry and "small pensions for the old, dainties for the ailing, and medical comforts and simple medicine".[67]
Innes inherited his family home of Milton Brodie, in the Scottish Highlands near Forres. In 1862 he retired there and changed his name to Brodie Innes,[68] leaving the parish in the dubious hands of his curate, the Revd. Stevens, while still remaining the patron. The meagre "living" and lack of a vicarage made it hard to attract a priest of quality. Innes made Darwin treasurer of Downe village school and they continued to correspond, with Innes seeking help and advice on parish matters. The Revd. Stevens proved lax, and departed in 1867. His successors were worse, one absconding with the school's funds and the church organ fund after Darwin mistakenly shared the treasurer's duties with him: Brodie Innes offered to sell the advowson – the right to appoint the parish priest – to Darwin but Darwin declined. The next was rumoured to have disgraced himself by "walking with girls at night". Darwin now became involved in helping Innes with detective work, subsequently advising him that the gossip that had reached Innes was not backed up by any reliable evidence.[16][69]
A new reforming High Church vicar, the Revd. George Sketchley Ffinden, took over the parish in November 1871 and began imposing his ideas. Darwin had to write to Brodie Innes, explaining what had upset the parishioners. Ffinden now usurped control of the village school which had been run for years by a committee of Darwin, Lubbock and the incumbent priest, with a "conscience clause" which protected the children from
For two years Emma organised a winter reading room in the local school for local labourers, who subscribed a penny a week to smoke and play games, with "Respectable newspapers & a few books ... & a respectable housekeeper ... there every evening to maintain decorum." This was a common facility to save men from "resorting to the
Ffinden then refused to speak to any of the Darwins, and when two evening lectures were proposed for the village in 1875, Lubbock had to act as an intermediary in requesting use of the schoolroom. The committee agreed, but Ffinden refused to co-operate, writing that
- "I had long been aware of the harmful tendencies to revealed religion of Mr. Darwin's views, but ... I had fully determined ... not to let my difference of opinion interfere with a friendly feeling as neighbours, trusting that God's grace might in time bring one so highly gifted intellectually and morally to a better mind." Darwin was equally haughty in return, condescending that "If Mr. F. bows to Mrs. D. and myself, we will return it".[72]
The dispute with Ffinden reflected the Church of England narrowing its social provision to its own adherents as secular provision of education became more widespread. Though Darwin no longer attended church, he was willing to give patronage to Non-conformism, and the family welcomed and supported the work of the Non-conformist evangelist J. W. C. Fegan in the village of Downe.[16]
Religion as an evolved social characteristic
In his 1871 book
In the introduction Darwin wrote:
- "Ignorance more frequently begets confidence than does knowledge: it is those who know little, and not those who know much, who so positively assert that this or that problem will never be solved by science."[73]
Later on in the book he dismisses an argument for religion being innate:
- "Belief in God — Religion. — There is no evidence that man was aboriginally endowed with the ennobling belief in the existence of an Omnipotent God. On the contrary there is ample evidence, derived not from hasty travellers, but from men who have long resided with savages, that numerous races have existed, and still exist, who have no idea of one or more gods, and who have no words in their languages to express such an idea. The question is of course wholly distinct from that higher one, whether there exists a Creator and Ruler of the universe; and this has been answered in the affirmative by some of the highest intellects that have ever existed."[74]
- "The belief in God has often been advanced as not only the greatest, but the most complete of all the distinctions between man and the lower animals. It is however impossible, as we have seen, to maintain that this belief is innate or instinctive in man. On the other hand a belief in all-pervading spiritual agencies seems to be universal; and apparently follows from a considerable advance in man's reason, and from a still greater advance in his faculties of imagination, curiosity and wonder. I am aware that the assumed instinctive belief in God has been used by many persons as an argument for His existence. But this is a rash argument, as we should thus be compelled to believe in the existence of many cruel and malignant spirits, only a little more powerful than man; for the belief in them is far more general than in a beneficent Deity. The idea of a universal and beneficent Creator does not seem to arise in the mind of man, until he has been elevated by long-continued culture."[75]
Enquiries about religious views
Fame and honours brought a stream of enquiries about Darwin's religious views, leading him to comment "Half the fools throughout Europe write to ask me the stupidest questions."[76] He sometimes retorted sharply, "I am sorry to have to inform you that I do not believe in the Bible as a divine revelation, & therefore not in Jesus Christ as the Son of God",[77] and at other times was more guarded, telling a young count studying with Ernst Haeckel that "Science has nothing to do with Christ; except in so far as the habit of scientific research makes a man cautious in admitting evidence. For myself I do not believe that there ever has been any Revelation. As for a future life, every man must judge for himself between conflicting vague probabilities."[78] He declined a request by the Archbishop of Canterbury to join a 'Private Conference' of devout scientists to harmonise science and religion, for he saw "no prospect of any benefit arising" from it.[79]
When
In a letter to a correspondent at the University of Utrecht in 1873, Darwin expressed agnosticism:
I may say that the impossibility of conceiving that this grand and wondrous universe, with our conscious selves, arose through chance, seems to me the chief argument for the existence of God; but whether this is an argument of real value, I have never been able to decide. I am aware that if we admit a first cause, the mind still craves to know whence it came from and how it arose. Nor can I overlook the difficulty from the immense amount of suffering through the world. I am, also, induced to defer to a certain extent to the judgment of many able men who have fully believed in God; but here again I see how poor an argument this is. The safest conclusion seems to me to be that the whole subject is beyond the scope of man's intellect; but man can do his duty.[82]
Caution about publication, spiritualism
In 1873 Darwin's son
During the public interest in
In 1876 Darwin wrote the following regarding his publicly stated position of agnosticism:
- "Formerly I was led ... to the firm conviction of the existence of God and the immortality of the soul. In my Journal I wrote that whilst standing in the midst of the grandeur of a Brazilian forest, it is not possible to give an adequate idea of the higher feelings of wonder, admiration, and devotion, which fill and elevate the mind. I well remember my conviction that there is more in man than the mere breath of his body. But now, the grandest scenes would not cause any such convictions and feelings to rise in my mind."[86]
In November 1878 when George Romanes presented his new book refuting theism, A Candid Examination of Theism by "Physicus", Darwin read it with "very great interest", but found it unconvincing; the arguments it put forward left open the possibility that God had initially created matter and energy with the potential of evolving to become organised.[87][88]
Agnosticism
In 1879 John Fordyce wrote asking if Darwin believed in God, and if theism and evolution were compatible. Darwin replied that "a man may be an ardent Theist and an evolutionist", citing Charles Kingsley and Asa Gray as examples, and for himself, "In my most extreme fluctuations I have never been an atheist in the sense of denying the existence of a God.— I think that generally (& more and more so as I grow older) but not always, that an agnostic would be the most correct description of my state of mind."[1]
Those opposing religion often took Darwin as their inspiration and expected his support for their cause, a role he firmly refused. In 1880 there was a huge controversy when the atheist
Aveling and Büchner
In Germany militant
In uncharacteristically bold discussions after dinner Darwin asked his guests "Why do you call yourselves Atheists?" When they responded that they "did not commit the folly of god-denial, [and] avoided with equal care the folly of god-assertion", Darwin gave a thoughtful response, concluding that "I am with you in thought, but I should prefer the word Agnostic to the word Atheist." Aveling replied that, "after all, 'Agnostic' was but 'Atheist' writ respectable, and 'Atheist' was only 'Agnostic' writ aggressive." Darwin smiled and responded "Why should you be so aggressive? Is anything gained by trying to force these new ideas upon the mass of mankind? It is all very well for educated, cultured, thoughtful people; but are the masses yet ripe for it?" Aveling and Büchner questioned what would have happened if Darwin had been given that advice before publication of the Origin, and had confined "the revolutionary truths of Natural and Sexual Selection to the judicious few", where would the world be? Many feared danger if new ideas were "proclaimed abroad on the house-tops, and discussed in market-place and home. But he, happily for humanity, had by the gentle, irresistible power of reason, forced his new ideas upon the mass of the people. And the masses had been found ripe for it. Had he kept silence, the tremendous strides taken by human thought during the last twenty-one years would have been shorn of their fair proportions, perhaps had hardly been made at all. His own illustrious example was encouragement, was for a command to every thinker to make known to all his fellows that which he believed to be the truth."[91][92]
Their talk turned to religion, and Darwin said "I never gave up Christianity until I was forty years of age." He agreed that Christianity was "not supported by the evidence", but he had reached this conclusion only slowly. Aveling recorded this discussion, and published it in 1883 as a penny pamphlet.[91][92] Francis Darwin thought it gave "quite fairly his impressions of my father's views", but took issue with any suggestion of similar religious views, saying "My father's replies implied his preference for the unaggressive attitude of an Agnostic. Dr. Aveling seems to regard the absence of aggressiveness in my father's views as distinguishing them in an unessential manner from his own. But, in my judgment, it is precisely differences of this kind which distinguish him so completely from the class of thinkers to which Dr. Aveling belongs."[93]
Funeral
Darwin's Westminster Abbey funeral expressed a public feeling of national pride, and religious writers of all persuasions praised his "noble character and his ardent pursuit of truth", calling him a "true Christian gentleman". In particular the Unitarians and free religionists, proud of his Dissenting upbringing, supported his naturalistic views. The Unitarian William Carpenter carried a resolution praising Darwin's unravelling of "the immutable laws of the Divine Government", shedding light on "the progress of humanity", and the Unitarian preacher John White Chadwick from New York wrote that "The nation's grandest temple of religion opened its gates and lifted up its everlasting doors and bade the King of Science come in."
Posthumous Autobiography
Darwin decided to leave a posthumous memoir for his family, and on Sunday 28 May 1876 he began Recollections of the Development of my Mind and Character. He found this candid private memoir easy going, covering his childhood, university, life on the Beagle expedition and developing work in science. A section headed "Religious Belief" opened just before his marriage, and frankly discussed his long disagreement with Emma. At first he had been unwilling to give up his faith, and had tried to "invent evidence" supporting the Gospels, but just as his clerical career had died a slow "natural death", so too did his belief in "Christianity as a divine revelation". "Inward convictions and feelings" had arisen from natural selection, as had survival instincts, and could not be relied on. He was quick to show Emma's side of the story and pay tribute to "your mother, ... so infinitely my superior in every moral quality ... my wise adviser and cheerful comforter".[94]: 96–97
The Autobiography of Charles Darwin was published posthumously, and quotes about Christianity were omitted from the first edition by Darwin's wife Emma and his son Francis because they were deemed dangerous for Charles Darwin's reputation. Only in 1958 did Darwin's granddaughter Nora Barlow publish a revised edition, which contained the omitted comments.[94] This included statements discussed above in Autobiography on gradually increasing disbelief, and others such as the following:
- "By further reflecting that the clearest evidence would be requisite to make any sane man believe in the miracles by which Christianity is supported, — that the more we know of the fixed laws of nature the more incredible, do miracles become, — that the men at that time were ignorant and credulous to a degree almost incomprehensible by us, — that the Gospels cannot be proved to have been written simultaneously with the events, – that they differ in many important details, far too important as it seemed to me to be admitted as the usual inaccuracies of eyewitness; – by such reflections as these, which I give not as having the least novelty or value, but as they influenced me, I gradually came to disbelieve in Christianity as a divine revelation. The fact that many false religions have spread over large portions of the earth like wild-fire had some weight with me. Beautiful as is the morality of the New Testament, it can hardly be denied that its perfection depends in part on the interpretation which we now put on metaphors and allegories."[94]: 86
- "I can indeed hardly see how anyone ought to wish Christianity to be true; for if so the plain language of the text seems to show that the men who do not believe, and this would include my Father, Brother and almost all my best friends, will be everlastingly punished. And this is a damnable doctrine."[94]: 87
- "The old argument of design in nature, as given by Paley, which formerly seemed to me so conclusive, fails, now that the law of natural selection had been discovered. We can no longer argue that, for instance, the beautiful hinge of a bivalve shell must have been made by an intelligent being, like the hinge of a door by man. There seems to be no more design in the variability of organic beings and in the action of natural selection, than in the course which the wind blows. Everything in nature is the result of fixed laws."[94]: 87
- "At the present day [c. 1872] the most usual argument for the existence of an intelligent God is drawn from the deep inward conviction and feelings which are experienced by most persons. But it cannot be doubted that Hindoos, Mahomadans and others might argue in the same manner and with equal force in favor of the existence of one God, or of many Gods, or as with the Buddhists of no God ... This argument would be a valid one if all men of all races had the same inward conviction of the existence of one God: But we know that this is very far from being the case. Therefore I cannot see that such inward convictions and feelings are of any weight as evidence of what really exists."[94]: 91
The Lady Hope Story
The "
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- ^ Quammen 2006, pp. 119–121
- ^ "Darwin Correspondence Project – Letter 2814 – Darwin, C. R. to Gray, Asa, 22 May (1860)". Retrieved 11 June 2009.
- ^ Darwin 1958, pp. 84–92.
- ^ Darwin 1958, pp. 92–94.
- ^ Desmond & Moore 1991, pp. 332, 398, 461.
- ^ Freeman 2007, p. 172.
- ^ Desmond & Moore 1991, pp. 525, 563–565.
- ^ Desmond & Moore 1991, p. 600.
- ^ Desmond & Moore 1991, pp. 605–606, 612.
- ^ Desmond & Moore 1991, pp. 614, 638–639.
- ^ Darwin 1871, p. 3, Vol. 1.
- ^ Darwin 1871, p. 65, Vol. 1.
- ^ Darwin 1871, pp. 394–395, Vol. 2.
- ^ "Darwin Correspondence Project – Letter 11982 – Darwin, C. R. to Darwin, Reginald, 8 Apr 1879". Retrieved 19 November 2008.
- ^ "Darwin Correspondence Project – Letter 12851 – Darwin, C. R. to McDermott, F. A., 24 Nov 1880". Retrieved 19 November 2008.
- ^ Darwin, Charles (1882), Letter June 5, 1879, to N. A. von Mengden 'Science has nothing to do with Christ', Jena: G. Fischer
- ^ "Darwin Correspondence Project – Letter 12919 – Darwin, C. R. to Browne, W. R., (18 Dec 1880)". Retrieved 19 November 2008.
- ^ "Darwin Correspondence Project – Letter 11763 – Darwin, C. R. to Innes, J. B., 27 Nov (1878)". Retrieved 19 November 2008.
- ^ "Darwin Correspondence Project – Letter 11766 – Darwin, C. R. to Ridley, H. N., 28 Nov 1878". Retrieved 19 November 2008.
- ^ "Darwin Correspondence Project – Letter 8837 – Darwin, C. R. to Doedes, N. D., 2 Apr 1873". Retrieved 19 November 2008.
- ^ "Darwin, C.R. to Darwin, G.H." Darwin Correspondence Project. 21 October 1873. Letter 9105. Retrieved 1 May 2014.
- ^ "Darwin, C.R. to Hooker, J.D." Darwin Correspondence Project. 18 January 1874. Letter 9247. Retrieved 1 May 2014.
- ^ "[Darwin, C.R.] to T.H. Huxley". Darwin Correspondence Project. 29 January 1874. Letter 9258.
- ^ Darwin 1887, p. 311.
- ^ "Darwin, C.R. to Romanes, G.J." Darwin Correspondence Project. 5 December 1878. Letter 11773. Retrieved 2 May 2014.
- ^ Desmond & Moore 1991, p. 634
- ^ Desmond & Moore 1991, pp. 642–645
- ^ "Letter 12757 – Darwin, C. R. to Aveling, E. B., 13 Oct 1880". Darwin Correspondence Project. Retrieved 24 January 2011.
- ^ a b c Desmond & Moore 1991, pp. 656–658
- ^ a b Aveling 1883, pp. 4–6
- ^ Darwin 1887, p. 317
- ^ a b c d e f Darwin 1958, pp. 84–96.
- ^ Moore 2005
Yates 2003
Bibliography
- Aveling, E. B. (1883), The Religious Views of Charles Darwin, London: Freethought Publishing Company
- Babbage, Charles (1838), The Ninth Bridgewater Treatise (2nd ed.), London: John Murray
- ISBN 1-84413-314-1
- Darwin, Charles (1871), The Descent of Man, and Selection in Relation to Sex (1st ed.), London: John Murray
- Darwin, Charles (1887), Darwin, Francis (ed.), The life and letters of Charles Darwin, including an autobiographical chapter, London: John Murray, retrieved 4 November 2008
- Darwin, Charles (1958), Barlow, Nora (ed.), The Autobiography of Charles Darwin 1809–1882. With the original omissions restored. Edited and with appendix and notes by his granddaughter Nora Barlow, London: Collins, retrieved 4 November 2008
- Desmond, Adrian; ISBN 0-7181-3430-3
- FitzRoy, Robert (1839), Voyages of the Adventure and Beagle, Volume II, London: Henry Colburn, retrieved 4 November 2008
- Freeman, R. B. (2007), Charles Darwin: A companion (2d online ed.), The Complete Works of Charles Darwin Online, retrieved 16 August 2014
- Herbert, Sandra (1991), "Charles Darwin as a prospective geological author", British Journal for the History of Science, no. 24, pp. 159–192, retrieved 24 October 2008
- Keynes, Richard (2001), Charles Darwin's Beagle Diary, Cambridge University Press, ISBN 0-521-23503-0, retrieved 24 October 2008
- Miles, Sara Joan (2001), "Charles Darwin and Asa Gray Discuss Teleology and Design", Perspectives on Science and Christian Faith, vol. 53, pp. 196–201, retrieved 22 November 2008
- Moore, James (2005), Darwin – A 'Devil's Chaplain'? (PDF), American Public Media, retrieved 22 November 2008
- Speaking of Faith (Radio Program), American Public Media, archived from the originalon 22 December 2008, retrieved 22 November 2008
- Paley, W. (1809), Natural Theology: or, Evidences of the Existence and Attributes of the Deity (12th ed.)
- ISBN 0-393-05981-2
- Sulloway, Frank J. (2006), "Why Darwin Rejected Intelligent Design" (PDF), in Brockman, John (ed.), Intelligent Thought: Science versus the Intelligent Design Movement, New York: Vintage, pp. 107–126, retrieved 8 December 2008
- S2CID 202574857, retrieved 7 February 2008
- van Wyhe, John (2008), Darwin: The Story of the Man and His Theories of Evolution, London: André Deutsch Ltd (published 1 September 2008), ISBN 978-0-233-00251-4
- van Wyhe, John; Pallen, Mark J. (2012), "The 'Annie Hypothesis': Did the Death of His Daughter Cause Darwin to 'Give up Christianity'?", Centaurus, 54 (2): 105–123, PMID 22834067
- von Sydow, Momme (2005), "Charles Darwin: A Christian Undermining Christianity?" (PDF), in Knight, David M.; Eddy, Matthew D. (eds.), Science and Beliefs: From Natural Philosophy to Natural Science, 1700–1900, Burlington: Ashgate, pp. 141–156, ISBN 0-7546-3996-7, retrieved 16 December 2008
- Yates, Simon (2003), The Lady Hope Story: A Widespread Falsehood, TalkOrigins Archive, retrieved 15 December 2006
Further reading
- Anonymous (1882), "Obituary: Death Of Chas. Darwin", The New York Times, no. 21 April 1882
- Transactions & Proceedings of the Botanical Society of Edinburgh, no. 14, pp. 284–298
- ISBN 0-7126-6837-3
- Darwin, Charles (1837–1838), Notebook B: [Transmutation of species], Darwin Online, CUL-DAR121
- Darwin, Charles (1839), Narrative of the surveying voyages of His Majesty's Ships Adventure and Beagle between the years 1826 and 1836, describing their examination of the southern shores of South America, and the Beagle's circumnavigation of the globe. Journal and remarks. 1832–1836. Volume 3, London: Henry Colburn
- Darwin, Charles (1842), "Pencil Sketch of 1842", in Darwin, Francis (ed.), The foundations of The origin of species: Two essays written in 1842 and 1844., Cambridge University Press (published 1909)
- Darwin, Charles (1845), Journal of researches into the natural history and geology of the countries visited during the voyage of H.M.S. Beagle round the world, under the Command of Capt. Fitz Roy, R.N. 2d edition, London: John Murray
- Darwin, Charles (1859), On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection, or the Preservation of Favoured Races in the Struggle for Life (1st ed.), London: John Murray
- Darwin, Charles (1872), The Expression of the Emotions in Man and Animals, London: John Murray
- Darwin, Charles (2006), "Journal", in van Wyhe, John (ed.), [Darwin's personal 'Journal' (1809–1881)], Darwin Online, CUL-DAR158.1–76
- The Virginia Quarterly Review, no. Spring 2006, pp. 32–53
- Lamoureux, Denis O. (March 2004), "Theological Insights from Charles Darwin" (PDF), Perspectives on Science and Christian Faith, vol. 56, no. 1, pp. 2–12
- Leff, David (2000), About Charles Darwin
- Leifchild (19 November 1859), "Literature", Athenaeum, no. 1673
- Lucas, J. R. (1979), "Wilberforce and Huxley: A Legendary Encounter", S2CID 19198585
- Smith, Charles H. (1999), Alfred Russel Wallace on Spiritualism, Man, and Evolution: An Analytical Essay
- Wilkins, John S. (1997), Evolution and Philosophy: Does evolution make might right?, TalkOrigins Archive
- Wilkins, John S. (2008), "Darwin", in Tucker, Aviezer (ed.), A Companion to the Philosophy of History and Historiography, Blackwell Companions to Philosophy, Chichester: ISBN 978-1-4051-4908-2
- van Wyhe, John (2008), Charles Darwin: gentleman naturalist: A biographical sketch, Darwin Online
External links
- "Darwin Correspondence Project " Darwin and Religion: an introduction". Retrieved 19 February 2013.
subsections include What did Darwin believe? and Darwin and design - Dr Paul Marston: Charles Darwin and Christian Faith
- Life and Letters of Charles Darwin (1887) ed. Francis Darwin: Chapter VIII, Religion,
- Charles Darwin on Religion by John Hedley Brooke
- Creationism: bad science, bad religion, bad education – Derek Gillard
- Talk.Origins Archive: The Lady Hope Story: A Widespread Falsehood
- A Dog and the Mind of Newton – discusses Darwin and his faith (adapted from Evolution by Carl Zimmer, ISBN 0-06-019906-7)
- 2004 National Geographic article, which has Darwin as a deistat least at one point of his life
- SOF: Evolution and wonder – understanding Charles Darwin (Speaking of Faith from American Public Media) Links to mp3, transcript, and links to supporting material.
- Eden and Evolution, interview with James Moore and others.
- Was Charles Darwin an Atheist?, article in The Public Domain Review by John van Wyhe