I check the SDMB archives under Darwin but didn’t find anything, so I thought I would do a quick post:
Without attempting to account AT ALL for how folks in present times have used evolution and creationism to fit their own agendas, what is known (as in biographically documented) about Darwin’s faith? I seem to remember reading somewhere that he was a strong Christian - does my memory serve me well?
Again - I am not trying to read anything into his faith, just trying to understand if he had one and to what extent he observed it…
Wow, rsa, nice find - thanks…it pretty much answers my question (the site basically excerpts from Darwin’s autobiography and describes how his beliefs evolved over time to the point where he did not embrace Christianity)
Unless I’m grossly mistaken, before voyaging on the HMS Beagle Darwin had been preparing to become a clergyman. I’ve never read anything specifically about it, but since his theory of “descent with modification” was completely materialistic (not involving higher powers or a spiritual interpretation of the human mind) I’d guess that it spelled the end of his conventional religious beliefs.
Keep in mind that there were other theories around, but Darwin’s was just about the only one that didn’t allow God to run the show. It called for random variation and the action of natural selection only; implicitly stating that mankind was not made in God’s image, but rather as a result of this.