Charles Darwin’s Changing Religious Beliefs Throughout His Life Shivani Patel College

The term “agnostic” defines as a person who believes that nothing is known or can be known of the existence or nature of God. Many individuals over the course of history have assumed this mindset in place of believing in religion, as they were unable to come to any sort of conclusion regarding the presence of a celestial being. One such person who identified as agnostic was Charles Darwin, the renowned scientist who wrote many highly acclaimed texts on various subjects and did extensive research on the ideas of evolution and natural selection. This was not always his religious stance, however. His life, as portrayed in The Autobiography of Charles Darwin, documents this very idea, particularly the “Religious Beliefs” chapter of the book. Many researchers and Darwin enthusiasts have also written scholarly essays on the subject matter. A deep analysis of this text and the essays prove that Charles Darwin’s beliefs changed dramatically over the course of his life due to many of his findings and contemplations.

Charles Darwin’s religious beliefs as a child and young man were extraordinarily different from those of his later life. As a young boy, he grew up a member of the Church of England and even attended an institution of the...