Religion During The Victorian Era

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During the Victorian Era many discoveries and conquests conveyed a promising future for the British Empire. In 1859 British scientist Charles Darwin published one of the most important and controversial books of all time widely known as the On the Origin of Species By Means of Natural Selection. It became one of the greatest accomplishments of science during the 19th century. The work of Darwin revolutionized natural science and biology and influenced other scientific areas as well. Evolution began to stretch beyond science and was accounted for the raise of a new conflict with religion, causing doubt among common people and anger between scholars and the clergy. Another movement late in the Victorian era emerged because of Darwin’s theory …show more content…

The controversy agitated within weeks of its publication, evolution challenging the Christian belief of creation and unintentionally proving it scientifically erroneous. Charles theory triggered a new battle between science and religion, as several religious critics began to question Darwin and originating Anti-Darwinian and sacro-scientific movements in England and across Europe. Eventually gave birth to a Catholic movement known as “Academia”, created by the Church to defend Catholicism. Darwin’s theory had an immense repercussion on Christianity, and in response several reviews critiqued the thinker’s job heavily. “Man’s relation to nature was basically altered. He was no longer a fallen angel but a great ape trying to make good” (Appleman, 415), religious scholars and ecclesiastic men from across Europe referred to evolution as gibberish and gloomy as well as an attempt to propagate a disbelief in the Bible. The scientific society was determined to defend their beliefs as Scientists Thomas Huxley defended Darwin when he stated “If I had to choose I would prefer to be a descendant of a humble monkey rather than of a man who employs his knowledge and eloquence in misrepresenting those who are wearing out their lives in the search for truth” (Appleman, 423), the battle between creationism and evolutionism divided and classified societies across …show more content…

In 1864 after the Origin of Species, British philosopher Herbert Spencer believed that science could be applied to social thought and action. He developed his own theory in which consisted on attaining balance, “dissolution follows evolution, and disintegration follows integration” by applying natural selection to social dynamics. Spencer stated that “evolution can end only in the establishment of the greatest perfection and the most complete happiness” (Appleman, 491) by applying evolution to social progress. The result of allowing the best of each generation to advance will benefit the entire human race. Social Darwinism promised a brighter future for humanity, however the ideas were misinterpreted and used to support and justify social inequality in Europe, and across the world. It contributed to the growth of gaps between the rich and the poor, social status, and slavery of foreign races during the Victorian time. Several colleagues of Darwin rejected the perverted version of social Darwinism because it opposed Charles Darwin’s beliefs opposing discrimination and supporting compassion as a social policy since he believed it was “the noblest part of our nature” (Wilson, 11). Throughout the Victorian era, Darwin proved to be another

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