He almost became a priest
On February 12, 1809, the fifth child arrived into the family of the renowned physician Robert Darwin, a member of the Darwin-Wedgwood network that helped shape scientific and philosophical thought in Britain. Charles Darwin did not endure the sort of hunger that marked many childhoods of the era, which allowed him to explore curiosities like natural history and insect collecting from a very young age. Yet his appetite for the classical schooling of early 19th-century Britain, especially Latin and rhetoric, was not strong, and his study habits reflected his growing distance from traditional academic disciplines.
During the summer of 1825, the young man assisted his father in patient care before entering the medical faculty at the University of Edinburgh that autumn. There, the routine of surgery and anatomy did not captivate him, but the Plinian Society—a student forum for discussing science and philosophy—captured his imagination. As the future proponent of evolutionary theory, Darwin helped anatomist Robert Grant study marine mollusks and made discoveries of his own, such as recognizing that certain algae were actually egg-shaped cocoons belonging to leeches. He absorbed ideas about evolution from French naturalist Jean-Baptiste de Lamarck through Grant’s mentorship.
Robert Darwin doubted that his son would become a steady, industrious professional, worrying that he might drift into idleness. Charles preferred hunting and horseback riding to anatomy, and the prospect of becoming a physician seemed unlikely. In response, his father sent him to Christ College at the University of Cambridge to prepare for Anglican priesthood. There he encountered naturalists who believed that God’s design could be read in nature. The works of William Paley, for example, argued that organisms fit their environments through natural laws enacted by a divine hand.
Darwin then pursued geology under the tutelage of the naturalist priest Adam Sedgwick and joined him on the voyage of HMS Beagle, a journey that would eventually culminate in On the Origin of Species.
The shift from religious training to a scientific vocation sits at the heart of his story, a transition that later drew criticism from religious quarters as Darwin’s ideas gained prominence.
I did not believe in the Bible more than the holy books of the Hindus
A common assumption is that Darwin’s personal beliefs directly determined his scientific conclusions. In truth, the natural sciences prize evidence and reason over moral or religious viewpoints. Yet as Darwinian ideas moved from academia into societal discussion, scholars began examining his religious outlook in greater depth.
Historian Adrian Desmond notes that when Darwin arrived at Cambridge he was inclined to accept the literal truth of biblical verses as they stood. Early studies with naturalist-priests included inquiries into intelligent design in nature, and Darwin frequently cited Scripture in moral matters during his Beagle voyage.
The Beagle expedition provided an immense reservoir of observations about animal diversity. Darwin, a lifelong collector and organizer, concluded that species arise through struggle and reproductive advantage in a changing world. This perspective did not reject belief in a divine order but did question a strictly literal reading of the Bible.
He began sharing ideas with his wife, Emma, noting that the world often raises questions that challenge religious assumptions. For instance, the existence of complex traits that can seem counterintuitive to a straightforward design raises questions about whether such features result from purposeful creation or natural processes that produce harm. These reflections extended to broader concerns about why a benevolent, all-powerful God would permit suffering. The problem of evil became a central theme in his later thinking.
Reflecting on his travels, Darwin argued for the need to rethink religious perspectives while preserving a sense of moral order. He observed that, early on, he relied on biblical authority to address religious questions, yet over time he found parts of the Old Testament unconvincing and recognized tensions between certain scriptural narratives and natural observations. His later stance suggested that religion could coexist with science, provided it avoided dogmatic claims of exclusive truth.
Although debates about belief persisted, Darwin did not embrace atheism. He entertained the idea of a guiding force or designer behind the cosmos, a view that lay beyond mere random chance. He ultimately passed away as an agnostic, unable to settle the question of a Creator definitively. A long-standing myth that he recanted his theory on his deathbed has been debunked, with researchers noting that the tale arose from later misrepresentations and sensational retellings rather than documented fact.