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William Seton — A Catholic Darwinist

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  05 August 2009

John L. Morrison
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Extract

TheBattleLines in the evolution controversy had been clearly drawn by the year 1890. In scientific circles a few die-hards, like the German zoologist, Virchow, were making a last ditch fight against the increasingly popular Darwinian concept. American scientists, however, were virtually unanimous in their acceptance of evolution now that the restraining hand of Louis Aggassiz had been lifted. Among the theologians too might be found liberals who embraced the new theory; such influential Protestant preachers as Henry Ward Beecher and Lyman Abbott announced that they were “enthusiastic evolutionists.” Most Protestant leaders did not share this enthusiasm. They remained skeptical of evolution's scientific merits, suspicious of its philosophical implications, and fearful of its theological effects. Perhaps the most common Protestant technique was to denounce Darwinism as a threat to Christianity. Thus, as matters stood, America was in the midst of a struggle between a school of evolutionists, many of whom espoused unchristian or antichristian philosophies, and another group of anti-evolutionists who denied the scientific validity of evolution and objected to its theological implications. The evolutionists seemed to be gaining in strength and numbers.

Type
Research Article
Information
The Review of Politics , Volume 21 , Issue 3 , July 1959 , pp. 566 - 584
Copyright
Copyright © University of Notre Dame 1959

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References

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