A matter of faith for Charles Darwin

Charles Darwin, the Victorian naturalist who formulated the theory of evolution, revealed his private thoughts about religion to a young barrister in a private letter two years before he died. Bonhams auctioneers will offer the letter in its History of Science and Technology auction in New York on Monday.

On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection was published in 1859 and Darwin's "faith" became the subject of public controversy. In a catalogue note explaining the background, Bonhams said Darwin refrained from public comment on religious matters, probably to respect the feelings of his friends and family.

However, in November 1880, when Darwin was 71, a young barrister in London, Francis McDermott wrote to him with an unusual request: “If I am to have pleasure in reading your books, I must feel that at the end I shall not have lost my faith in the New Testament. My reason in writing to you therefore is to ask you to give me a Yes or No to the question Do you believe in the New Testament . . .?”

McDermott promised not to publicise Darwin’s reply in the “theological papers”. Darwin responded the next day and, in a letter marked private, wrote to McDermott: “Dear Sir, I am sorry to have to inform you that I do not believe in the Bible as a divine revelation & therefore not in Jesus Christ as the son of God. Yours faithfully, Ch. Darwin”

Bonhams said that “McDermott was true to his word and this letter was unknown to scholars for over 100 years”.

Darwin’s letter is estimated at $70,000-$90,000 (€62,000-€80,000).