Thomas Hardy and His Religious Beliefs Essay -- Biography Biographies

Thomas Hardy and His Religious Beliefs Thomas Hardy was born into a very active Christian family. He was the son of Orthodox Christians who made sure that he regularly attended services. Many of Hardy's relatives were involved in the church. Some were members of the clergy and some were musicians at the local church. Hardy, a member of the Stinsford parish, taught a Sunday school class when he was a young man. He even had aspirations of becoming a member of the clergy himself. He became very familiar with the teachings of the Bible and even memorized the psalms. Because Hardy was exposed to such devout faith in his youth, he acquired this faith as well. From the period of 1840 to 1860, the "Oxford Movement", a spiritual movement involving extremely devout thinking and actions, began to spread to Dorset. The supporters of this movement believed in a God who is near to man and transcends the natural order of things. This movement helped to reinforce Hardy s faith. In the 1860's On the Origin of Species and Essays and Reviews became widely circulated. These works led to a q...