The original publication of the book was quite a disappointment to Darwin because he had gone such painstaking lengths to ensure that all details of his theory were backed by solid proofs. Darwin knew that in order for people to accept his theory it had to be flawless. Also in order to avoid additional criticism, Darwin avoided any mention of his theories of human evolution in origin, since he had not yet filled all the gaps in his thesis. These ideas were later published in The Decent of Man, in 1871, in which Darwin formally linked mankind to apes through a common ancestor. Less than half of his evidence was included in the first publication, which left Darwin open to attacks from all fronts.
The primary opposing forces to Darwin's theories were the religious peoples of the era. Nineteenth century Europe was largely dominated by branches of the Christian religion, and Darwin's theory sharply contrasted many of the beliefs of the Christian people. The common belief of any order of Christianity is that the Earth was created on October 23, 4004 BC , and all life was created in the six days following. They believed that man was created in the image of God, to share his Power and Glory, and all life of the past that does not exist in our present day was destroyed by natural disasters, for example, "The Flood."
They disliked Darwin because his theories removed God from the picture. He placed the Earth at an age millions of years older than what was popularly believed. He put man alongside all other creatures. He subjected humankind to the same tests of life as all other creatures. Worst of all he destroyed the glory of man, by placing humans in the same family grouping as "smelly hairy monkeys."
Of Darwin's opposing religious forces, one of the strongest groups was Bishop Samuel Wilberforce and his followers. In his review of Origin, he states that:
"Man's derived supremacy over the Earth; man's power of articulate speech; man's gift of reason, man's freewill and responsibility...are...irreconcilable with the degrading nation of the brute origin of him who was created in the image of God."
The religious riots that Origin and Decent caused came as a total and complete shock to Darwin:
"I see no good reason why the views in this volume should shock the religious feelings of anyone...A celebrated author and divine has written to me that he 'has gradually learnt to see that it is just as noble a conception of the Deity to believe that He created a few original forms capable of self-development into other needful forms, as to believe that He required a fresh act of creation to supply the voids caused by the action of His laws.'"
Darwin himself studied religion for many years hoping to become a member of the clergy, and still, with this religious background, he did not understand how it was possible to find his discovery to be offensive. Darwin never intended to remove God from the picture, only to prove that life, whether it had been "created" or developed, had the ability to branch out and create new forms of life.
The scientific community was also disgusted by Darwin's theory. Up until the nineteenth century, many people, scientists included, held the belief that life was created, either by a "Supreme Being" or was developed out of the earth and water. Which is why scientists worldwide did not approve of Darwin's methods, insisting that Darwin "only proved what he wanted to prove," and was "a slow man of ordinary skills who happened to be in the right place at the right time." Even if they did agree with Darwin's methods, they could not believe that such a farfetched theory could be legit. So they also attacked Origin for its lack of solid scientific evidence. Biologists believed that Darwin did not prove his hypothesis because his concept of variation was not - and could not be - explained. Nowhere in Origin did he describe the nature of these variations or how the variations were passed on to succeeding generations - little was it known that it was impossible for Darwin to explain this idea, even if he wanted to, in light of the fact that modern genetics had not yet been developed. Only with the study of DNA and chromosomes were we able to discover these facts.
There were also some mathematical flaws in Origin. Few scientists actually believed the Bible's age of the earth - 6000 years - but many of them thought that Darwin was crazy to believe that the Earth was close to three hundred million years old (which in reality is a colossal understatement).
One of the less obvious negative effects Darwin's theory had on Victorian society, was the fact that it created a cult-like following of Darwinists. Many European youth had turned Darwin's theory into a new religion, or way of life. In the late nineteenth century many influential men in Europe were Darwinists - John Huxley for example - who had the power to ensure that university positions and teaching jobs went to the up-and-coming Darwinists of society. The reasoning for this sudden support of Darwin by the youth of this era can not be explained with solid evidence. However, as we see in today's society, it may have been an outcry against what was then considered the "norm"; something for those who did not want to believe in what the were told to believe in.
Because of the cult like following that Darwin created- intentionally or unintentionally- a shift in the areas of interests for jobs and educational studies occurred. Many students, and up and coming scientists, doctors, and biologists quickly changed their studies in the classical sciences to evolutionism. By 1870, three quarters of the biologists and other natural scientists inhabiting Europe had switched their positions to become evolutionists. By now, Darwinism had not only spread its grasp over Britain, but was now quickly moving across the rest of Europe into Asia and the United States. By this time, the anti-Darwinist population had become the minority, as compared to the population of Darwin supporters.
This information may seem indeed positive. However, the negative aspect to the spread of Darwinism lay in the depths of the older generation of scholars and scientists in Europe. The mature people or the era, which held more traditionalists views (beliefs in creationism, and strong Christian roots), had taken defense against an intruder in their world, known as the theory of evolution. In Europe in the late nineteenth century things were just as they are in today's society, in the sense that the elder generations still held a large amount of influence over the heads of the younger generations. This younger generation and new breed of Darwinists were defying beliefs in theories of God and creationism that had existed in Europe for decades, and now the youth of this time were staging their own silent revolution. As was noted by a modern historian:
"The 'Darwinian Revolution' has always ranked along side the 'Copernican Revolution' as one of those episodes in which a new scientific theory symbolizes a wholesale change in cultural values."
This revolution was not one that was fought with weapons and fists, but one that was fought with new beliefs as well as the freedom of thought and expression, once again proving Darwin right. Man can evolve not only in the physical sense, but also in the mental sense.
In the nineteenth century Charles Darwin was considered by his fellow scholars to be an "anomaly in the history of ideas." His theory completely changed mankind's view of the world, and our views on that which we hold most sacred, life. However, in 1859 when Origin was released, the world was not yet ready for such an advance in thought, and Darwin knew it. In 1844 (before the release of Origin), he confessed to a friend that he did believe in evolution, and said that it was
"like confessing a murder." Throughout most of his life Charles Darwin was subject to criticism for his controversial theories in Origin, and his following books including Decent of Man. This controversy and condemnation surrounded Darwin even after his death on April 19, 1882. Despite the years of discontent with Darwin, on April 26, 1882, Charles Robert Darwin was laid to rest alongside Sir Isaac Newton and other alleged heretics, in Westminster Abbey. Yet even after the forgiveness of the church, and one hundred years after Darwin's death, there were still critics in the world and there are even few skeptics today. Up until the 1970s, for example, teachers in Tennessee were still forbidden to teach evolution in any form and were forced to express only creationist views. Even in Canada today there are people in high places, including candidates for Prime Minister who believe that creationism should be taught in our schools. Despite much controversy, Darwin's theory has lived up to its own expectations; it has managed to survive the centuries, triumph over past theories, and has emerged a champion idea in the "survival of the fittest."
Footnotes
Darwin, Origin of the Species, p21
Darwin, Origin of the Species, p19
Sproule, Charles Darwin, p11
Christian Bible story. God regretted creating the Earth and wanted to destroy all evil. He told Noah to build an ark and put two of each animal on it. Anyone on the ark survived and the flood destroyed those creatures and people who were not, and this is why some creatures do not exist in our world today.
Victorian civilization was outraged at the thought that the people of their elegant society could possibly be linked with monkeys. At the time monkeys were most popular for their strange, crazy behavior, as was seen in the circuses at the time.
Charles Darwin, p48
Darwin, Origin of the Species, p638
Charles Darwin, p49
Gould, In Praise of Charles Darwin
Charles Darwin, p53
Charles Darwin, p53
Bowler, 'Evolution' - The History of an Idea.
For more on mental and social evolution on mankind, read Herbert Spencer's theories on Social Darwinism
Gould, In Praise of Charles Darwin
Charles Darwin, p42
Charles Darwin, p60