Darwin and religion

Though the response of established religion in the 19th century was strongly antagonistic to Darwinism, he felt that there was not a necessary conflict

As a trained minister, he had Christian convictions and beliefs. His scientific theories were based on his observation, and did not conflict with his religious convictions. Importantly, his theory does not deal with why changes should occur over time.

The theory of natural selection, or Darwinian evolution, has been characterized as a secular humanist theory

Stephen Jay Gould has written extensively on this subject, and in his book "Non-Moral Nature" he objects to creationists who

…accuse evolutionists of preaching a specific ethical doctrine called secular humanism and thereby demand equal time for their unscientific and discredited views....[E]volution can not teach any ethical theory at all....Not only did Darwin eschew any attempt to discover an antireligious ethic in nature, he also expressly stated his personal bewilderment about such deep [religious] issues as the problem of evil....Darwin wrote...'I feel most deeply that whole subject is too profound for the human intellect. A dog might as well speculate on the mind of Newton. Let each man hope and believe what he can.'