Faith question about Holmes & Watson.

[lolryne]

Okay, so here the matter, I was just doing something really boring and distracted myself with re-playing Sherlock Holmes in my head, the scene when Holmes hired a bohemian to make predictions at Watson (yeah), and something hit me. I'm not sure if it is very pertinent but I don't think I saw it discussed anywhere before, so I take the chance to ask

Comments

[the_rusty_bird]

Victorian Era England was still pretty hot on God and being a Good Christian. Mostly Anglican still, I believe, though I think it was loosening up by then. It was considered normal to be a practicing, church-attending christian, more-so in the country than cities or industrial areas. It is after the enlightenment and during the industrial revolution, however, so faith was being questioned more openly in certain (especially academic and scientific) circles

[kattahj]

I think Holmes (as shown in the film) would most probably be agnostic - that's the approach that he takes to Blackwood's doings, after all. Not to bend facts to suit theories, and all that

[lefaym]

I imagine that Holmes is probably something of an agnostic, but may tend towards an elightenment view of God as the great watchmaker -- and that logic and reason are the powers God has granted humans in order to understand him better.

Watson probably takes a similar view, but he is nonetheless probably more inclined, as you say, to take a more mystical view when he encounters phenomena that he doesn't understand.

[azure_horizon]

If we go with book verse Watson, he's Scottish so he'd've been brought up strict Presbyterian.

[gaedhal]

Not necessarily.

Conan Doyle, who was as solidly "Scots" as they come, was
from a Roman Catholic family. There's also the Church of
Scotland, which would be more Anglican.

Conan Doyle had very mixed feelings about religion throughout
his life, which comes out in the stories. He left the Catholic
Church early, probably when he was in college, although he
went to very strict Jesuit schools for all of his primary
and secondary education and considered the priesthood.

Later he was one of the most famous "Spiritualist" in England,
which was considered pretty cracked and he was mocked a lot
for it in the press, especially after the infamous "Fairy"
incident.

The interesting thing is that although he believed in the
supernatural, all of Holmes' seemingly supernatural encounters
(vampires, ghost dogs, etc.) turn out to have logical
explanations.

[queerlyobscure]

I can't remember in which story it was, but I remember Holmes basically saying that he was assured that there was a divine being of some sort, because of roses. Yeah, I don't know either.

That doesn't make him religious, of course, but it is interesting. He usually seems to behave as though he is an atheist (and certainly, he doesn't expect God to have any hand in things, as far as I remember).

I don't care enough about Watson to have been paying attention but he strikes me as somewhat conventional, and was therefore probably raised as a Protestant of some denomination (that is, a non-Catholic Christian). He also strikes me as non-practising.

I could be completely wrong about all this, of course.

[sainte_marthe]

I'm pretty sure he believes in Heaven and Hell, because I recall once or twice in the books he mentions that a criminal getting hanged is going where he deserves/should be or he's going to get his just punishment after death or something like that. Also vaguely remember something about not worth forgiving someone if they don't repent which sounds religious to me.

I think if they'd gone to church at all it would have been mentioned. Maybe they have faith but don't practise it particularly. Also we should remember Watson gambles and Holmes drugs up, so they can't be that serious if they do believe it.

It's definitely an interesting topic :D

[kattahj]

Also we should remember Watson gambles and Holmes drugs up, so they can't be that serious if they do believe it.

That's a statement I'm not willing to take as fact. Especially considering that cocaine was legal at the time.

I mean, I don't think either one of them was deeply religious, because I'm sure it would have been mentioned, but even deeply religious people do indulge in vices.

[sainte_marthe]

Fair play. Sorry :)

[kattahj]

I got a bit over-snappish there, didn't I? *grin*