https://inters.org/Darwin-God-Evolution
Letter 12041 – C.R. Darwin to John Fordyce, 7 May 1879
In replying to the atheist sir John Fordyce, Darwin states he thinks it is absurd to doubt that a man may be an ardent theist and an evolutionist at the same time. He says that he has never considered himself as an atheist “in the sense of denying the existence of God,” but rather he would qualify himself as an agnostic.
Down Beckenham | Kent
May 7 1879
Private
Dear Sir,
It seems to me absurd to doubt that a man may be an ardent Theist & an evolutionist.— You are right about Kingsley. Asa Gray, the eminent botanist, is another case in point— What my own views may be is a question of no consequence to any one except myself.— But as you ask, I may state that my judgment often fluctuates. Moreover whether a man deserves to be called a theist depends on the definition of the term: which is much too large a subject for a note. In my most extreme fluctuations I have never been an atheist in the sense of denying the existence of a God.—
I think that generally (& more and more so as I grow older) but not always, that an agnostic would be the most correct description of my state of mind.
Ch. Darwin
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