Science, Falsely So-Called? Pseudoscience, Anti-Darwinism, and the Science-Religion Debate at the Victoria Institute

By the mid-nineteenth century, works by scientists such as Charles Lyell, Alfred Russel Wallace, and Charles Darwin had threatened traditional conceptions of the natural world, drawn heavily from scripture and from the natural theology of William Paley. Much attention has been paid to debates with the scientific community about evolution, human origins, and the age of the earth. Yet much of this has concentrated on the rapidly professionalising area of the natural sciences in academia. Debates within other fields, particularly those of well-educated amateurs, have received rather less attention. This paper attempts to remedy that situation, by examining the nineteenth century’s leading anti-evolutionary organisation. Established in 1865, the Victoria Institute had as its prime objective the defence of ‘the great truths revealed in Holy Scripture’ from ‘the opposition of science, falsely so called.’ Bringing together professional scientists, clergymen, and gentlemen amateurs, the Victoria Institute aimed to investigate the latest developments in science from a religious perspective. Initially, this resulted in attempts to buttress religious belief against scientific discoveries; later, it developed into an opportunity for scientists of faith to discuss their beliefs with a sympathetic audience. Drawing on lectures delivered at the Victoria Institute, correspondence, and proceedings, this paper charts the relationship between religious belief, anti-Darwinism, and pseudoscience in Victorian Britain and Ireland and offers a perspective on scientific developments from an underexplored viewpoint.