“dared only whisper their religious opinions with bated breath” [STUD]
Was Sherlock Holmes religious? That was something we contemplated together with Henry T. Folsom, BSI ("The Golden Pince-Nez") in Trifles Episode 427 on his Morley-Montgomery Award-winning article "My Biblical Knowledge is a Trifle Rusty." [Listen below]
In considering whether Holmes subscribed to any Eastern or Western religion, Folsom made it clear that Holmes was familiar with a number of religions, but was more of an agnostic than an atheist. And of course, his famous "rose soliloquy" was indicative of his believe in some Higher Power:
“There is nothing in which deduction is so necessary as in religion,” said he, leaning with his back against the shutters. “It can be built up as an exact science by the reasoner. Our highest assurance of the goodness of Providence seems to me to rest in the flowers. All other things, our powers our desires, our food, are all really necessary for our existence in the first instance. But this rose is an extra. Its smell and its color are an embellishment of life, not a condition of it. It is only goodness which gives extras, and so I say again that we have much to hope from the flowers.”
Religious aspects pop up throughout the Canon, from the heavy hand of the Mormons (STUD) to Holmes serving as a witness to a wedding in the first short story (SCAN) to his claim that “my Biblical knowledge is a trifle rusty” (CROO), it is a constant drum-beat.
But isn't it interesting that of his many disguises, two of them were religious in nature: “an amiable and simple-minded Nonconformist clergyman” (SCAN) and “a venerable Italian priest” (FINA).
Was he overly familiar with these professions? Or were was he able to get cassocks in bulk from his costume supplier?
Here's some Sunday humor from the boys at Baker Street Elementary...
Baker Street Elementary follows the original adventures of Sherlock Holmes and John Watson, as they and their friends work through the issues of elementary school in Victorian London. An archive of all previous episodes can be viewed at the Baker Street Elementary website.
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