TCDE-Team: TCDE-Team moved page Dr. Conan Doyle and the Catholic Church to Dr. Conan Doyle (letter 13 october 1900) without leaving a redirect

2018-09-24T21:12:23Z

TCDE-Team moved page Dr. Conan Doyle and the Catholic Church to Dr. Conan Doyle (letter 13 october 1900) without leaving a redirect

New page

''Dr. Conan Doyle'' is a letter written by [[Arthur Conan Doyle]] published in [[The Scotsman]] on 16 october 1900.

== Dr. Conan Doyle ==
[[File:the-scotsman-1900-10-16-p4-dr-conan-doyle.jpg|thumb|250px|right|[[The Scotsman]] (16 october 1900, p. 4)]]

<div align="right">Reform Club, London, October 13, 1900.</div>

Sir, — I have waited for the rush of the elections to pass before
addressing a letter to you, and through you to the electors of
the Central Division, upon the subject of the recent contest
there.

It will be within the memory of those who have followed the
events in that Division that upon the morning of the election three
hundred posters were exhibited upon the walls, in which I was
stated to be a Papist conspirator, a Jesuit emissary, and a
Subverter of the Protestant Faith. These posters confronted the
workmen as they went to their work in the morning, and there is no
doubt that they did me considerable harm at the polls. When I say
that there is not one truthful statement in the whole placard, and
when I report that it vitally affected the election, it is evident that
the incident was a very grave public scandal. At the last instant,
when no time was left for contradiction, the electors were
influenced in their voting by a statement which was both false and
malicious.

My own religious beliefs are things which I should not have
obtruded upon the public, but the issue has been so directly raised
that I cannot avoid it. Let me state my position once for all. I am
not, and never have been since my school days, a Roman Catholic.
For more than twenty years my strongest convictions have been In
favour of complete liberty of conscience, and I regard hard and
fast dogma of every kind as an unjustifiable and essentially
irreligious thing putting assertion in the place of reason, and
giving rise to more contention, bitterness, and want of charity than
any other influence in human affairs. I have hardly ever written a
book in which I have not indicated this view, and in one work,
''[[The Stark Munro Letters]]'' it is the main thesis of the book. When
I add that the church which I attend in London is that of Mr.
Voysey, in Swallow Street, it will be obvious that my religious
views are broadly tolerant, founded upon a Reverent Theism,
rather than upon the special teaching of any particular sect. The
process of religious thought in the future, and the best one for the
happiness of the human race, lies, in my opinion, in the various
creeds directing their attention to those things which they have in
common instead of eternally accentuating the things which hold
them apart — matters of dogma and ritual which are not the
essentials of Christianity.

So much about a subject to which I shall not recur. My early
association with the Catholic Church leaves me with no bitterness
toward that venerable institution, which contains many of the
most saintly men and women whom I have ever known. My own
recent experience is enough to show me the vile slanders to which
they are subjected. But a man's soul and reason are his own and he
must go whither they beckon. That path has in my case been an
open and a straight one since I emerged from boyhood.

This being my religious position, I leave it to the judgment of
your readers how unjust were the terms applied in this
unscrupulous placard. I am advised by the highest authorities
that under the recent Illegal Practices Prevention Act of '95, a
legal remedy is within my reach. No punishment, however, which
could be inflicted upon the person who is responsible for the bill
could undo the harm which has been done. I prefer, therefore, to
leave the facts upon record and to trust that the publicity which I
give to them may prevent the recurrence of so gross a scandal.
As a last word may I once again thank my friends of the Central
Division for the loyalty and energy with which they stood by me in
the contest.

I am, &c.

A. CONAN DOYLE

----
* [[Sir Arthur Conan Doyle:Complete Works|Back to Complete Works]]
* [[Sir Arthur Conan Doyle|Back to Conan Doyle]]

Dr. Conan Doyle (letter 13 october 1900) - Revision history

TCDE-Team: TCDE-Team moved page Dr. Conan Doyle and the Catholic Church to Dr. Conan Doyle (letter 13 october 1900) without leaving a redirect