Page "Benjamin Lee Whorf" Paragraph 6

Whorf was a spiritual man throughout his lifetime although what religion he followed has been the subject of debate.

As a young man he produced a manuscript titled " Why I have discarded Evolution ", causing some scholars to describe him as a devout Methodist Episcopalian, who was impressed with fundamentalism, and perhaps supportive of creationism.

However, throughout his life Whorf's main religious interest was theosophy.

Theosophy is a nonsectarian organization based on Buddhist and Hindu teachings, and it promotes the view of the world as an interconnected whole and the unity and brotherhood of humankind " without distinction of race, creed, sex, caste or color ".

Some of Whorf's unpublished manuscripts on spirituality also suggest that he was influenced by the ideas of Helena Blavatsky the founder of the Theosophical Society who wrote about cosmic evolution, a belief that regards reincarnation to be the source of evolution of human races towards continuously higher forms.

Whorf said that " of all groups of people with whom I have come in contact, Theosophical people seem the most capable of becoming excited about ideas — new ideas.