The idea of origin in the religious studies of the Victorian era and Andrew Lang

This thesis focuses on the secular form of the idea of origin, used in reference to the Biblical creation theme in the works of the Middle Ages and Early Modern Periods, in the religious studies of the Victorian Era (1837-1901) and Andrew Lang's ideas on the origin of religion in that period. The idea of origin before its secular form in the 19th century was expressed by medieval Christian saints and Early Modern scholars to base the essence of man and nature on the biblical creation narrative. However, this expression related to the narrative of the creation in social and physical studies left its place to secular forms in the Victorian Era. The secular origins of religion were also discovered during that period, and the theories of the origin of religion by Edward Burnett Tylor, James Frazer, and Max Müller turned into orthodox interpretations. A Scottish poet, man of letters and anthropologist Andrew Lang disclosed critical studies on the origin narratives of the contemporary orthodox theories, putting forward the theory of "Supreme Being" with the examples from the beliefs of archaic communities in Australia. Although Lang's alternative secular origin for the origin of religion does not contain an apological claim, it has been an important source for the foundation of the theory of primitive monotheism and the development of the concept of deus otiosus in the religious studies. In this thesis, the Christian roots of the idea of origin, seen as a basis in Victorian secular religious studies, are discussed in its historical context. At the same time, considering the example of Andrew Lang's "Supreme Being" theory, his studies which challenge orthodox origin narratives in that period and which would form the basis of new origin theories are evaluated.