Conclusion: The Reception of Coleridge’s Religious System

Abstract

Coleridge was among the most knowledgeable biblical scholars in all of England during the early nineteenth century. Few in England or abroad recognized Coleridge’s full theological achievement. Hare, Maurice, and others defended Coleridge’s reputation. But his early Unitarianism, association with plagiarism and opium addiction, and willingness to challenge controversial doctrines such as biblical inspiration cast a shadow over his entire system of religion. Confessions of an Inquiring Spirit establishes Coleridge’s religious system and the framework for a complete recovery of his understanding of Christian doctrine. Coleridge is methodical, ever aware of the need to see the parts in relation to the whole. Coleridge’s thought develops, but not necessarily as an “improvement” or a “gradual increase in divine light” (as if to insinuate that the story of his life is all about how he finally came to the truth of Christian orthodoxy). Although Coleridge gradually embraces the teachings of the historic Christian faith, the grounds on which he makes such claims (e.g., his Christology and Trinitarianism) are not traditional. Coleridge’s view of religion “develops” inasmuch as he changes in response to ongoing reading, study, and spiritual reflection. His writings indicate the journey of a life of faith as “fidelity to conscience.” His commitment to conscience, however, added to the confusion over his religious views, including his commitment to the symbiotic relationship between the objective and subjective vehicles of religious knowledge.