Archbishop of Canterbury Cedes Shakespeare to the Catholics

The “Shakespeare was a Catholic” theory gets a boost from an unlikely source: the Archbishop of Canterbury .

Dr Rowan Williams discussed the themes with Simon Russell Beale, the great Shakespearean actor, in one of the most eagerly-anticipated talks of the Hay Festival.

Little is known of Shakespeare’s life and there is no direct evidence of his religious affiliation, but Dr Williams said he believed him to be a Catholic. “I don’t think it tells us a great deal, to settle whether he was a Catholic or a Protestant, but for what it’s worth I think he probably had a Catholic background and a lot of Catholic friends and associates.

For what it’s worth, I think the Bard was probably a Methodist. But for a more historically informed analysis see Robert Minola’s article from the May 2008 edition of First Things , ” Shakespeare’s Religion .”

(Via: TitusOneNine )