Biblical Seeds of Secular Shakespeare Bias (Part 4: Religious Bias in Shakespeare Scholarship)
I have written recently about various forms of bias in Shakespeare scholarship, including that of those who prefer a secular or seemingly post-Christian Shakespeare. But it would be good to recognize the biblical seeds of a secular (non-religious) outlook. One could argue that the Jesus of the gospels had something resembling what would later be called a secular humanist streak, and disliked religiosity for its own sake. A few examples: The first appears in each of the synoptic gospels [1]. Consider Matthew 22:35-40, read in Shakespeare’s lifetime at morning prayer every 24th of January and May, and every 21st of September, and on the 18th Sunday after Trinity (which varies, but which fell on 3 October, 2021): Jesus is asked by a Pharisee what is the greatest law. He replies with *two*: First, to love god with all one’s heart, soul, and mind. Then he says the second is “like unto” the first: To love one’s neighbor as one’s self. It’s curious and important that Jesus claims ...