Professor Brooke Hopkins opened his presentation November 12th at the Humanists of Utah general meeting commenting that the writings of William Shakespeare indicate he was strongly influenced by the 'sacred' but not the 'religious,' as we commonly understand the word. Professor Hopkins said this is his tentative intuitive conclusion after studying and teaching the Bard at the University of Utah for the past 22 years.

The question of Shakespeare's personal religious beliefs has intrigued scholars for hundreds of years. The late Unitarian Minister, Dr. Paul Beattie, wrote, "Shakespeare never embodied the central Christian teaching regarding 'law and sin' in a play; nor did he write a play about Christianity. He may have been a Christian, or he may not. He may have been consciously or unconsciously a pagan. We will probably never know for certain." Professor Hopkins agreed, saying Shakespeare was probably a humanist. Students of Shakespeare agree that though he may not have dealt with religion, he was concerned about human morality.

Hopkins said one of Shakespeare's remarkable plays, A Winter's Tale, portrays the degree of holiness or sacredness he felt toward life. The renewal of the friendship between Leontes and Polixenes following 16 years of suspicion and remorse and the revelation that Leontes' wife Hermione was alive 16 years after he had her imprisoned seems to reveal his deep compassion, respect and concern for the enigmatic human condition.

Hopkins quoted lines from several Shakespearean orations that cite ordinary but miraculous 'breath,' rather than transcendent soul or spirit, as the holy force that is the essence of life. "Shakespeare, concluded Professor Hopkins, "celebrated the living human flesh and the great sacred nature that created breath."