Ernest Holmes
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Ernest Holmes (1887-1960) founded the movement known as Religious Science, also known as "Science of Mind," a part of the New Thought Movement.
Holmes grew up in New England. He did not finish high school, but attended professional acting classes and studied many spiritual/religious traditions. He received an honorary doctorate later in life, in recognition of his accomplishments as a prolific writer, teacher, and public speaker. He studied under Emma Curtis Hopkins in Los Angeles, and began lecturing there in 1915. In 1926, he published his seminal book, The Science of Mind, and established the Institute of Religious Science. A revised version of The Science of Mind was issued in 1938.
Holmes wrote numerous books of theology, influenced by not only Emma Curtis Hopkins but also by Phineas Quimby, Thomas Troward, Ralph Waldo Emerson, various other New Thought writers of his day, and the texts of world religions. He came to prominence as a lecturer in the Los Angeles area, but ultimately formed a religious denomination now known as the United Church of Religious Science. Religious Science, like many New Thought faiths, emphasizes positive thinking, control of circumstances through mental processes, recognition of a creative energy (referred to as God, First Principle, Universal Intelligence, and other terms) that manifests as the physical universe, and the rejection of a good/evil duality.
Holmes' teachings expanded the practice of New Thought ideas in southern California, although prior New Thought lecturers such as Elizabeth Delvine King had preceded him. As with many New Thought leaders of his time, Holmes studied with Emma Curtis Hopkins, a writer and former member of the Christian Science faith. While Holmes studied widely, he did not embrace any particular teaching, and instead saw each as offering its own interpretation of an essential law that grounds all thought and action.
Holmes' approach tended to focus less on defining a cosmology than other New Thought movements such as the Unity School of Christianity. Holmes denied any "special revelation", contending that Religious Science was not the "only way", but instead a "good way". Holmes published numerous books, although "The Science of Mind", the mainspring of his work, has now had over fifty printings. He taught that religion is "open at the top," viewing it as an evolving work in progress. In a biography written after his death, his brother Fenwicke cited Holmes' expressed opinion that all beliefs are valid to those who hold them.
Holmes has been grouped by critics among the practitioners of the many "mind cure" movements. Others have argued that New Thought ideas have been melded into the popular culture. The influence of New Thought authors, including Holmes' work, upon the subsequent New Age and human dynamics movements has also been noted. Holmes did not believe in reincarnation or magic, but taught spiritual mind treatment, a type of scientific prayer. He taught that there is a natural law, and we can use it; and that we create our experience of reality with our thinking.