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Was William Shakespeare a lifelong Roman Catholic?There's some "evidence" down near the bottom of the article. I think points 1 & 2 are the strongest.
1. Shakespeare?s father, John, was identified in 1592 as a recusant, a Catholic who refused to attend the services of the Church of England.
2. Shakespeare?s mother, Mary Arden Shakespeare, belonged to a fiercely loyal Catholic family not far from Stratford. A member of that family, Edward Arden (whose father was a cousin of Mary), befriended Catholics?including a priest named Hugh Hall, who lived in disguise on Edward Arden?s property?and opposed the religious policies of the Crown.
A new book came out earlier this summer which raised the same thesis by author Joseph Pearce. I think this is why he was included in this PBS article on the topic from April. From what I recall of the article I read a few months ago, other themes from Shakespeare's writings correspond to living a Catholic life within Protestant Elizabethan England. I can't get into detail about these kinds of arguments and I haven't read the book.Checking around, though, I see that this issue is not a new one. There was a letter to the editor in the NY Times from 1922 which also discussed it.
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