Please note that this my answer for the same question given by my teacher. I paraphrased it from some sources
Darwin’s theory of evolution had brought great effect to social and political life.
The impact of theory of evolution to society was enormous. The social effect of Darwin’s theory including religion debate of Darwinian theory versus Creation theory. The believers of Creation theory at that time are the Christians and they react negatively agains the theory of evolution. Darwin’s theory is supported by some scientist but other were opposing it. However, the rest of the world are starting to ask which is the right one, the Creation theory that based on the what the Bible said about God created everything as the way it is, or the Darwinian theory of evolution. Later,
Essays and Reviews by seven liberal
Anglican theologians declared that miracles were irrational (and supported the
Origin). People started to receive Darwin’s theory, and after some times it is accepted scientifically. In response to the wide scientific acceptance of the theory of evolution, many religions have formally or informally synthesized the scientific and religious viewpoints. Several important 20th century scientists (
Fisher,
Dobzhansky) whose work confirmed Darwin's theory, were also
Christians who saw no incompatibility between their experimental and theoretical confirmations of evolution and their faith. Some religions have adopted a
theistic evolution viewpoint, where
God provides a
divine spark that ignited the process of evolution and (or), where God has guided evolution in one way or another
One of the most famous debate of the Biblical Creation theory against Darwin’s theory of evolution is the Huxley-Wilverforce debate.Thomas Huxley was a scientist that support Darwin’s theory, where Samuel Wilberforce was a Bishop who stood against the Theory of Evolution. This debate ended up with humiliating each other, but until now the debate or Darwin’s theory vs Creation theory is still going on. However, nowaday there are scientific proofs against Darwin’s theory of evolution.
The effect of Darwin’s theory is not stopped only to religion impact. Some groups of people borrowed Darwins’ idea and proposes proposed that societies and nations could evolve according to the principles of biological evolution, just as populations of plants and animals did. This is the Social Darwinism theory. The Social Darwinism theory is not Darwin’s theory but a reaction of Darwin’s theory. One of the Social Darwinism is Herbert Spencer. He proposed that human life, as well as animal, is a struggle in which there are survival of the fittest. . Although this sociological view was not supported by evidence, it rose to prominence in the late nineteenth and the early twentieth century and had an impact on political and social thought.
Social darwinism was also used to justify imperialism in which a ‘fitter’ group – government, nation, society, and race – extended its influence over a weaker group. Was was seen by supporters of social Darwinism as a justifiable competitive struggle between nations, an application of the survival of the fittest
Karl Marx, the father of communism, was greatly influenced by Darwin’s theory. He wrote of the struggle of the proletariat and the rich ones. He considered this as struggle for existance, same as the Social Darwinism theory. Even if Marx’ theory is much more influenced by the situation at that time, Darwin’s theory also give impact to the birth of communism concept.
Hitler is also influenced by Darwin’s idea about the natural selection, where the fittest will survive. He drived this idea to produce a pure, superior Aryan race that he believed is the fittest to survive. This thinking had caused the life of million Jewish people.
