Beethoven's religious beliefs

The role of religious belief in the work of the celebrated composer Ludwig van Beethoven is a matter of disagreement among scholars.

Beethoven was born and raised a Roman Catholic, and he composed many religious works, among them the Mass in C and the Missa Solemnis. The lyrics of his Choral Symphony also include stanzas that refer to God. However, it is also documented that Beethoven never attended church and he had a mistrust of priests. Beethoven's teacher Joseph Haydn said he considered Beethoven an atheist, while his friend and biographer Anton Felix Schindler felt he was "inclined towards deism." It is also known that Beethoven became enamored with Pantheism as espoused by Goethe. Of Goethe Beethoven said, "he is alive, and he wants us all to live with him. That is why he can be set to music."

Beethoven's faith in God as experienced through art is an important theme in his conversation books, his belief that art is a force unto itself, and that "God is closer to me than others of my art," infuse his search for redemption through and in music. This view seems to be complementary to Pantheism, and not necessarily the view and faith he was born into.

While Beethoven was on his deathbed, his friends convinced him to allow a priest to read him his last rites even though he supposedly protested. Upon the priest finishing the rites and leaving the room Beethoven uttered the words, "applaud, my friends, the comedy is over."

Somewhat further afield, Beethoven evidently had an interest in Hinduism. According to the Web site "A Tribute to Hinduism" (http://www.atributetohinduism.com/quotes61_80.htm), "He was first introduced to Indian literature by the Austrian Orientalist, [Joseph von] Hammer-Purgstall [(1774-1856)], who founded a periodical for the dissemination of Eastern knowledge in Europe as early as January 1809 ... The fragments of Indian religious texts that have been discovered in the Beethoven manuscripts are partly translations and partly adaptations of the Upanishads and the Bhagavad Gita."