This paper analyzes some of the ideological and metaphysical features of the historical transformation of Western imaginary on human origins, during the second half of 19th Century. In this period, predominance of the Christian Natural Theology accounts about anthropogenesis gave place to a new paradigm, based on evolutionary biological explanations. We thus analyze the historical confrontation that took place between prominent materialistic scientists - Haeckel, Royer, Huxley - defending evolutionary theories, on one hand, and advocates of a non-evolutionist anthropology linked to Christian believe in Creation, on the other. This paper analyzes the main features of Darwin's criticism of religious thought, based on naturalistic basis, and presents some similarities and differences with the critique of religion made by Marx in the same period. Darwinism included some metaphysical and ideological elements as essential parts of the evolutionary opposition to the old Christian narratives of anthropogenesis.
darwinism; human evolution; creationism