Ernest Holmes founded Religious Science in the United States in the early 20th century. He considered it a synthesis of Eastern and Western spiritual teachings, philosophy, psychology, and science. He developed a study he called “The Science of Mind” that included this synthesis plus ideas and instructions on the creative nature of Mind and how to work with one’s own mind so as to experience what is desirable in life.
Holmes did not consider his work to be a religion, but more of a philosophical study. He felt that a person of any religion could benefit from studying and applying the Science of Mind principles.
Religious Science views the universe as Consciousness, or Infinite Mind - expressing itself in and as all creation.This Consciousness is Omnipresent, Omniscient, and Omnipotent; God or Spirit or whatever name it is referred to is everywhere at all times and is the all-knowing intelligence and the one and only power.
Humans are centers of self-awareness within this Consciousness. The Bible statement that we were created “in the image and likeness of God” is taken literally. This Consciousness is the creating, maintaining, and sustaining Principle of all that there is, invisible and visible. Because we are It as us, our lives are created through the action of our own thoughts and we experience the dominant state of our own consciousness.
Consciousness is a combination of thought and feeling. This puts full responsibility for an individual’s life within him or her. As thought or deeply held beliefs are changed, the circumstances of the individual change. Without a change in consciousness there is no real change in experience and outer circumstance. Religious Science teaches that there is only one power, God or Consciousness. It works on a conscious (choosing) level and subjective or sometimes called subconscious (accepting and creating) level.