Editing Benjamin Lee Whorf (section)

=== Early interest in religion and language ===
Whorf was a spiritual man throughout his lifetime, although what religion he followed has been the subject of debate. As a young man, he produced a manuscript titled "Why I have discarded [[evolution]]", causing some scholars to describe him as a devout [[Methodist]], who was impressed with [[fundamentalism]], and perhaps supportive of [[creationism]].<ref>{{harvcoltxt|Bergman|2011}}; {{harvcoltxt|Lakoff|1987|p=324}}</ref> However, throughout his life Whorf's main religious interest was [[Theosophy (Boehmian)|theosophy]], a nonsectarian organization based on [[Buddhist]] and [[Hinduism|Hindu]] teachings that promotes the view of the [[holism|world as an interconnected whole]] and the unity and brotherhood of humankind "without distinction of race, creed, sex, caste or color".<ref>{{harvcoltxt|Lee|1996|pp=21–22}}</ref> Some scholars have argued that the conflict between spiritual and scientific inclinations has been a driving force in Whorf's intellectual development, particularly in the attraction by ideas of linguistic relativity.<ref>{{harvcoltxt|Rollins|1972}}; {{harvcoltxt|Rollins|1971}}</ref> Whorf said that "of all groups of people with whom I have come in contact, Theosophical people seem the most capable of becoming excited about ideas—new ideas."<ref>{{harvcoltxt|Algeo|2001}}</ref>

Around 1924, Whorf first became interested in [[linguistics]]. Originally, he analyzed Biblical texts, seeking to uncover hidden layers of meaning.<ref>{{harvcoltxt|Carroll|2005}}</ref> Inspired by the [[esoteric]] work ''La langue hebraïque restituée'' by [[Fabre d'Olivet|Antoine Fabre d'Olivet]], he began a semantic and grammatical analysis of [[Biblical Hebrew]]. Whorf's early manuscripts on Hebrew and Maya have been described as exhibiting a considerable degree of [[mysticism]], as he sought to uncover esoteric meanings of glyphs and letters.<ref name="JosephBlavatsky">{{harvcoltxt|Joseph|2002}}</ref>