ABSTRACT
In two of the earliest extant letters of Burns, both to his friend William Niven, a clue is given to an underlying attitude that from time to time surfaces in Burns's writing on the subject of religion. Burns was introduced to religion in the most natural way possible, through the influence of his parents. William Burnes is obviously the model from which the somewhat idealized portrait of a father leading family worship in 'The Cotter's Saturday Night' is drawn. Religion was a natural part of his early education as we can see from some of the books that William Burnes provided for him to read. Burns gives his own account of some of this early reading on the subject of religion in his letter to Dr Moore. By the end of 1784 Burns was becoming articulate about the things that concerned him both in the belief and the practice of Christians.
