I am interested in exploring what Shakespeare's relgious beliefs were.
Some have suggested he was a humanist while others suggest he might
have secretly been a Catholic. What moral values do you see him
standing for?  On what passages do you base your opinion? Based on the
values expressed in his work what might we conclude about his faith?
Are there other references to the way he might view God or the divine
that indicate what relgious beliefs he held. Certainly several of his
plays are about forgiveness what do you make of that? What other clues
can you find in his work that might illuminiate his relgious values or
beliefs?

You'll find some useful resources here:

http://www.bc.edu/bc_org/avp/cas/relarts/shakespeare/shakespeare.html

TR324 --

The topic is well-covered in Stephen Greenblatt's book, "Will in the
World."  It's represents the state of current knowledge of Shakespeare
and, of course, is well footnoted.  Greenblatt leans to the view that
the family was indeed secretly Catholic and that Will's "mystery"
years after marrying were related to it.  The book's a good read, by
the way.

?Will in the World ? How Shakespeare Became Shakespeare,? Stephen
Greenblatt, W.W. Norton, 2004
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0393050572/qid=1127501794/sr=8-1/ref=pd_bbs_1/104-5610755-2383953?v=glance&s=books&n=507846

Best regards,

Omnivorous-GA

Since we do not know much about the personal life of William
Shakespeare, we cannot say for sure what religion he practiced in
private. We do know that he was born under the rule of Elizabeth I,
who was Protestant and outlawed Catholicism.

Shakespeare's public faith, therefore, would have been Protestant.
Besides, his revenue was completely dependant on the favor of the
royalty, so he would not 'protest too much' even if he was catholic.

His parents, however, were likely Catholic. Some say that his epilogue
in The Tempest has religious catholic tones, while others believe it
is simply and summation and explaination to the audience.