Ernest Holmes (1887-1960) is the founder of Religious Science and the author of many books about spiritual principles and practice. The youngest of nine sons born on a small farm near Lincoln, Maine, he was mainly self-educated, leaving school at the age of 15 to support himself. His unquenchable thirst for Truth led him to the works of Ralph Waldo Emerson, Phineas Quimby, Emma Curtis Hopkins, and Thomas Troward, as well as to the Bible and the sacred texts of other world religions. He sought to discover the thread of Truth woven through all of the great spiritual disciplines of the ages.

After finding success as a public speaker on metaphysics in California, Holmes was inspired to synthesize his ideas into a textbook for other seekers on the path. The Science of Mind (1926) was his masterpiece. The book spoke to the hearts and minds of so many people that Holmes found it necessary to incorporate the Institute of Religious Science and School of Philosophy in 1927. At this time he also launched Science of Mind Magazine, a monthly publication that has brought spiritual teaching to the world ever since. His organization eventually evolved into the Church of Religious Science in 1953 and the United Church of Religious Science in 1967.

Ernest Holmes hosted popular programs on both radio and television called "This Thing Called Life". He would begin each broadcast with this statement: "There is a power for good in the Universe, and you can use it." This was the essence of his belief.

Ernest Holmes legacy lives on to this day; his teachings and writings have impacted millions of people as they travel their spiritual paths.