How did Darwin’s theory of evolution contrast with the beliefs of many Christians in the early 1800s?

Darwin's theory was hotly debated in the news of the time. A lot of people believed he was blasphemous. Why? Darwinism says that humans are the close relatives of monkeys. This contrasts with the Christian view that every creature was made by God in their final form, as we see them today. As a result, Darwin was even drawn in newspapers as half-man half-monkey in order to insult him, but it merely shows the fervour of Christianity and its prominence in society at the time.