Religion in 1500 to Present, Coursework Example

Religion has always been a contentious topic, and in more modern times the concepts of religion have constantly been under attack as the times are changing. Zagorin himself wrote of all the religions, the Christian religion is the most intolerant. (Zagorin, pg. 1, 2003) Locke also argued these sentiments in, A Letter Concerning Toleration, in which Christianity was being intolerant of other religion, and the government should not be involved in spiritual salvation. (Locke 1689) The movement of Christianity was marked by violence, in which Locke condemned the violence, instead voicing that in order to gain converts to the Church, it must do so through persuasion because of individuals are in control, not through coercion. (Locke 1689) In 1500 during Europe, there were several movements for people to practice religion, and also to separate religion from politics. Religion during the 1500s were wrought with many movements to secularize religion. Religion during the 16^th century played a major role in development of European economies at that time. Some of the most prominent religions at that time was Protestant and Catholics that was the majority throughout Europe. It was due to the Reformation that Protestants begin to take over predominantly Catholic countries.

In 1500, the role of religion was rapidly changing since 1300 in the Catholic Church the Protestant Reformation was building, and at the forefront was a discrepancy between the spiritual mission of the Catholic Church, and the monetary power and influence of the Catholic Church. In the 16^th century, the Papacy was becoming inadequate in their response to their followers concerns over their salvation. There was an impending demand for reform in the church that was spurred by the freedom to practice their religion. This expression was coupled by the northern humanist interest in early Christianity and the Bible, and the print revolution.  Leaders of the church were no longer influence by religious moral authority but instead by the conquest of their rulers that wanted to conquer the land through mercantilist politics. (Kaplan, pg. 334, 2009) Due to the decline of the papacy’s moral authority, many Christians were following into the Modern Devotion, a new form of worship that emphasized introspection and individual prayer.  Christian Humanists were searching for the lost knowledge of the ancients, to examine the sources of Christianity, to improve on the moral behavior of the religion. Martin Luther spearheaded the Protestant movement as they began to reject the secular church policy. Many followers, especially those in Germany flocked to the messages of Martin Luther who rejected the Pope as the head of the Christian Church. Luther and other followers of the time wanted to instill a message that Christianity was not motivated by political means, but social and religious message that God gives up the gift of salvation without the need to create or maintain a Christian nation. The messages were written in, The Address to the German Nobility, where he attacked the Papacy, and authority in which the Pope was the final interpreter of the Scripture. (Luther, 1520) Luther was calling for a drastic reform of the church, in his The Babylonian Captivity of the Church, he attacked the sacramental system of the church by means of the ecclesiastical hierarchy that gained authority of all Christians.  In order to address the issues within the church, Luther wrote an open letter to the Pope, The Freedom of a Christian, where he addressed the Pope, not as an authoritative figure but as an equal. The changing character within the 16^th and 17^th century was largely due to Luther’s open letter in which he addressed that since the followers of God were fully forgiven, they should not be compelled to keep God’s law, and they have the freedom in which to serve their neighbors and God. (Luther 1520)

Over the course of history, religious tolerance has improved. With the tireless wars being fought, and still being fought. Many people have grown tired of violence and death that has encompasses their countries. With the change to free thinking and other movements that focused on science and exploring other facts of life, many people became uncertain of their beliefs. This doubt in a sense left the door open to tolerate other people’s beliefs, which included religious freedom. Agonistic and other forms of religion became more main stream, many in 1800 Europe were still rejecting the notion of atheism and rationalism.  The Enlightenment period help to create a movement where there was no higher deism that presided over everyone. The French Revolution brought a revulsion over the theology.  More and more religious leaders were accepting the ideas of reasoning combined with the belief in rationality to answer life’s questions. The Romantic period which took over in Europe, focused on emotional freedom, where many wanted to be free of political and religious rule. However the most prevalent religion in 19^th century was the continued rise of Protestant societies as the Catholic societies declined

Presently, religion is divided into several sects; however the majority of Europe is still Christians with Protestant being the largest denomination. The development of Protestant was largely backed by several elite members of the government and intertwine the philosophies with the move to capitalism. While Catholics and Protestants disagreed, they didn’t want people from to turn away from the Christian religion and fall into other movements that were taking place. By pledging loyalty to the church, that meant more attendance and patronage to fund their principles. The trend however, has been more secularized, as church attendance has declined dramatically in Europe, and most important issues that follow religious tradition has waned as well. Many have followed the views that religion as divided several people, and many have turned to still believing in God but have built a tolerance for those that have other beliefs. It was during the 18th century that made Voltaire claim that, Christianity out of all religions is the one that should instill the greatest toleration, but has been the most intolerant of man. (Zagorin, pg. 3, 2003) The periods of the 1600 to the late 1700s were marked by religious warfare, popular violence, and persecution. (Kaplan, pg. 336, 2009) During the 18^th century, the divergence of the decline in war was seen as the differentiation within the different communities, social groups, and countries were starting to embrace tolerance or not.  It was through the failures and exhaustion of war that many were influence to find a mutual tolerance. By 1800, followed by centuries of war and religious dissension throughout Europe, a balance of power was sustained in which the Catholic Church was reorganized and reformed, and Protestant was established including, Anglican, Calvinist, and Lutheran denominations. Religious intolerance was still dominant as the Protestant sects broke off into several other sects such as Quakers, Puritans, Congregationalists, Methodist, Baptists, Presbyterians, and so on. The problem lie in the Protestant wanting to overtake the Catholic Church based on their interpretation of the Bible, throwing out the Catholic traditional sacraments, rituals, and hierarchy where there was no justification. Protestants believed that the Catholic Church was not true to Jesus Christ, and to the real messages of the Bible.

Here is what made the changes happen. Religious intolerance eventually waned with the Reformation sparking a Quaker movement with those that escape to find the six English Colonies in North America.  More importantly the rise in religious tolerance and separation of church and state was sparked by wars convincing Christians it was to time to live in peace. Christians had failed to establish a Christian nation learned they could not convert by force. (Kaplan, pg. 336, 2009) The Industrial Revolution helped bring a change as many were moving towards the Enlightenment period. The philosophies of the Enlightenment Period followed three main individual ideas that included human reasons and laws of nature, religion morality that gave a new understanding between the relationship of humans and God. The Enlightenment Period brought on new political, moral, and truth ideas where persecuting those that believed in different beliefs were wrong, and the government involvement shouldn’t hurt the Church, but instead work as a separate entity. The movement spurred a dissension in which Christianity was not the true religion, and humans could rely on reasons to guide them. In class, there are the hypothesis that five factors had to take place for the change in religious character had to happen.  There are few factors that I feel wouldn’t have changed anything. Christianity being a different religion, than another religion that divided people would have taken its’ place. For instance in Asia, Buddhism and Islam still waged wars because many leaders persecuted non-believers. Religious intolerance doesn’t just apply to Christianity, in the past if people didn’t believe in the central religion, they were cast out. On the second factor, eventually there would be a break in the Catholic Church. Too many changes were taking place that allowed people to open up their minds to other possibilities.  It didn’t matter who was the clear winner there would always be dissenters that looked for something else to fulfill their morality. By itself, the fourth factor on moral arguments would spur a change. When there are enough people to voice their disapproval and start making sense, others will soon follow. People that already were fed up with their leaders were looking for other people likeminded people. Secularism help for people to want to leave in peace, without religious rule dictating their lives.  While most were content, many influential leaders, such as Voltaire, Frederich Hegel, William Wordsworth, and others were speaking out, and people were listening. The amount of influential writers, philosophers, and other free thinkers were helping people become more tolerant and question the validity of their beliefs. If it wasn’t for this change, those that questioned authority would be persecuted. Many wanted to move on from mistakes like these that waged long wars and kill millions of families. People instead moved towards issues of political freedom, while allowing for religious freedom.

After the French Revolution, an age of Reform was established as many of the British colonies abolished slavery, and the French established a Freedom of the Press.  Due to the Age of Enlightenment, the movement for freedom of religion, and Agnosticism, and Atheism was becoming popular in Western Europe. Christianity was still the dominant religion in Europe during the 19^th century, but many were breaking away from the church. The Enlightenment Period opened up a path for free thinking, and freedom of religion for others sects to openly practice. The American Revolution was an important contribution to secular separation where North America was bent on establishing a separation of church and state. According to Zagorin, the development of religious tolerance was marked by the secular movements that was wrought with war that marked a steady growth in the Western societies. The marked expanded the recognition of toleration of religions and all human beings. (Zagorin, pg. 299, 2003)  Through a gradual process of religious institutions and the law, the freedom of religion movement was revolutionized throughout Europe and to the Americas.

Through people’s grassroots efforts were people vying for tolerance to practice their own religion. The consensus of most the fled countries for persecution, and from the movements of the American and French Revolution, was that although many differed in their beliefs, they should and must find ways in which they can co-exist. Martin Luther, as well as John Locke touched on these sentiments during their time to fight for a religious tolerance throughout Europe, as people were resorting to violence instead of searching for ways in which they can practice freedom of religion without the fear of the government involvement.

References

Kaplan, Benjamin J. (2009). Divided by Faith: Religious Conflict and the Practice of Toleration in Early Modern Europe. Harvard University Press. Boston.

Locke, John. (1689). A Letter Concerning Toleration. Constitution Society. Retrieved from http://www.constitution.org/jl/tolerati.htm

Luther, Martin. (1520). On The Freedom of a Christian. Lutheran’s Online. Retrieved from https://www.lutheransonline.com/lo/894/FSLO-1328308894-111894.pdf

Zagorin, Perez. (2003). How the idea of religious toleration came to the west. Princeton University Press.