Religion 2
The influence of religion on humankind can be traced back to the first records of history. Religion has served as a pillar of strength to some and binding chains to others. There are vast amounts of information and anthropological studies revealing the interaction of religion and humankind. However, for the purposes of this paper, the time periods of study will be broken up into three sections. Each section will give a general description of how religion affected the institution of the state and its Sovereignty in a Euro-centric perspective. The first period is the early period, which will encompass from Christianity and the Roman Empire to the Medieval times (approx. 311 to 1100 A.D.). The second period will include the Renaissance, the Reformation to the Treaty of Westphalia (1101 to 1648 A.D.). The third and increment of history will range from 1649 to 1945 A.D. The date 311 A.D. marks the issuing of the "Edict of Toleration" for Christians. This date is important because it symbolizes "national" acceptance of Christianity, and planted its roots as a political institution. Later the Roman Empire on the verge of internal collapse acknowledged the importance of Christianity and used it to hold together the remnants of it form
The evolution of the state and its sovereignty is clear. The Church once being a dominant political factor has been reduced to a mere whisper of advice. The influence of religion in instituting or in the elective process of choosing a representative ruler has been severely minimized. Sovereignty and the institution of the State has surpassed predestination and Divine Right of Kings. The church became intermingled with politics and became a strong entity. The policies delivered from the church had more authority than the local rulers and magistrates of the developing feudal system. For example, St. Augustine wrote about war and what justified its enactment against fellow men. This policy was followed and adhered to for hundreds of years after St. Augustine wrote it. The third period in history starts with the age of reason. Its intellectual basis of the time period is science and natural law. Empiricism plays a fundamental role in church legitimacy. Factual concrete proof of God and his work is not provided by science. States begin to mature politically as colonial powers. The Church or rather the concept of religion is still strong but begins a transformation during the Enlightenment. From Religion ideas of morality and natural law arise. The French and American Revolutions harnessed the ideas which the enlightenment wrote and discussed. The French Revolution exemplified the early stages of nationalism. Nationalism derives from a grouping of people who share common cultural and social experiences. >From nationalism the concept of self-determination is derived. Phrases like," We the People. . ." began to show up in constitutions and declarations, which showed consensus among people with like-minded purposes.
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Approximate Word count = 1306
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)
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