Religion's Removal of Secular Desires in Thomas More's Utopi
Sir Thomas More's essay entitled Utopia presents an interesting outlook upon what a working utopia would be like. The whole concept of a perfect place to live is, of course, desirable to every human-being; however, going about creating this "paradise" is a whole other story. More presents the idea that a utopia is, in fact, attainable, but not without some sacrifices. A major casualty to this type of living is one's ability to do what he or she wants. More specifically, this involves removing one's want to engage in secular pleasures, and, in this case, these wants are removed by religion's mandatory role in the society. More presents a rather interesting approach to religion within a utopian society by making it account for more of a secular purpose rather than a purely providential one. More's accounts of the various religions are quite insightful and also provide a unique approach: everyone may believe in his or her own religion provided that he or she believes in the supreme God. Any form of atheism is not tolerated whether there is a belief in an afterlife or not. The utopians believe that any man who lacks a god or a belief in an afterlife has no reason
The true intent of the religious practices in utopia is merely meant to curb a citizen's desire to commit acts of secular pleasure rather than teach a citizen how to get to Heaven. This act of religious persecution seems to be a rather undesirable part of More's utopian society. In something that is supposed to be so perfect, it seems, rather, to be a form of religious fascism. Whenever a society tries to control something that is supposed to be an intimate relationship and personal choice such as religion, there should be a desire to revolt among its citizens. Of course, complete control is what makes utopia a perfect place to live, but complete control is something that can never be perfected and should never be desired. to abide by the laws of society and therefore is a detriment to society (75). These men are not to be trusted and cannot hold any form of public office (75). Thus lies the root of utopia's demand to instill religion for its worldly purposes. Simply put, if you cannot practice a "true" religion, even if it is your own religion, then you cannot be an upstanding part of the community. This concept is obviously flawed in its inability to acc
Some common words found in the essay are:
Thomas More's, one's sins, wrong attitudes, confessing one's sins, own religion, complete control, confessing one's, perfect live, utopian society, belief afterlife,
Approximate Word count = 786
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)
|
