Religion, and State Sovereignty
Religion, and State SovereigntyThe 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 former self. This adoption
of Christianity took form and eventually became the Catholic church.
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. Another example,
is the use of the Bible as a guideline for establishing governing
systems. Scripture portrayed God as choosing the king of the people.
The pope, being God's "representative" was then given the authority to
crown the king. This crowning process gave the pope large influence in
the political arena. This ritual continued for a number of centuries.
The Crusades, which occurred around 1100 A.D., played a crucial
role in challenging the church's authority. The pope identifying the
spread of Islam as evil requested all of Europe embark on a "Crusade"
to defeat the infidels. As the battles were fought, great treasures
were found in the form of books and knowledge. These books were crude
translations of old Greek texts, containing information which would
eventually produce the waning of Church authority in the future. The
Renaissance marked the beginning of intellectual re-birth. Writers
such as Dante, Machiavelli, Guiarccidini, Vitoria, etc., all
attempting to reform and some even contest church dominance. Dante in
his imaginative work "Inferno" writes of hell which he envision is the
pope's final destination. Machiavelli takes a more direct role
classifying the actions of a prince to be above morality and
ultimately above the Church. He continues the affront...
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