1000 To 1750 Christianity Analysis

The Church was the absolute most predominant foundation in medieval life, its impact invading practically every part of individuals’ lives. Its religious observances often shape to the plan; its customs checked every minute in a person 's life; and its lessons supported standard convictions about morals, the significance of life and existence. Church in Western Europe was recognized as the Roman Catholic Church went from the religion of the Roman Empire to the official religion and the most powerful institution of the Middle Ages. All of Europe had been converted to Christianity by the year 1000. Although this process was peaceful at times but other times it got downright ugly.

Feudalism, during medieval society, was parallel to the existence of the Catholic Church and its influence over the population. Religion permeated all elements of society and the way in which they related to each other. The Church wasn’t only a spiritual power, but a political and economic one and the struggles between the political and religious leaders will be key factors in the development of the medieval world. The church will also be the primary keeper of knowledge in the Middle Ages, and they will accomplish most cultural advancements.

The Christian faith has been around for hundreds of years, leading way back through many countries over many centuries, including the Medieval Period. During the 5th through 15th century of Europe, Christ had a major role in citizens’ lives. The Church’s strong influence impacted the personal and general course of people’s actions and beliefs. The Catholic Church was the only church in Europe during the Middle Ages, so it stood as a center for any faith. The extent of dominance the Church had over the public was overall an outstanding show of respect for God, he was the most honored ruler in this period, and it showed in the daily lives of medieval life.

As the tenth century rolled about, the power of the Roman Catholic Church grew steadily stronger, the church had an argument with the normal Kingdom over who should rule supreme out of the Pope or the King, the church believed that the Pope who is the voice of God on Earth should be the ruler of the world while the peasants thought that the King should, the power struggle eventually ended with the Church coming out as the dominant force in the West. The Church passed a law that stated that everyone (mostly peasants) is forced to pay 10% of their income to the Church. The church had the ability to stop any laws that they did not like or make some new laws that benefited them, they were a very powerful group that could manipulate the peasants and knights in any way they liked, in Church there were photos of people being tortured in hell, this intensified the peoples longing for heaven and therefore extended the power and influence of the church. All Christians were expected to attend the mass and, by the 13th century, were expected to take the Eucharist at least once a year.

The church in the Medieval era, however, was incredibly powerful and mostly unopposed. Salvation, to the religious, was and remains the most important aspect of faith. Religion without a fate after death is almost entirely hopeless and borders on nihilistic. The Catholic church used this incessant fear to fuel their political vendettas. This is made evident by the attempted squelching of the Reformation sparked by Martin Luther as well as the expulsion of the Moriscos, Jews, and Protestants from Spain. The church had successfully convinced an entire continent that the only true way to attain eternal life was through the doctrine of the church. This gave the Pope authority, power, and uncontested control over the Christian people, for a

Towards the end of the Middle Ages and into the duration of the Renaissance, the Medieval Church’s social and political power dwindled. Centuries prior the Catholic Church gained a surplus of control, largely due to the stability it maintained during the chaotic breakdown of the Western Roman Empire . Yet toward the end of the Middle Ages the Church set in motion factors that would ultimately lead to its downfall as the definitive figure of authority. However, despite political and social controversy surrounding the church, the institutions it established cleared a path for a new way of thinking, shaping society in an enduring way.

Since warfare and disease made life unbearable, everyone from the common serfs to the prosperous king looked to Church for direction on the key to a happy afterlife (Document 9). People paid heavy taxes/gifts and devotion to guaranteed themselves in themselves a place in the Church since their births (Document 9). This showed how they had much power over all the other classes in medieval society, especially when the Truce of God was proclaimed to control knights from committing felonies on holy days (Document 4 and

The Catholic Church influenced life in Medieval Europe to such an extent that they were the centre of most people’s daily lives. Nearly all of Europe was Roman Catholic which meant that they held a very large influence over people’s behaviours and superstitions. This ensured that they held a unique and powerful position with regard to controlling the way in which Europe was managed. The Church through the Pope ruled over all other powers in Europe. All royalty and monarchs were told what they could or could not do by the church. If they did anything that the Pope felt was against the Catholic Church, he had the power to excommunicate that person from the church. This could be any person from a labourer all the way through to Lords and Kings.

In Medieval Europe, the church played a critical role in shaping government and society. Most of the contemporary leaders were drawn from the church and contributed in championing the ideals of the church, leading to the papacy (Cook 33). During the papacy, the Pope of the Catholic Church assumed the position of the world leader, administering over the church flock and the non-Christian subjects. However, before the church rose to this eminent posit, its relationship with the government was tumultuous. Often, the people who professed the Christian faith were publicly persecuted. The ancient societies viewed the church with suspicion and suspected the church leaders incitement and sedition (Rublack 37). Based on the events leading to the crucifixion of Jesus Christ and the emotions the event evoked, the Roman rulers were wary of another public incident that may sway the loyalty of the subjects. The history of the church and the Eastern and Western factions of Rome shaped modern day Europe political landscape. The interaction between the Empire and the Papacy in Medieval Europe shaped modern day governments by influencing the rise to power or decline of some.

People in the middle ages were very religious. People believed that Roman Catholic Church represent God. The church had a big influence on the content spread in the Middle Ages, and they were content with religious or moralistic. The only religion recognized in Middle Ages Europe was Christianity and specifically Catholicism. Christianity in the middle ages dominated the lives. The life of the medieval people was dominated entirely by the church and many religious institutions gained power and wealth. It was single the larges institution in west of Europe. It touched everyone’s life no matter what rank in social class they lived in. Everyone in western Europe was Rome Catholic Christian at that time. From the reaches king all the way down.

Christianity is one of the oldest religions. It began in Roman Palestine when Judaism was the political religion of the Roman State. The first major event of Christianity was the birth of it all, the birth of Jesus. During Jesus’s time, Judaism was characterize by strict monotheism. So, when a man comes forth claiming He is the God and essentially the son of God, the Christian movement first began. He was inevitably crucified due to treasons of claiming He was God. However, He had twelve disciples that followed Him. After Jesus’s death, they scattered about and taught the word of God. This lead to the growth of Jesus followers, who were soon called Christians.

When Christianity was first developed, it was thought of as a radical cult targeting Rome. These thoughts came from the higher powers of the Roman civilization, yet as time progressed the leaders started assimilating the religion into society. The view of the Christians began to change as the religion began to spread its ideals throughout the lower class. The morals of Christianity gave the lower class comfort, for they did not have the same luxuries as the upper class did. Especially for women, it gave them a voice in a society that suppresses them. Although the first stages of Christianity were used to scapegoat the problems of Rome, soon it appealed to more Romans and later integrated as a part of the Roman society.

Throughout history, Christianity always had a reputation, or a “name” following it. Different perspectives approached the reputation that was attached to Christianity in different manners. Justin Martyr and Porphyry had objectives when defining whether this “name” really defined Christianity and the past. They wondered whether the past really represented Christianity. Additionally they honed in on the question of was the past that people represented as Christianity really the roots of Christianity? All around Porphyry and Justin was perceptions of what Christianity rooted from and stood for.

People faced the rise and the fall of the Catholic Church during the medieval time. The Popes used to hold the final authority for the church and over the state. Pope Gregory VII asserted the Pope had granted the divine power from God because Saint Peter was the first of getting this

The Catholic Church as we know it is much different than that of the past. Love, acceptance, forgiveness, giving, and tradition are all things that come to mind when the words Catholic Church are heard. If one were to ask those living in the 1400-1800s what comes to mind when thinking about the Catholic Church, their answer would have been very different. With the exception of a few countries, there is a separation of the church and state in todays’ government. In our current state of government, the church has no say in the justice system or decisions made by the government. There is no priest or king who rules over the country or attends government meetings. In early Europe, this was not the case. The Catholic Church had great influence on the government. The church actually was the government in some countries who operated under a theocratic ruling. With God being the ultimate ruler, the Priest or King was the next in power. The royals are supposedly Gods chosen ones. They are the closest to him and everyone else is below them. The church had power over the military, who had access to education, individuals’ socioeconomic class, the laws, and almost anything else one could think of.1 The ultimate goal of the church was to convert anyone who was not Christian into a Christian as a way of gaining power. The inquisition ordered conquistadores to find and conquer lands which could be used to cultivate Spanish wealth and spread Catholicism.2 In this sense, the church’s power