Erasmus Influence On Religion

One of the major events that led to the secularization of west is skepticism. In the article “The Secularization of the West,” by James Hitchcock, Hitchcock mentions that religious wars and persecution has caused skepticism in religion. The quote reads as,“ The wars and persecutions which accompanied the religious divisions also had an important effect on the growth of skepticism. The spectacle of bloody violence and hatred directed by Christians at other Christians decade after decade took its toll...However, in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, religion did appear as a destructive force, and this certainly had a deep psychological effect.”(Hitchcock para 4). This quote helps tie together the real world and the fictitious world of Fahrenheit 451 as a major reason for the banning of religion was that it caused violence between groups of differing views, and the quote relates to our world as a reason for the decline in religious affiliation is because of skepticism caused by religious wars, which were waged by the greed of religious figures such as the Pope. Hitchcock later introduced another factor that influenced the spread

As time has progressed, religious scrutiny has expanded. Systems of faith are often written off as fruitless, but religion holds strong purposes. Cultures have religion to explain surroundings, unite individuals, and provide hope.

One can often identify a person's political, religious or cultural orientation by his or her reaction to certain words. A case in point is the expression "secular humanism." For religious conservatives those words sum up much of what is wrong with contemporary society.

Religion can be powerful under the right certain circumstances for social change. However it can be argued that religion can be a conservative force.

The religious movement, a break of religion all over the where the main control of the catholic church broke. The ides of marriage were altered , “by which all that is the husband's is also the wife's” to show separation from the main part of religion (Luther document 4). Where people would not just give in to the christian way , “cannot submit [their] faith either to the Pope or to the Councils... frequently erred and contradicted eachother” because of these contradictions happening between the church's ranks (Luther document 8). The monks became vile , “breaking the vows of the church by having concubines and illegitimate children” their celibacy was now non existent (Bosch document 7). Also The added religions that formed at this time , “[They] ought not, by way of custom, to speak of predestination...they become negligent in the works” which all have changed their ways of how things happen which anger other. While people break the main religion religions produce like wildfire, however the were other thing affected at this period which made life in Europe drastically different, the social and political changes. The social and

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.

Erasmus ridiculed those who thought this way, a tactic he used skillfully in order to gain more followers. He published a book named Encomium Moriae, translated as The Praise of Folly. The book was originally created to amuse Erasmus’s friend, Thomas More. The book includes a bantering tone and clearly attacks theologians of this time period. The mere thought of this book angered the priests and of course, this did not stop Erasmus from spreading his statements of ridicule across the lands of which he travelled. It did not take long for Erasmus to target Pope Julius II, nicknamed “The Fearsome Pope” and “The Warrior Pope”. Erasmus produced a skit that was created to ridicule Pope Julius II to all extents; it was named Iulias exclusus. Soon after Pope Julius II’s death, the skit spread like wild fire amongst the communities, quickly becoming the hot topic of various cities. The Roman Curia of the Holy See were very displeased with Erasmus and his actions. The Curia acted in the name of Pope Julius II, so when they learned of Erasmus’s cruel jokes, they longed for Erasmus to stop his nonsense and spend the rest of his days in remorseful piety (Manchester 126).

Before the start of the Renaissance, the Catholic Church influenced every aspect of society. The Renaissance and it’s ideals changed this. The Humanist movement opposed the Catholic Church’s involvement in the lives of the citizens. Humanists advocated for personal independence and individual expression, an idea that directly opposed the Catholic Church’s ideals. The Church believed that citizens should dedicate their lives to the service of God and by extension, the Church. The introduction of the idea that the Church does not control every aspect of society was revolutionary to Early Modern Western Civilization because it allowed people to pursue things that they had not been previously able to pursue because of the limitations the Catholic Church placed upon them. Although only the wealthy were able to dedicate all of their time to these pursuits, there were still significant advancements in art, literature, and science, all of which impacted Early Modern Western Civilization.

Although many Historians may argue that Erasmus was the biggest promoter of change during the Reformation it was actually Luther that was the biggest promoter of change during the Reformation because he was the one that found the things wrong with the church and everyone else was influenced by him. According to Document C it states eight of the 95 things Luther found wrong with the Church. The six thesis states “ The pope cannot remit any guilt, except by declaring and showing that it has been remitted by God; or to be sure, by remitting in cases reserved to his judgement...Christians are to be taught that he who gives to the poor or lends to the needy does a better deed than he who buys indulgences” This is pretty much stating that the pope

The social construction of religion should not be considered, in all, a bad idea. It does offer core values and represents in its simplest form – moral good, yet any man made thing can be corrupt. What led me to my position was where I

In the mid 1600’s, Puritan pastors began preaching a different sermon. It was based on the teachings of the biblical prophet, Jeremiah, and known as the jeremiad. An intense change in the church led to the creation of the Half-Way Covenant. It erased the segregation between the converted and non-converted members of society. Many believe this arrangement diluted the religious values of the church because it intermingled the sinners with the saved. (Cengage Learning , 2013)

Erasmus even includes himself as a subject of this whimsical criticism showing that it is meant to be constructive not harshly judgmental as it was taken by his many critics. His criticisms of wise men, Seneca, women, and pedantry all apply to himself and he jokes about them all (xvi). He knows that, in her first and most humorous voice, Folly is criticizing aspects of life that are of small significance in comparison to her later targets, and Erasmus takes no shame in admitting his participation in such minor foolishness. With Folly’s first voice, Erasmus points out the insignificant foolishness that plays into every person’s life, including his own, with

history, we find scholars who at one point or the other made allusion to this fact. Some have

Religion can be defined as a pursuit or interest to which someone ascribes supreme importance. It contains a specific fundamental set of beliefs and practices that allow its followers to live their life a certain way. The world consists of 19 major religions, which are further subdivided into 270 larger groups. According to David Barrett et al, editor of the “World Christian Encyclopedia,” there are 34,000 separate Christian groups around the world. Just from those numbers alone, we can conclude that religion has a prevalent effect on people and society. Religion is viewed as a positive influence on an individual both psychologically and physically. Throughout history we can study the various effects that religion has on society. Studies generally provide great evidence in favor of religion having a positive effect on individuals and society as a whole.

Religion was discovered back in 2000 BC and is considered to be a trait common to cultures worldwide to this day. Some use religion as a way to cope, to connect, but few could use religion as a weapon against others. Since religion began, over 195,035,000 lives have been lost in tragedies brought on in the name of faith. Regardless of the brutality religion has created, it has also caused others to come together in order to speak out. As a result of religions regression in society, humans are able to progress for the sake of defending human rights.