Essay about The Hypocrisy of Religion

Christopher Marlowe wrote The Tragic History of the Life and Death of Dr. Faustus during the Elizabethan Era, and the original production is said to have occurred in 1592 (David M. Bevington i). Queen Elizabeth I’s reign was one of religious conflict, political turmoil, and brilliant works by artists and therefore, church and state cannot be considered separately when discussing Elizabethan England. Her majesty was not only the commander, but also the head of the church. Under her reign, every English citizen was required by law to attend liturgical services. Membership to the church was a birthright and an obligation, as inescapable as participation in the political body of the commonwealth (Collinson 74-75). To illustrate, Richard Hooker offers an excellent image for Marlowe’s society: church and state resembled the sides or the base of a triangle (Hooker 336). Now, specifically, Calvinism was rapidly becoming the accepted doctrine in Elizabethan England, and the religious elements present in Marlowe’s version of Faust are almost certainly rooted in Calvinism.

Yet, the Baron is a man of little if any virtue, not to mention the fact that he is a homosexual. Voltaire also introduces Brother Giroflee, a monk who was forced into the religious orders by his parents at the age of fifteen. He detests the monastery, wishes to set fire to his convent, and employs the services of prostitutes frequently. The religious leaders have not chosen to serve their people any more than the military soldiers have chosen to serve honor.

Voltaire attacks the corruption within the church and its officials as well.  The Grand Inquisitor, a significant clergyman, makes Cunegonde his mistress at a Mass service.  Even more ironic is that he shares her with a Jew.  It was a Franciscan priest that robbed Lady Cunegonde of her money and jewels.  The old woman identifies herself as the bastard daughter of a pope, and the papacy is also identified as keeping soldiers for private use.  When Candide is ill in France, a clergyman is one of the many that harasses him in attempt on his wealth.  Ironically, the disease that Pangloss catches from Paquette, originated from a Franciscan priest.  Voltaire portrays the church as violent and corrupt and the clergy as parsimonious fortune hunters.

Society in all cultures share a common trait: Religion. Studying religion in any society reveals many of their traits and explains the actions of the individual. For example, Jewish people live their lives according to what was written in the Talmud and the Torah. They respect the Sabbath and also eat Kosher meat. Even when looking at Huxley's A Brave New World, analyzing religion still helps us understand the actions of the societies and characters within the book.

Voltaire satirizes the clergy as consisting of pleasure-seeking, deceitful individuals masquerading as a holy priesthood. A reason for this behavior is that during this time, the clergy was the only way for younger sons to lead a respectable life. As a result, according to Friar Giroflée “jealousy, discord, and rage inhabit the monastery” and at the end of the day he “wants to smash his head against the dormitory walls and all my colleagues are in the same state” (Voltaire 74). Because many people within the clergy don’t want to be there, many of them engage in corrupt behavior. They engage in romantic relationships despite their vow to be celibate (Voltaire 24) (Voltaire 72). A member of the clergy preys preys on Candide when he is dying in Paris. The clergy member tries to convince Candide to pay a large sum of money to receive absolution for his sins (Voltaire 59-60). Requiring payment in exchange for absolution is corrupt behavior on the part of the Catholic Church.

How did Voltaire exploit the pre-modern era through mockery and criticism of 18th century society?

Voltaire does this by presenting to the reader fleeting examples of religion in a pure form but ensuring that it does not reappear. For instance in Chapter 3, the reader meets L’Anabaptiste Jacques, who shows Candide kindness and compassion that L’Orateur, who punishes Candide for ‘believing that Pope is the antichrist,’ does not. He dies in Chapter 4 and, while Pangloss and Le Baron de Thunder-ten-tronckh are miraculously resurrected, L’Anabaptiste Jacques is not. Similarly, Voltaire presents religion in its ideal form through Eldorado. During Candide’s visit there, he finds that there are no priests, and his reaction of, ‘Quoi! vous n'avez point de moines… qui disputent, qui gouvernent, qui cabalent, et qui font brûler les gens qui ne sont pas de leur avis?’ (page 42-3) is almost comical. As the sage replies that each man is a priest, implying that every person in Eldorado has an individual connection with God, the comedy in Candide’s interpretation further highlights his naivety. Here, it could be said that this is a more positive form disillusion as Candide learns of a way of religion purer than the one he has known and readily accepted. However, the fact that he abandons Eldorado in pursuit of Cunégonde, combined with the idea that he will not be able to return there demonstrates that he, or any other people on earth for that matter, does not have the spiritual strength to practice it himself. The purity of religion in Eldorado also serves as the criticism of the attitudes of the armies at war in Chapter 3; Gaillard writes, ‘La leçon se dégage toute seule de chaque chapître. Au lieu de prier la divinité qu’elle les délivre du mal… que les humains… regardent en faces les horreurs qu’ils s’infligent et qu’ils en tirent les conséquences. Hommes, délivrez-vous du mal, aidez-vous

It does him little good as he is then hung. Friars are to remain impoverished, it is ironic that this Friar so feverishly wanted over such possessions. Later on, Friar Giroflee admits he hates his profession and in addition, admits to caring only for personal wealth and gain, “It is true I have preached a few bad sermons the have brought me in a little money, of which the prior stole half, while the rest serves to maintain my girls.” (Voltaire: 68) Not only is this a confession of the money hungry church, it is also another example of promiscuity within the church, as he is using the money from his “bad” sermons to pay for prostitutes such as Paquette. Voltaire seeks to reveal the corruption in the old regime.

Voltaire also criticized the corruption found in the clergy of the Catholic Church. An old woman took care of Candide after his flogging in Lisbon and reunited him with his long lost love, Cunegonde. While on a ship, the three exchanged stories of their adventures and the troubles that they had faced. In the beginning of the old woman's story she said, "I am the daughter of Pope Urban X and the Princess of Palestrina" (42). She then talked about the magnificent palace that she grew up in and the riches that she enjoyed and how she was betrothed to a prince of Massa-Carrara. This story was mentioned in Candide because it showed the corruption of the Catholic clergy. The pope, a man who was supposed to be celibate and follow the example of Christ, instead

In his work, Eastman when talking about the behaviour of Christians he states, “The lust for money, power, and conquest so characteristic of the Anglo-Saxon race did not escape moral condemnation at the hands of his untutored judge, nor did he fail to contrast this trait with the spirit of the meek and lowly Jesus.” which contrasts the ironic aspect of Christianity (Eastman 4). Jesus was a poor man who sought to help those in need which sharply contrasts Christians who in the early modern age, drank alcohol, practiced simony, lechery, murder, and other social vices. The behaviors of Christians in a modern society have no emphasis on religion as increased secularization lead to the subordination of religion. Furthermore, even the Founding Fathers of the United States of America felt that religion has gone too far. In Thomas Paine’s Age of Reason, before his arrest and imprisonment in France, he wrote an assault on organized "revealed" religion combining a compilation of the many inconsistencies he found in the Bible. For example he states, “All national institutions of churches, whether Jewish, Christian or Turkish, appear to me no other than human inventions, set up to terrify and enslave mankind, and monopolize power and profit” which conveys the anti-clerical sentiment that arose from the Enlightenment against the corruption of the Church. The Church according

Voltaire directs this example of the Church, as it was an officer of the Inquisition who was responsible for the sentencing. The inanity of the whole situation, as well as the completely unnecessary drastic results that it had, makes the Church appear to be an authority that is unreliable to make sensible decisions, or rule over people. This irrationality is again portrayed through Pangloss and the Reverend Father. The Reverend Father bathed in front of a Musselman, unknowing “that it was a major crime for a Christian to be found naked” (105) with one, and ended up being tried for it. Pangloss was similarly tried, because he took too long to give a girl back the flowers that she had dropped. Both of these men, as a result of committing these simple wrongdoings, are beaten and forced into slavery, destined to spend the rest of their days as galley slaves. The crimes themselves were so small and nonsensical that the fact that they were punished at all, much less so harshly for them, is unjustifiable. Voltaire uses the unfairness and utter ludicrousness of the situation to challenge whether government should be trusted with the fate of its people. Voltaire accentuates traditional authority’s ignorance.

The author mentions several major incidents that served as catalyst to the uprising of activist who speak out against the aforementioned and the he challenges the church to step up and be the salt and light to the world. He highlights four biblical traits we as a church should display in the face of such circumstances.

Voltaire uses satire to effectively attack different religious leaders of his time. He brings up the fact that one priest keeps a mistress. He also brings up a friar who is a jewel thief despite his vow of poverty. Showing the hypocrisy of religion, he alludes that religious leaders are not what they always appear to be. One may also note that he never criticizes the common religious man for Voltaire

We all have some experience with religion. Whether our parents are religious, our own religious views, or others who try and convert you to a religion, we have all come in contact with a religion. But what do sociology and religion have to do with each other? The answer to this question is that religion meets sociology in the affects that it has on an individual or society (Schaefer, Richard T, 2009, pg 323).

To answer this question, we must first understand what both ethics and morality are. As ethics is defined as the philosophical study of morality, those who study religion get their moral precepts from what they believe God says should be done. This perspective is not at all unexpected, because all religions apply a perspective on morality. Morality is defined as beliefs concerning right and wrong, good and bad- beliefs that can include judgements, values, rules, principles, and theories. Morals are what help us guide our actions, define our values, and give us reason for being the person that we are.