The Importance Of Christianity In The Medieval Church

Christianity is one of the biggest religions that is still currently practiced today in society. However in the Middle Ages, it was perhaps the biggest religion in the world. So much so that they would go on crusades to either kill their enemies or converting them into Christianity. Ironically, it has been stated that Christians should love and respect everybody, including their enemies. Nonetheless, there has been works that portray Christians as battle-ready warriors and there are other works that tries to explain the understanding and purpose to Christianity. As such, depending on the books and/or poems, there can be many perspectives of Christianity. Even within 500 years from the Early Middle Ages to the Late Middle Ages, the viewpoints

Religion was far more important in almost every aspect of Medieval life than it is in most modern societies. The majority of people in Europe followed the Christian religion under authorizing of the Roman Catholic Church. The Church in the Medieval Era possessed great wealth, political power and influence over art, architecture, community life and education. It's religious acknowledgments gave shape to the calendar and its spiritual rituals marked important moments in an individual's life (such as baptism, acceptance, marriage, forgiveness, holy orders and the last rites). Its teachings depend upon dominant beliefs about ethics, the meaning of life, and the afterlife and Churches where ultimately the only connection that the peasants and nobles shared.

The one thing that almost everyone in medieval times had in common was their religion. “The church was a stable force during an era of constant warfare and political turmoil. It provided Christians with a sense of security and of belonging to a religious community.” (Beck 370) Regardless of whether they were a king or a peasant they were united under the same faith. It unified the people and served as a cultural center. People would frequently celebrate sacraments in elaborate celebrations that would bring together the people. The sacrament of baptism is the official ceremony where one is made an official member of the Church. ("Seven Sacraments") At this point, one became a part of a very large and very prominent community that has a very large impact on their life. Under the feudal system, the people were greatly divided. Rule was localized and the people lived vastly different lives based on social status. Religion was one aspect of their life that was the same. Everyone would follow the same path to salvation. For many people, following the Church was on the center stage of their life. Since a large amount of the population had the same priorities, they became united under the Church. People would often worship together at a church. It was able to bring the people together even in a time of great social divisions.The Roman Catholic Church was perhaps the biggest unifying force in all of Medieval

In the Medieval times, the Roman Catholic Church played a great role in the development of England and had much more power than the Church of today does. In Medieval England, the Roman Catholic Church dominated everyday life and controlled everyone whether it is knights, peasants or kings. The Church was one of the most influential institutions in all of Medieval England and played a large role in education and religion. The Church's power was so great that they could order and control knights and sends them to battle whenever they wished to. The Church also had the power to influence the decision of Kings and could stop or pass laws which benefited them in the long run, adding to this, the Church had most of the wealth in Europe as the

The above statement can perhaps best sum up the relationship between Christianity and Europe throughout the ages. Christianity has been the strongest single influence in the history of Europe. Regardless of the century, no discussion would be complete without reference being made, at least in small part, to the Church. It is true that in recent centuries this influence has declined significantly, but nevertheless one could argue that it still plays an important part in the lives of many people. Throughout history Christianity has been both a unifying force and also a force for disunity.

Initially, the people of medieval Western Europe obeyed the church without question, including rulers during the time, who often times actually had less power than the Roman Catholic church. During these times, “Any blow suffered by the church was a direct blow to [a man’s] own morale.”12 As the plague tightened its grasp on the aspects of life, people began to question the church in large. People felt as though the church, best equipped to be in touch with God, had given no warning, and when it was too late pointed out the people's mistakes.13 Additionally, priests, who some would expect to be spared from the plague, were just as touched, if not in more danger when still administering the Last Rites. It was commented that, “The best of the clergy died, the worst survived.”14 Accordingly, those who cared for themselves lived longer during the plague than others who attempted to care for others. “... Parishes remained altogether unserved and beneficed Parsons had turned away from the care of their benefices for fear of death.”15 The priests that did survive were increasingly failing to fulfill their duties, and instead seeking better paid conditions.16 “Paid clerics would serve only if they were paid excessive salaries… priests hurried off to… where they could get more money than in their own benefices…”17 Perhaps in accordance to this, primarily the wealthy retained complete faith in the Roman Catholic Church, while others in Western Europe began searching for alternative gods and new sources of comfort.18 During that search there was a surge of religious fervor comparable to that shown later during the Age of Exploration. By the end of the Black Death, the majority of medieval people of Western Europe were no longer blinded by the supposed immortality of the Roman Catholic Church. Those that saw

From being a persecuted religion, Christianity rose up to be an official religion of Rome with the support of the Emperor Constantine and Theodosius I in the fourth century. By the early Middle Ages, the Church had become extremely powerful and was one of the two dominant forces that controlled the entire Europe, with the other being the State. Although the popes and the kings were ought to be supportive of each other, there usually existed between them a constant struggle for ultimate authority over the kingdoms. More than often, these conflicts created tension between the State and the Church eventually resulted in the people's sufferings.

Kevin Shannon Due: 1-16-2015 H Brit Lit A Block Canterbury Tales Rough Draft By the times of the Canterbury Tales, the Catholic Church, which governed nearly the entire continent of Europe, was excessively wealthy. Incredibly expensive cathedrals were built around the shrines of saints, and the amount of gold and reliquaries that went into building the cathedrals exceeded the budget of any other organization.

Myth # 3: Crusaders Were a Cynical Lot Who Did Not Really Believer Their Own Religious Propaganda; Rather They Had Ulterior, Materialistic Motives.

In the Middle Ages, the Christian religion with theology took the control across the land with rationality and science being in the position like servant girls.

. . [was] often confusing".6 The Church was fully capable of using obscure rituals and ceremonies in the everyday practice of their religion, but for a peasant to use such "magic," however, it could be considered heresy. As Europe progressed through the Enlightenment, the Roman Catholic Church’s role as a mediator between the common populace and the supernatural became highly disputed.7 Protestantism had ultimately weakened the clergy by making religious controversy familiar to the common tides of Europe.8 The Church was seen as a bastion of religious intolerance and intellectual backwardness because the clergy simply refused to let go of their out-dated ideals in order to embrace scientific reasoning.

All through the Middle Ages, religion was a solid, inescapable power in the public arena. Most people were more worried about God and the likelihood of existence in the wake of death than they were with current human issues, says Encylopedia Britannica. When the Renaissance happened, this social mentality was starting to change. Religion was as yet honed, yet individuals started to be more centered around mainstream or humanist esteems, instead of most profound sense of being, right now.

Religion was far more important in almost every area of medieval life than it is in most modern societies. The vast majority of people in Europe followed the Christian religion under the authority of the Roman Catholic Church. The church in that era had great wealth, political power and influence over community life, art, architecture and education. With such influence over the beliefs of the people, the church also wielded tremendous political power. The other two religions were Judaism, and Islam.

Bertrand Russell once said, “Fear is the basis of the whole- fear of the mysterious, fear of defeat, fear of death. Fear is the parent of cruelty, and therefore it is no wonder if cruelty and religion have gone hand-in-hand” (“The Horrors of The Church and its Holy Inquisition” 10). The Middle Ages lasted from A.D. 500 to A.D. 1500, the time after the fall of the Roman Empire. This period was properly deemed the “Dark Ages” for its disgustingly unsanitary streets, abundance of illnesses, and, most significantly, its extensive use of torture. People turned to religion and remained strong in their faith to survive and remain safe during these tough times. Little did they know, religion itself was just as corrupt as the Middle Ages overall. Perhaps

The single most important aspect of European empires, beginning just prior to the fall of Rome, is the spread of Christianity to all areas of the continent in as little as a few hundred years. Many theologians state that Christianities spread is the indirect influence of God and the adoration of people to one true faith. Though it is true that Christianity has brought about people that even atheists could call saints, it is unquestionable that Christianity was so monumental because it united larger groups of people and its spread is contributed to adherence to local customs and its lack of new ideas in comparison to other religions of the day.