The Influence Of Religion In Medieval Politics

religious leaders played a very influential role in the direction of politics. This was also a

In the High Middle ages (after 1000 A.D) and beyond there were major political, economic and intellectual changes that happed across Europe. The changes helped bring about new eras to the European landscape. As Europe was brought into these new eras, it thus brought upon the end of the Dark Ages.

If the plague were to happen today in the United states, it would impact us like how it impacted the middle ages, by religion. First our religion would survive, and like medieval time we would believe we were punished by god. We would all stay in our own religions and trust that our god would keep us safe. This is what many believed in the middle ages. We would haft to get back to work and maybe even work harder to keep everything in progress. We would continue to build lives and make new families. We would use a lot of ideas the europeans used during their plague.

Power Struggles in the High Middle Ages Throughout most of history, knights and nobles held most of the political power. Once the High Middle Ages began, that power shifted into the hands of popes and kings. This struggle went on for a very long time. Popes believed to have the power because they believed they were chosen by God to rule over the people.

The base of civilization is religion; without it, no civilization could advance as much unless they had something to believe in and strive for. From 1000-1500 B.C., civilizations were flowering. They had strong religions, a flourishing economy, a variety of government forms, and a variety of social systems. Civilizations such as the Islamic Empire and the Medieval Empire were becoming stronger and fought against each other in the Crusades. While that was happening, the Vikings were raiding the medieval empire in hopes of becoming alike their war-like gods. Religion was a positive force in developing civilizations because it created stronger governments, closer communities, and new advancements that assisted economically.

There is irrefutable evidence that over the period of the Middle Ages, both Christianity and Islam have been anchors in both shaping and influencing governance of kingdoms and empires comprising Western Europe, the Byzantine Empire, and territories ruled by Islam. Religion during this period was widely used to set laws, influence culture, justify armed conflicts, and pronounce punishment on citizens domiciled within the geographies depicted within this essay. I will attempt to illuminate the geopolitical climate, territorial demarcation, and religious influences that depicted life circa 500 – 1517 CE. From the background material submitted, I will directly answer the following questions:

Throughout the Middle Ages, the relationship between the Church and the State was an unpredictable one in which each were was either supporting

Religion was extremely important in regard to the shaping and history of the Middle Ages in Europe. The Catholic Church, which began during the glory days of the Roman Empire, became the driving force through the Middle Ages in Europe, managing to formulate a unified religious ruling body, a deep spirituality, and oversaw cultural preservation that helped shape the history of Europe during this period. The Church managed to integrate herself into medieval society, where she could become part of the everyday life of the people. She did this through a structured hierarchy, with the Pope, or the Bishop of Rome, as her head, and other bishops were given dioceses around the world, and under each bishop were priests who would minister to the people. This structured hierarchy came about with the collapse of the Roman Empire.

The Middle Ages can be best described as the Age of Feudalism and the Age of Faith because they both played major roles during this time period.

Religion experienced a lot of progress and transformation throughout the Middle Ages. Christianity held consistent popularity and other religions such as Islam were on the rise in participation. After the fall of Rome, there was no unified state or government in Europe and the Catholic Church used that opportunity to become a large powerhouse. The Roman Empire had effectively split into three different worlds: Muslim, Byzantine, and western European. Various Kings, Queens, and other leaders looked to the Catholic church for power and protection in exchange for alliances. Meanwhile, the Islamic religion was growing in wealth, power, and people. With the prophet Muhammad’s death in 632, Muslim groups took under large parts of land and united them under a single caliph. The Byzantines were still operating from Constantinople, just under a smaller rule and rural life assumed greater importance in the backbone of their society. Religion was largely involved in the Middle Ages’ art and architecture. Massive Cathedrals were built and even books were a work of art before the invention of the printing press. In addition, their economy was directly affected by religious activity such as missions and conquests. Overall, the general trends marking the progress religion in the Middle Ages are inclusion of everyone, a building of a community, and the opportunity of becoming equals with other practitioners.

The ultimate goal of religious life in medieval times was eternal life with Jesus Christ. Every part of life was carried out for the glory of God and done in the hopes of the second coming of Jesus. The monks aimed to establish a school solely in service of the Lord. The objective of living the religious life was to listen to the voice of God and function in obedience to Christ. The monks vowed to always seek peace and walk in the paths of Jesus through promoting justice, finding truth, and practicing patience. Clergy in the medieval times as well as in modern day seek to constantly exercise devotion to God through their daily lives.

The prospects of religion were heavily influenced within the cultural exchange of different societies. As a result of the exchange, many aspects of media were influenced by religion throughout both history, as well as present day society.

During the period in Europe commonly known as The Middle Ages, economic reforms took place, as well as social, political, and religious changes. One common theme throughout The Middle Ages was the relationship between the Church and the State. The Catholic church during this era held a prominent role in society, and it had an abundant amount of power and authority. The Catholic Church exercised its authority in many different stages, and the people responded to the way that the Church exercised her power. Bernard Guenee in The Lives of Four French Prelates In the Late Middle Ages reflects on this controversy between church and state power throughout the Middle Ages by focusing on the lives of four distinguished French church authorities: Bernard Gui (1261-1331), Gilles Le Muisit (1272-1353), Pierre D 'Ailly (1351-1420), and Thomas Basin (1412-1490), all of whom rose from modest circumstances to the dignity of office. Guenee argues that the ambition these men displayed may be considered honorable to some, but he sees their advancement in the Church and their participation in the state as counteractive. He fails to distinguish between the good and immoral sides of ambition as a virtue and claims the cause of the separation between the church and the state comes down to an inevitable fight for the acquisition of higher power. His position only deals with the practicalities of the situation, and is

In this course, I found the connection between religion and politics the most important concept we’ve studied. With engagement and understanding of politics becoming increasingly important, it’s valuable to study the ways people both interact with politics and form their political opinions—and as we’ve seen, religion can play a huge role in both of these aspects. However, the way religious groups engage with politics can perhaps be generalizing when discussing major religions, seeing as these groups are often widely diverse and brimming with unique experiences. Therefore, I believe it is just as important to discuss the political dimension of religion with the social influences of ethnicity, gender, sexuality, and the interrelations between them.

There is irrefutable evidence that over the period of the Middle Ages, both Christianity and Islam have been anchors in both shaping and influencing governance of kingdoms and empires comprising Western Europe, the Byzantine Empire, and territories ruled by Islam. Religion during this period was widely used to set laws, influence culture, justify armed conflicts, and pronounce punishment on citizens domiciled within the geographies depicted within this essay. I will attempt to illuminate the geopolitical climate, territorial demarcation, and religious influences that depicted life circa 500 – 1517 CE. From the background material submitted, I will directly answer the following questions: