Religion, The State And Sovereignty Essay, Research Paper

The influence of religion on humankind can be traced back to the

first records of history. Religion has served as a pillar of strength

to some and binding chains to others. There are vast amounts of

information and anthropological studies revealing the interaction of

religion and humankind. However, for the purposes of this paper, the

time periods of study will be broken up into three sections. Each

section will give a general description of how religion affected the

institution of the state and its Sovereignty in a Euro-centric

perspective. The first period is the early period, which will encompass

from Christianity and the Roman Empire to the Medieval times (approx.

311 to 1100 A.D.). The second period will include the Renaissance, the

Reformation to the Treaty of Westphalia (1101 to 1648 A.D.). The third

and increment of history will range from 1649 to 1945 A.D.

The date 311 A.D. marks the issuing of the "Edict of Toleration"

for Christians. This date is important because it symbolizes "national"

acceptance of Christianity, and planted its roots as a political

institution. Later the Roman Empire on the verge of internal collapse

acknowledged the importance of Christianity and used it to hold

together the remnants of it former self. This adoption of Christianity

took form and eventually became the Catholic church.

The church became intermingled with politics and became a strong

entity. The policies delivered from the church had more authority than

the local rulers and magistrates of the developing feudal system. For

example, St. Augustine wrote about war and what justified its enactment

against fellow men. This policy was followed and adhered to for

hundreds of years after St. Augustine wrote it.

Another example, is the use of the Bible as a guideline for

establishing governing systems. Scripture portrayed God as choosing the

king of the people. The pope, being God’s "representative" was then

given the authority to crown the king. This crowning process gave the

pope large influence in the political arena. This ritual continued for

a number of centuries.

The Crusades, which occurred around 1100 A.D., played a crucial

role in challenging the church’s authority. The pope identifying the

spread of Islam as evil requested all of Europe embark on a "Crusade" to

defeat the infidels. As the battles were fought, great treasures were

found in the form of books and knowledge. These books were crude

translations of old Greek texts, containing information which would

eventually produce the waning of Church authority in the future.

The Renaissance marked the beginning of intellectual re-birth.

Writers such as Dante, Machiavelli, Guiarccidini, Vitoria, etc., all

attempting to reform and some even contest church dominance. Dante in

his imaginative work "Inferno" writes of hell which he envision is the

pope’s final destination. Machiavelli takes a more direct role

classifying the actions of a prince to be above morality and ultimately

above the Church. He continues the affront by classifying a human

character of "virtu" as being completely centered around man (humanism).

The Raison D’ Tat is supreme especially in terms of the church

belligerence.

In the middle of the Renaissance, the Church was dealt a deadly

blow from which it would never recover. This assault came via Martin

Luther. His work, "95 Thesis", marked the beginning of the Reformation.

This movement split the church into Catholic and Protestant sects. It

marked the beginning of a bloody period which virtually split Europe in

half. Examples of the conflict raged between Protestants and Catholics

from the great slaughter of Protestants in Paris 1572 A.D. (7000 dead)

to the Thirty Years War. With the Church in disarray, freedom was given

to the "state" to begin to develop.

During this period of Renaissance the political identity was

going through a tremendous transformation. This transformation took

form in what is called Absolutism. "Princes" began to tolerate less and

less manipulation from the church. The political entity in the form of

monarchy began to wean itself from the Church for its legitimacy and

looked toward its own power.

Other writers began to rise and discuss issues of sovereignty

and the state. Thomas Hobbes discusses the state and refers to it as

"Leviathan" which is the concurring title of his work. Believing man to

be evil, Hobbes fashions his description of the state as the mechanism

to control and harness the capabilities of man. There can be no peace

as long as there is not absolute surrender to reason. The state’s

interest is supreme, as well as, its authority. These ideas were

written in direct opposition to the church and its history. Hobbes

desired a complete refutation of the Church’s influence in government.

Hobbes portrays a state as sovereign. The sovereignty of the

state is in direct relation to its longevity and basic existence.

State sovereignty must be perpetual and supreme. The authority of this

described state would over-shadow the authority of the church.

Continuing historically, the development of the thirty years war

was significant in its unique result. The treaty of Westphelia was the

agreement which not only settled the war, but gave absolute authority to

the sovereign of each individual state. This was accomplished by

granting the sovereign the right to choose which religion he/she desired

and that in turn transferred down to the people. Thus, once again the

authority of the church was restricted, however this time by the

emergence of an institution called the state.

During this period states begin to develop colonies and

exploration of the new world. The discoveries and travel further

challenged church authority. An example of this is the well founded

"scientific" fact that the earth was flat. After such journeys by

Columbus and Magellan, the concept of church’s monopoly on truth was

attacked once again.

The third period in history starts with the age of reason. Its

intellectual basis of the time period is science and natural law.

Empiricism plays a fundamental role in church legitimacy. Factual

concrete proof of God and his work is not provided by science. States

begin to mature politically as colonial powers. The Church or rather

the concept of religion is still strong but begins a transformation

during the Enlightenment. From Religion ideas of morality and natural

law arise.

Locke addresses the role of the government of a state. He

portrays the ideas of a social contract between the people and its

government. He continued by pointing out that the government has a

commitment with the people it must with hold. Locke’s writings also

contained concepts concerning of natural rights which are inherent to

human beings. This developed and identified that power now comes from

the people. These people from which the government is derived and power

(legitimacy) have rights and will be safe-guarded by the people.

The French and American Revolutions harnessed the ideas which

the enlightenment wrote and discussed. The French Revolution

exemplified the early stages of nationalism. Nationalism derives from a

grouping of people who share common cultural and social experiences.

>From nationalism the concept of self-determination is derived.

Phrases like," We the People. . ." began to show up in constitutions and

declarations, which showed consensus among people with like-minded

purposes.

The inception of positive law was the last and final blow to the

concept of religion. Positive law is fashioned and codified by man.

The law has replaced the concept of morality. The framework which laws

create make the state and its sovereign powers legitimate and legal.

States no longer operate in terms of what is just but on whether the

legality for the action or jurisdiction have application.

The evolution of the state and its sovereignty is clear. The

Church once being a dominant political factor has been reduced to a mere

whisper of advice. The influence of religion in instituting or in the

elective process of choosing a representative ruler has been severely

minimized. Sovereignty and the institution of the State has surpassed

predestination and Divine Right of Kings.