Analysis of Religion and theďfects on State Sovereignty


Religion, and State Sovereignty

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.



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