A History of Church and State

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Medieval history. Read more at http://madmikesamerica.com

As you may have noticed, the G.O.P. has focused on a) making sure President Obama is in for only one term and 2) God returns to the U.S.  The problem is, God (if he exists) left the U.S. in 1980 when Ronald “I am a B-Movie Actor” Reagan came to office and aligned himself with the evangelicals. I do not know of any passage in the bible which states Christianity is supposed to be the ruling body.

Christianity began among a small number of Jews (about 120, see Acts 1:15). Christianity was seen as a threat to the Roman Empire as Christians refused to worship the Roman gods or the Emperor. This resulted in the persecution of the early Christians, many of whom were killed and thus became martyrs to the Christian religion. The prosecution of adherents to the Christian religion ended during the reign of the Roman Emperor Constantine. Emperor Constantine I (AD ca. 285 – AD 337) of the Roman Empire legalized Christianity and Constantine the Great proclaimed himself as an ‘Emperor of the Christian people’. Most of the Roman Emperors that came after Constantine were Christians. Christianity then became the official religion of the Roman Empire instead of the old Roman religion that had worshiped many Gods.

In the 5th century, the Roman empire began to crumble. Germanic tribes (barbarians) conquered the city of Rome. This event started the period in history referred to as the Dark Ages. The period of the Dark Ages saw the growth in the power of the Christian Church which was then referred to as the Catholic religion. During the Dark Ages and Early Middle Ages the only accepted form of Christianity was the Catholic religion. The word Catholic derives from the Middle English word ‘catholik‘ and from the Old French ‘catholique‘ and the Latin word ‘catholicus‘ meaning universal or whole. Early Christians, such as Saint Ignatius of Antioch, who was martyred in c110, used the term ‘catholic’ to describe the whole Church – the literal meaning being universal or whole. Any other sects were viewed as heretical. The Catholic religion was seen as the true religion. The Christian church was divided geographically between the west (Rome) and the east (Jerusalem, Alexandria, and Antioch). With its own laws, lands and taxes

The Catholic church was a very powerful institution which had its own laws and lands and also imposed taxes. In addition to collecting these taxes, the Church also accepted gifts of all kinds from those who wanted special favors or wanted to be certain of a place in heaven. The power of the Catholic Church grew with its wealth. It was then able to influence the kings and rulers of Europe. Opposition to the Catholic Church would result in excommunication.

Often, in the Middle Ages, the churches and governments ruled together. Bishops and Abbots would read and write for kings and often became vassals. Local priests were appointed by local lords, and so were expected to uphold their wishes. Thus, the role of the church and rulers was interconnected.

Monarchs ruled by the idea of divine right. Sometimes this began to be used by a monarch to support the notion that the king ruled both his own kingdom and Church within its boundaries, a theory known as caesaropapism. On the other side was the Catholic doctrine that the Pope, as the Vicar of Christ on earth, should have the ultimate authority over the Church, and indirectly over the state. Moreover, throughout the Middle Ages the Pope claimed the right to depose the Catholic kings of Western Europe and tried to exercise it, sometimes successfully, sometimes not.

In the West, the issue of the separation of church and state during the medieval period centered on monarchs who ruled in the secular sphere but encroached on the Church’s rule of the spiritual sphere. This unresolved contradiction in ultimate control of the Church led to power struggles and crises of leadership, notably in the Investiture Controversy, which was resolved in the Concordat of Worms in 1122. By this concordat, the Emperor renounced the right to invest ecclesiastics with ring and crosier, the symbols of their spiritual power, and guaranteed election by the canons of cathedral or abbey and free consecration.

At the beginning of the Protestant Reformation, Martin Luther articulated a doctrine of the two kingdoms. According to James Madison, perhaps one of the most important modern proponents of the separation of church and state, Luther’s doctrine of the two kingdoms marked the beginning of the modern conception of separation of church and state.

In the United States, the term is an offshoot of the phrase, “wall of separation between church and state,” as written in Thomas Jefferson’s letter to the Danbury Baptist Association in 1802. The original text reads: “… I contemplate with sovereign reverence that act of the whole American people which declared that their legislature should ‘make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof,’ thus building a wall of separation between Church and State.” Jefferson reflected his frequent speaking theme that the government is not to interfere with religion. The phrase was quoted by the United States Supreme Court first in 1878, and then in a series of cases starting in 1947. The phrase “separation of church and state” itself does not appear in the United States Constitution. The First Amendment states that “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.”

The concept of separating church and state is often credited to the writings of English philosopher John Locke (1632–1704). According to his principle of the social contract, Locke argued that the government lacked authority in the realm of individual conscience, as this was something rational people could not cede to the government for it or others to control. For Locke, this created a natural right in the liberty of conscience, which he argued must therefore remain protected from any government authority. These views on religious tolerance and the importance of individual conscience, along with his social contract, became particularly influential in the American colonies and the drafting of the United States Constitution.

Story by Gary Green with thanks to Medieval Life and Times and Wikipedia for their contributions.

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11 years ago

What a data of un-ambiguity and preserveness of precious familiarity regarding unpredicted feelings.

Bill Formby
11 years ago

Very well written and explained. While I agree with Rick I will say that I prefer not to intrude upon others and I will not allow them to intrude upon me.

11 years ago

[…] A History of Church and State | MadMikesAmerica […]

11 years ago

I adhere to the religion of “SCIENCE”. A religion where you’re allowed to discover and form conclusions that are based on reality and the natural forces of the universe. Try and take that from me and you’ll get a battle of a lifetime. If we cannot wean ourselves off of archaic, supernatural ideologies then we are doomed to return to the Dark Ages. Logic and critical thinking are my gods. Thank you very much!

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