Religion and Politics: A Historical Overview
5 pillars of Islam:
• The faith there is no god but Allah and Muhammad is his prophet.
• The ritual prayer 5 times a day, preceded by a series of allusions, is done looking at the Mecca and a carpet. Once a week is held daily prayer, this is done on Fridays.
• The Zakat or alms. It is the local charity to benefit the needy of the community to be undertaken by members of the Umma
• The rigorous fasting during the month of Ramadan from sunrise until sunset.
· Making the pilgrimage to Mecca, at least the Muslim has to perform once in life
Christianity in the Roman Empire:
A late fourth century we find Christianity as the official religion of the empire.
Begin the relationship between political power and religion, known under the name of Caesaropapism, assumes that the emperors are responsible for ensuring the Empire’s official religion.
In this concern to protect the Emperor will intervene in affairs of the Church (eg, Constantine convened the Council of Nicaea).
The first reaction of the church (he was the Pope Gelasius) is that it looks bad that official protection. Pope Gelasius reminds the Emperor Anastasius this dualism: the sacred authority of the Popes and the royal power.
Religion and politics in medieval times:
In the fall of the Roman Empire political power will be broken into a series of kingdoms, this is happening against a united church and the church fills or fill this power vacuum, leading to the transition to the hierocrats, era dominated by the Church. The Church claims its authority to appoint officials or ecclesiastical offices, this is called the Investiture.
The ultimate expression of hierocrats is with Pope Boniface VIII, who claimed during his pontificate a confrontation with Philip the Fair, when the French king orders a series of tributes to the French church, the Pope called a council to determine these confrontations.
And Philip IV prohibits assistance to the council, and led to the ultimate expression of hierocrats, the Bull Unam Sanctam: there are two governments, the spiritual and the temporal and both belong to the church
From this confrontation lost Boniface VIII. Philip accused the pope of heresy. For two days, subjected to humiliation retain it until the people supporting the pope is revealed. Boniface dies shortly.
After the attack of Philip IV, is very deteriorated and damaged the prestige of the papacy
The hierocrats begins to wane, monarchs no longer accept that supremacy of papal power.
The modern age, the Protestant Reformation and the gift
From there we see a new era in church-
state relations, and gives way to a new system into the modern age.
In the modern age there are two facts that will have a strong significance:
· The Protestant Reformation and
· The gift.
Luther in the eagerness to reform the church encourages just breaking it.
It produces a rejection of the church. State officials assume the organization and government of the church, so that the monarch is not only head of state but also of the church.
Raging in Europe the religious wars to the terminating with the Peace of Westphalia in 1648 (ending the war of 30 years).
The principle which is terminated with the Peace of Westphalia is the principle cuius regio eius religio, each realm will have their religion the religion of the prince.
This results in two consequences:
He will speak first confessional state
He will introduce the concept of tolerance, who do not profess the religion of the prince, must leave the country (jus emigrationis).
It also gave the statutes of tolerance, freedom but were never tolerant.
This happens in Protestant countries, we have the national church and head of the first churches
In Catholic countries, however, are required to maintain recognition of papal authority, but despite this recognition, the Catholic monarchs, will be speaking, however, strongly in the affairs of the church.
Such interventionism is regalism lama in Spain, Italy jurisdictional Gallicanism in France, Austria Josephism …
Some manifestations of this gift, namely the Spanish, (which had considerable importance) were gifts as some institutions:
-Iura Circa Sacra
“So the royal patronage: the king’s right to intervene in the appointment of bishops, has lasted until very recently, which is abolished in 1976.
“The pass regio: assumed that any document from the Pope, published in Spain had to pass through the censorship of the King;
-Appeal of strength in knowing: if a sentence of a court of the church could resort to a real court (civil), is an intrusion because the jurisdiction of church and state are autonomous.
That balance between religious power and civil power over history is leaning to one side or another.