Separation of church and state – one of the fundamental tenets of contemporary culture and law in the United States and many European nations – has not always existed. During the five-hundred year period, 1400 – 1900, Western societies experienced the beginning of a growing gulf between the spiritual and the secular. This chasm developed as a result of the evolution of Western civilization during what some historians deem as of the “great ages of man:” the Renaissance, the Reformation, Exploration and Colonization, the Age of Reason, the Age Enlightenment, the Age of Political Revolution and the Age of Social Revolution.This paper will discuss these “great ages of man” during each of the 15th – 19th centuries and analyze the cultural, economic, geographical, religious and social reasons for the divide between religion and daily life. Before dissecting the 1400s – 1800s, it is important to review the period of time that precedes them – called the Middle Ages or Age of Faith.
Between 500 and 1400, two entities “governed” Europe – the feudal manor system and the Church. Most people were peasants, illiterate, impoverished and physically separated on feudal estates. Communication and transportation routes were limited.Under the control of the Roman papacy, one church – the Roman Catholic Church – existed throughout Medieval Europe. The Church was a unifying factor and controlled many aspects of daily life: the provision of education, social services for the needy, holidays, and legal and political rights through baptism and excommunication.
By the 1400s, a number of significant events occurred in Europe, threatening the Church’s stronghold on man’s affairs. Several of these were religious including the Councils of Pisa and Constance, the death of St. Joan of Arc, and the Pragmatic Sanction of Bourges.Political leaders and cardinals convened the Councils of Pisa (1409) and Constance (1414-1418) to end the Great Schism.
During the Great Schism, two popes, Urban VI in Rome and Clement VII in Avignon ruled simultaneously, creating two factions and a four-decade split within the Church. By 1438, King Charles VII of France issued the Pragmatic Sanction of Bourges, which established the liberty of the Gallican Church from Rome’s stronghold. While the Council of Constance effectively ended the Great Schism, the division weakened the Church and its universal power over the affairs of Europe.While in France two decades later, Charles VII’s actions drove “another wedge” between religion and daily life.
A number of significant economic, geographic, social and political changes occurred in Europe during the 15th century. The weakening of feudalism, the growth of towns, the centralization of monarchies, and the opening of new trade routes created a gap between the spiritual and the secular. Skilled artisans, merchants and more left the manor to seek better lives in developing towns. As towns developed, roads and trade routes were improved, and many feudal nobles were impoverished.By 1450, Guttenburg developed the printing press in the Rhineland.
The printing press made printed materials – books, leaflets, etc. – more readily available to larger groups of people. Written materials were no longer limited to monasteries and Churches. While many people remained illiterate, the printing press allowed larger numbers of people to read religious texts like the Bible and begin to develop their own interpretations, instead of basing their entire belief systems on verbal communication from the clergy.
In 1453, two major political events – cessation of the Hundred Years’ War and the Fall of Constantinople occurred. The end of the Hundred Years’ War centralized and strengthened the monarchies of both France and England. As the rulers of both France (Charles) and England (Henry) solidified their power, the concept of nationalism evolved. The citizens of European nation-states developed great pride in their “national” heritage and, consequently, the monarchies.At the same, the Turks gained control of Constantinople and part of the Mediterranean, effectively blocking European trade with the East.
As a result, European nations began to go west seeking maritime trade. By 1456, Portugal made the first European discovery in the Atlantic – Cape Verde Islands – and signaled the beginning of the Age of Exploration. Later, European explorers from Spain, France and England – including Columbus and his “discovery” of America in 1492 – would travel to the continents of North, Central and South America, seeking wealth for their respective nations.Thus, these two major events – of the Hundred Years’ War and the Fall of Constantinople – further eroded the Church’s power base and widened the developing gap between religious practices and daily living. During the 1500s, the separation of church (the Roman Catholic Church) and state (European governments) became law in some parts of Europe.
In addition, Europe experienced tremendous socioeconomic and cultural changes with the beginning of three of the “great ages of man:” the Reformation, the Renaissance and Exploration and Colonization.In 1515, the first significant religious/political event occurred to weaken the Church’s power – King Francis I of France, at the Concordat of Bologna, gained the right to nominate French bishops and abbots. While this in fact symbolized a consolidation of church and state, the event removed power from the Roman papacy. In 1517, Martin Luther begins one of the most significant movements in Christian history – the Protestant Reformation.
During the Middle Ages, the Church had become corrupt, and because of the Church’s control over daily life, particularly on feudal manors, there was no system of checks and balances to correct church excesses.In response, Martin Luther, a scholar and professor at the University of Wittenberg, sought to reform the church and posted ninety-five theses on the door of Wittenberg’s Castle Church. Luther’s actions led to the beginning of the Protestant Reformation, where a number of religious sects including the Lutheran and Presbyterian churches broke away from the Roman Catholic Church. In 1519, Charles I of Spain convenes the Diet of Worms, declaring Luther an outlaw, and leading to war between Spain and Francis I of France.By 1534, Henry VIII breaks with the Roman Catholic Church and establishes the Church of England or Episcopalian Church. Throughout the course of the 1500s, political leaders lead additional battles between Catholicism and Protestant sects – including Mary and Elizabeth I of England, the French Huguenots, and more.
These skirmishes further weakened the Church and widened the growing gulf between the religious and the secular. While the Protestant Reformation was occurring throughout Europe, European explorers travelled to the New World on behalf of monarchies.As the feudal system collapsed, European nobles often took to the sea to seek fame and fortune and replenish depleted estates. As a result, religion ceased to be the center of life. During the 1500s, explorers made significant voyages to the Americas and began the colonization of lands.
In 1532, Pizarro, for example, conquers the Inca Empire in Mexico, declaring the area a territory for Spain. In 1535, Cartier explores the St. Lawrence River, eventually leading to the establishment of a French Colony at Quebec, Canada.
