Religion, And State Sovereignty Essays - Authority, 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 Proteezt sects. It marked the beginning of a bloody period which virtually split Europe in half. Examples of the conflict raged between Proteezts and Catholics from the great slaughter of Proteezts 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

Letter of Intent Essay Example

Letter of Intent Essay Example Letter of Intent Essay Letter of Intent Essay March 20, 2013 Tristian Green 3039 Blackwell Dr Baton Rouge, Louisiana, 70805 Dear Ms. Wilson, Letter Of Intent: The general area of interest for my project is barbering. This topic was chosen because I actually enjoy cutting as well as styling hair. I have had experience cutting hair in some forms because my stepfather went to barbering school and he taught me some of the useful traits he acquired while in Cosmetic school. Within this paper I will include the history, responsibilities of a barber, types of education needed to become a licensed barber, good and bad aspects of this career, and other interesting yet relevant facts. I plan to use Wikipedia, encyclopedia articles, and other websites as sources for information. The one question I want answered is what does a barbers pay depend on? My paper relates to my project by further explaining the content and the amount of concentration needed to accurately trim someone’s hair. I’ll prepare a video detailing the proper way to set up equipment, sterilize clippers, and line hair. This video includes my stepfather and little brother. The video is relatively short but contains all the needed information to fully understand what goes on in the workplace. Plagiarism is presenting someone elses work as if you created and wrote it yourself. This work could be written text, images, artwork, computer code or mathematical formulas. If you do not provide references to the source of the ideas or data you have used, then you are presenting someone elses work as if it is your own and you have plagiarised. At Tara High, plagiarism is regarded as a type of cheating and the repercussions of such an act will be the entire assignment is scraped and the student is given no marks for it. This letter is to confirm my willingness to participate in the senior project of a career portfolio that will be a partial fulfillment of the requirements needed for English IV at Tara High School. I understand that failure to complete the project will result in a failing grade in English IV for the second semester. Sincerely, Tristian Green Senior 2013