John Calvin, Thomas More & Niccolo Machiavelli

Paper Summary:

This paper discusses the "arbiter" role that religion played to the government and civil society, as reflected in the works of the theologians John Calvin and Thomas More, and political scientist Niccolo Machiavelli. The paper reviews Calvin's "Conversion and Call to Geneva" and More's "Utopia," comparatively analyzing them against Machiavelli's "The Prince".

From the Paper:

"Case in point shown in Machiavelli's discourse is the inability of Church leaders to help lead civil society towards betterment and improvement of its state, as Western history had shown. The Pope, as he pointed out, did not have the political power to govern his own clergy, which demonstrates the Pope's inability to govern a bigger number of people, such as civil society. Evidence of the Pope's inability to lead over his clergy is the tendency for cardinals to attempt to usurp each other's, and the Pope's, powers, for their self-promotion and the creation of factions even within the Church organization."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Machiavelli, N. E-text of "The Prince." Project Gutenberg E-book Collection.
• More, T. E-text of "Utopia." Project Gutenberg E-book Collection.

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