Abstract This paper takes a deep look at the true intentions of Martin Luther and his resistance against the Catholic Church by examining the historical context in which he acted and by taking a closer look at the man himself, thereby showing that Luther was a deeply religious man trying to maintain core religious values in the face of great social pressure.
From the Paper "The European world of the late fifteenth and early sixteenth century was one ensconced in the assumption of Christian values and, moreover, the authority of the Catholic Church. Likewise, it was a world of great injustice, misappropriation of power and perversion of morality. Such was most apparently epitomized by the vast disparity between classes of suffocating poverty and ever-growing wealth. And the necessary correlation between wealth and power was quite explicit in a Church that, to many ways of thinking, was a fat and corrupt entity whose most driving priority had become the exploitation of the weak. Martin Luther was born into this world in 1483, and not of a particular familial disposition to protest the circumstances. In fact, his father had managed to accrue some degree of financial comfort that assured his son the life of an educated man. Rather, his outrage at social conditions manifested itself through his religious observation. Above all, it bears noting, upon his adoption of the holy cloth in 1505, that Luther was a man of God. This was the only law that he saw fit to recognize. So his divergence from the conventions of the Catholic Church was, as he would be quick to assert himself, an act guided by compliance rather than defiance. But his ideology would spark massive reexamination and change, suggesting that it was certainly resistant to many of the prevailing forces of the time and place. Perhaps there may be no genuine reconciliation of these two ostensibly contradictory roles, both of which, one could argue, Luther embodied. However, a more direct study of Luther's motivations and tenets seems to suggest that he was, in both intent and aesthetic, a conservative who, by way of social circumstances, came to be regarded as a revolutionary."
Abstract Charlemagne was one of the greatest emperors that Europe has ever seen and this paper details how he came to power, what it took to stay in power, and how he lost his power. Included is his involvement with the Church and the first Crusades to spread Catholicism.
From the Paper "During the reign of Charlemagne, from 768 to 814 A.D., the growth of the Church in the west gained increasing power over its eastern counterparts. Charlemagne, the son of Pepin the Short, was indoctrinated with the Christian religion early in his life, and as a result he grew to become the leading proponent of Christian belief throughout the west. He continued the role of papal protector in Italy and his father's policy of territorial conquest in the north. After defeating King Desiderius and the Lombards in 774 he crowned himself "King of the Lombards". He began to increase the size of his kingdom by forcibly converting "pagans" into Christianity. His most difficult conquest was converting the Saxons into loyal Christian citizens. Thus, after thirty-three years of war the Saxons accepted Charlemagne's terms and renounced their religion and customs and adopted those of Christianity, while those that refused were relocated throughout Gaul and Germany. In 800 A.D. on Christmas day Pope Leo III, who was imprisoned by the Roman aristocracy a year earlier but escaped to the protection of Charlemagne who then restored him as pope, crowned Charlemagne emperor."
Abstract This paper uses the experiences of two historical figures in early America, Bartolome de las Casas and Anne Bradstreet, to reject the notion of the right to religious freedom in America. Bartoleme de las Casas, while more humane than other Spaniards of his time, still represented the dominant philosophy of Spain during early America, that religious freedom meant the freedom to convert others to one's own religion. Bradstreet is described as belonging to a community, typical of the Puritan era, that rejected the rights of others who chose to believe differently.
From the Paper "Bradstreet does not discuss the issue of freedom of religion in her poems but seems rather to live that freedom herself. She determines meaning by contemplation rather than by repeating lessons learned from some authority, for instance. She concentrates most on her family rather than on God and religious issues. She contrasts in this regard with Edwards, who gives all his concentration to religious matters and who judges everything in the community on the basis of how it accords with his religious beliefs."
Abstract This paper traces the history, origins, and traditions of Santeria. The influence that Christianity and Yoruba traditions had on Santeria is described, and the manner in which they were incorporated into the Santeria religion, known as syncretism, is explained in detail. Finally, the paper traces the origins and philosophy of Spiritism and explains its influence on Santeria.
From the Paper "Santeria and its Puerto Rican variant, often referred to as La Mesa Blanca, are both extremely unusually and intriguing religions. Santeria descends from various traditional religious practices associated with the Yoruba region and peoples of Africa. The Yoruba religion was transferred to Cuba during the European trade in African slaves during the colonial period, as many of the slaves came from this African region. Although many of the most salient aspects of the source religion of the Yoruba are preserved in Santeria, it has also developed into its own and unique tradition. The uniqueness of Santeria is largely due to the syncretism, or mixing, of Santeria with other religious practices. The most famous syncretic combination in Santeria is that between the Yoruba tradition and Christianity, specifically the Catholic tradition. In this practice, santeros conflated the traditional Gods, known as the Orishas, with the Catholic saints."
Abstract This paper retraces the efforts of the first Spanish conquerors of the New World, the Franciscans, and the motives behind their efforts. The paper points out that these motives were primarily religious and explains the different types of Christianizing that took place. Also discussed is the hit or miss type of rule the Spanish exerted over the Americas, the reasons for some of their failures, as well as their successes, the effect the Spanish invasion had on Native Americans and whether the Spanish conquest should be considered successful with regard to its original purpose.
From the Paper "When twelve barefoot Franciscans led by Martin de Valencia began marching two hundred and seventy miles from the coastal road of Vera Cruz to Mexico City, they carried a cross, not bladed weapons of war. They had come to fight a spiritual war. Their desire was to conquer Mexico and the heathen natives. Their apostolic mandate was to convert the pagans worshipping hideous idols and performing rites violative of what is true, good and beautiful."
Abstract This paper examines the writings and critiques of anti-utilitarian and anti-practical philosophers Arnold, Newman, and Pater. The paper explains, compares, and analyzes each philosopher's arguments against the pragmatism and utilitarianism of the Victorian age and explains why Matthew Arnold's critique of utilitarianism was the most scathing of all.
From the Paper "The Victorian era in England gave birth to Jeremy Bentham's utilitarian philosophy of social governance, to the scientific philosophy of Darwinism, and to the application of scientific principles to social philosophy in the form of Social Darwinism. Perhaps this scientific and methodical era, an era that oversaw the full flowering of the Industrial Revolution's stress upon machinery into the transformation into the human body and mind as a machine-like worker drone, inevitably spawned a kind of counter-revolutionary philosophy and ethos for the age?namely the idea and ideals that cohered and evolved over the course of the Oxford Movement, the Pre-Raphaelite and Aesthetic movement, and finally coalesced into the austere vision of the poet and philosopher Matthew Arnold."
