Past present: Church and state

http://dawn.com/2012/05/06/past-present-church-and-state/
Christianity emerged when the Roman Empire was at the height o its power.
!o sur"i"e# Christianity adopted the po$icy o su%mission# o%edience and
peace. It teachings appealed to the oppressed, powerless and weaker sections of
society who by accepting it endured exploitation and suffering with patience. In the
early period, the converts belonged to the rural areas but gradually the faith spread
and the urban population also embraced it. The belief in religion was so strong and
deep that belivers preferred to die rather than to abjure it. They were tortured, thrown
before wild animals and burnt at stakes.
However, the number of converts continued to increase and strengthen Christianitys
impact on !oman society.
"hen !oman #mperor, $ugustus Constantine converted to Christianity in %&' C#,
and made it the state religion, its character changed from submissive to an
aggressive religion. (nce the church ac)uired political power, it made attempts to
convert the entire !oman #mpire by using all coercive methods. The emperor fully
patronised the Church in its efforts and gave it the position of a leading state
institution. He allotted landed property to it and donated huge amounts of wealth to
its officials. He exempted it from all taxes. *eeing this, the !oman nobility also joined
the new faith to gain not only the favour of the emperor but also to protect their
property and privileges. This transformed Christianity which, abandoning common
people, became protector of the elite classes. "hen the Church became rich it
changed its attitude towards poverty which was a matter of pride in its early days and
instead, praised the merits of wealth.
In the fifth century, the Christian world was divided into two. In the east was the
!oman #mperor who fused religion into state structure and used it for political
motives. In the west, the +ope became the spiritual leader, undermining the power of
the #uropean rulers. In both places, Christianity interpreted its ideology from fresh
perspectives. It integrated its history with that of the !oman #mpire and connected
the birth of Christ to the foundation of the #mpire by $ugustus. $ new history was
written which, by denying the earlier stance, condemned all other faiths and claimed
its monopoly on truth and righteousness. Heresy therefore became a crime. The
Church adopted a policy to eliminate all heretic and sedition movements within
Christianity and to wipe out the existing religions of the !oman time.
In ,-% C#, a law was promulgated whereby the properties of pagans and heretics
were confiscated. They were punished if found to have secret meetings. the
punishments including crucifixion, burning at the stake or being thrown to wild
animals. These were the same punishments which were given to the Christians
during the !oman period. $s the Church became the inheritor of the !oman #mpire,
it adopted a harsh policy towards non Christians. This shows how political power
changes the mindset and attitude of people. *aint $ugustine argued that it was the
blessing of /od that the Church became strong with the help of the empire.
Therefore, it was its right to punish heretics and strengthen the faith. Heretics were
also ostracised socially. They were not allowed to attend church services. Christians
were prohibited to marry into heretic families. 0on Christians were dismissed from
government jobs. There was a law which allowed them to be exiled and their
property confiscated.
The pagan philosophers were also victims of the Church. (ne woman philosopher,
who was famous for her knowledge and wisdom, was stoned to death in front of a
church when a bishop incited the mob against her. The last non Christian
philosopher of $lexandria left the city as he was harassed and terrorised by the
clergy. *ome of the non Christian philosophers went to Harran, an ancient city near
modern day Turkey, where they survived up to the &&th century. They were the
people who transmitted /reek learning to the $rabs.
There was religious tolerance in the pagan society which ended after the domination
of Christianity. Tolerance was replaced by narrow1mindedness. all doors for creativity
and innovation were closed. The rise of religion cut off all relations with the past and
the knowledge of /reece and $ncient !ome was lost. Its slogan was one empire and
one religion.
The $merican 2ounding 2athers after studying history learnt the lesson that fusion of
religion and state was detrimental to progress. That is why, at the time of drafting the
constitution, they separated Church from state. In #urope, the 2rench !evolution
ended the domination of the Church and secularised the state.