Religious Political Power

[juliastinson]

It seems like back in this time period and in history in general most societies were ruled and governed by the church or the religious leaders. Most of the Acts or letters passed during this time involved the conditions of religion or the institution of the church. And quite a bit of the conflicts centered around religion. What happened to change that because currently political leaders seem to want nothing to do with religious stand points? I remember learning about a reformation type change where Europe turned from religious to more scientific thinking. Is that what ended the political power of the church?

[Mr. Delainey]

Technically speaking there has been a separation of church and state in democratic societies for at least two centuries. The purpose of this split was to allow a government to act free of religious constructions, e.g. The role of government isn't to protect or look after a single demonination. Instead, the role of government is to ensure that disagreements between members of the same society are managed peacefully.

In present day America, religion is a very influential force determining everything from high school science standards to foreign policy. So despite separation of church and state religion is still a force to be reckoned with. In Canada, religion is less influential in influencing political decision-making because Canadians typically do not associate their faith with their government. This is changing somewhat, in that, the political right (comprised of theists) are starting to realize they can influence decision-making if they act collectively.

So to succeed in politics in America you actually do benefit by being visibly Christian. An atheist has virtually zero chance of winning an election in that country; moreover, there's a strong anti-science push in the USA where politics (and not the process of science itself) is shaping science standards and the public perception of science in that country.

And I think you're right about what ended the political power of the church. It was precisely the move towards scientific thinking and rejecting religious revelation that enabled the democratic revolution in our thinking. The time period in which these challenges to traditional authority came is called the Enlightenment (of which the Scientific Revolution is part). It was precisely scientific rationalism that produced the great democratic transformation of western civilization.