Dbq John Copernicus

To begin, many people did not support the new scientific discoveries because it would contradict religious doctrine. John Calvin, a French Protestant theologian, believed that science was only useful if it was used to glorify God (Doc 2). For many people, God was held higher than science and they took offense at the radical idea of the opposite, that science was higher than God. In fact, Giovanni Ciampoli, an Italian monk, wrote to Galileo telling him that he understood his ideas but that he should not share them publicly because he is not a clergyman, therefore people would not listen to him (Doc 3). Being a monk himself, Ciampoli's statement is very credibly since he is a prominent figure in religious work and he is very closely acquainted …show more content…

As a prominent figure in religious circles of the time, Ciampoli's statement was effective in speaking for the opinions of other religious people. With revolution in scientific thought and discovery just starting to emerge, many people might have agreed with the positions of scientists but were still most faithful to God. Nicolas Copernicus, in his letter to Pope Paul III, said he dedicated his studies to his holiness because he is the most eminent virtue (Doc 1). Copernicus being both a priest, and an astronomer, would then find importance in both religion and science, yet see religion as the most important figure with which to ally his thinking (POV). Since Copernicus's letter was written with the Pope, the most important holy figure in the state, as recipient, his writing was most likely selected in pandering to the Pope's views. Aside from the barring of objectiveness, he still demonstrated that his devotion to his faith outweighed his devotion to science, which demonstrated the heart of most religious arguments in opposition to spread science and its newfound …show more content…

In his letter to Galileo, Giovanni Ciampoli said people would think he was crazy if he went public with his discoveries (Doc 3). This norm of God and religion being the central figure in a persons life prevented science from breaking through into the community. The religious and uneducated people had no reason to believe or listen to ideas that blatantly contradict their faith, therefore they abstained. Holden Oldenbury also advocated that if education spread without partisan reservations, philosophy would excel, which would ultimately better the world (Doc 6). Since many people weren't educated at this time, it hindered the ability of many thinkers to preach new, controversial ideas to people who didn't have any idea what was going on. Only those who could afford education were educated and this was the social norm. The rich, however, were below monarchs and religious figures according to the social hierarchy. There was a very narrow scope of people who were involved in science, which were wealthy white men. This is what made Margaret Cavendish, an English natural philosopher, angry because she would embrace science but because she was a woman who expresses interest in a male's field of occupation, she would be kicked out (Doc 9). Divisions based on class and gender greatly hindered the capacity for support of scientists work. A prime example of this is Margaret Cavendish, being a female who strongly