Galileo Galilei Religion Analysis

Religion, for the most part, has held an integral part of human life. It is a practice that allows people to explain the unexplainable, to connect with a deeper, higher power, and to learn about the world’s existence. Many people resorted to their religious beliefs to search for answers and explanations about their ways of life. In early modern Europe, religion carried a prominent role in political institutions, and many social beliefs were framed on the basis of God. Moreover, the Church and the Bible were significant expressions of religion. The Church was a major institution that served as a symbol for people’s integrity and firm beliefs of religion. However, this continual religious reliance had triggered social disputes and impeded the

In Galileo’s letter to the Grand Duchess of Italy, who held religious power and relations to the Church, he discussed his scientific findings while expressing a desire to unite religion with science. Galileo states that society felt “disturbed by the known truth” of his findings, and in response they have “resolved to fabricate a shield for their fallacies out of the mantle of pretended religion”. He clearly describes the opposition that he sensed from members of society. In doing so, he stresses how his ideas were delayed and compromised to hold religion in higher regard. In addition, Galileo justifies Copernicus’ work, stating that he “did not ignore the Bible, but he knew very well that if his doctrine were proved… it could not contradict the Scriptures”. This reveals how religion consistently interfered with the advancement of new ideas, so his scientific theories were negotiated so that religion would remain prevalent. He also proclaims how unrealistic and wasteful it would be to “abandon reason… in favor of some biblical passage”. Therefore, in order for society to accept new and different scientific ideas, they had to negotiate their expressions of knowledge to ensure that they did not devalue religion. The Scientific Revolution was proven to be a time of negotiation in favor

During this time of western development, the slave trade was an essential economic system for production and labor. However, it more so represented a major societal custom and perception. These notions are apparent in The Code Noir, which outlines a set of laws established by King Louis XIV to control the slaves’ lives in French colonies. One of their restrictions states that “We enjoin all our subjects… to observe the Lord’s-day [Sunday], and the holidays that are kept by our subjects of the Catholic, Apostolic, and Roman religion. We forbid them to labour”. In order to preserve religious values, some of the slaves’ restrictions were altered and mitigated. This reveals the high extent to which political leaders held religion above societal practices. In addition, the political council declared “to banish all Jews” since they were perceived as “avowed enemies to the name of Christ”. The push for this constraint on the cultural makeup of society was implemented so that the existing religious beliefs would dominate. The trend in sustaining religious order in exchange for the negotiation of social and political customs was consistent during the growing change in the modern western