Karl Marx, a German philosopher, once said, “Religion is the opium of the people.” During the medieval ages, religion drove the daily lives of the people. People used the Catholic religion as a way to justify their living conditions in order to ease their suffering. However, the upper class used religion to their advantage as it enabled them to deceit the lower class into giving them money. This created a disparity between the two classes. In The Book of Margery Kempe by Margery Kempe, the Catholic ideology blinded society from the corrupt socioeconomic system between the bourgeoisie and the proletariat.
As demonstrated in The Book of Margery Kempe, from 500 AD to 1500, the medieval society was centered around its Catholic religion, making
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It separated the “haves” and the “have-nots,” also known as the bourgeoisie and the proletariat. The bourgeoisie were those who controlled the economic society from the resources to the civilians. As demonstrated in The Book of Margery Kempe, the bourgeoisie was the “holy” figures such as the priests, the bishop, and archbishops. In Faith and Wealth by Justo L. Gonzales, it described, “Both the rich and the poor, as well as wealth and poverty, have a place in God’s plan...the poor are seen, not only as objects of charity, but also as subjects who have something to contribute to others” (218). This particular belief came from Augustine, an early Christian Theologian, and philosopher, which was adopted into the Catholic culture. The bourgeoisie took advantage of the proletariat, the people that provided for the bourgeoisie and performed the manual labor. Moreover, Margery Kempe explained, “She saw many of the bishops greatly ragged and dagged in their clothing” (80). The Bishop’s men abused their power; they used the money given to the Church in order to benefit themselves rather than to help those in need. They “have” everything at their disposal because they are high ranking clergymen rather than mere peasants. This is ironic because greed is one of the seven deadly sins. Even though these men were supposed to be “Holy,” they abused their power to have a personal gain rather than assisting those in need. Margery Kempe sees this disparity and scolds them for their greed. On the other hand, Margery Kempe takes part of the proletariat when she decided to become a beggar. The novel stated, “After this creature had thus given away her goods and had neither penny nor halfpenny to help herself...thinking and studying where she would have her living as she had no silver to sustain herself” (67). She became poor by the commandment of Jesus. The proletariat believed
Saints and Sinners: Irony and Symbolism in Kempe’s “The Book of Margery Kempe” Throughout history there have been many cases of women who possess strong powers and a passion for God, especially in the Middle Ages. One woman that fit into that category was Margery Kempe, a fifteenth-century visionary, who was a controversial figure in the Christian faith. Margery insisted that Jesus talked to her, while many people thought that she was being possessed by the devil. During the time of the Middle Ages, many stories of women saints were exposed with many differences from Kempe’s life, however there were some surprising similarities as well.
Margery Kemp's Interactions with The Virgin Mary. According to her own testimony, Margery Kempe's spirituality involved deeply passionate experiences of Christ and the Virgin Mary. Kempe had "the gift of tears" -- meaning that, for years, she was unable to attend mass without crying profusely, and, as often as not, sobbing loudly and theatrically. Her adventurous life included a pilgrimage to the Holy Land, where much weeping and wailing took place, and tanglings with several Bishops, including the Archbishop of Canterbury.
Throughout Europe in the fifteenth, sixteenth, seventeenth, and eighteenth centuries, nations were filled with poor and less fortunate individuals. While the nobles of countries such as France and England ruled their lands, many forgot about the underprivileged that roamed the city streets begging for alms. As a result, the opinions towards these lower class people were very differentiated. However, three main opinions stood out. All in all, the views of the poor in fifteenth – eighteenth century Europe included those who believed individuals should help the poor because it is the right thing to do, those who believed individuals should help the poor for God, and those who believed the poor were just idlers
the part of the Catholic Church to the challenges it faced. The Book of Margery Kempe
Furthermore, Pope Francis believes that the insatiable lust for money is the root cause of the gap between the the rich and poor. He believes that the greed of the affluent has caused many of the global crises we face today. It undeniable that we as a people have begun to worship false gods;money. Francis calls this“the idolatry of money”. He stated that the “thirst for power and possessions” corrupts people from treating others fairly. Unless equal opportunities are provided to the poor, conflict will eventually breakout because inequality provokes violence.
A central component of medieval religion that is evident in even the slightest dissection of the life of Margery Kempe or the directed discipline from the author advising contemplation is an unmistakable desire for religious experience. Even among married men and women who are occupied with family responsibilities, lay people during this time such as we see in the life of Margery herself are seeking more intense religious ways of living. Margery, as the example, lived with her husband with whom she had fourteen children. Growing up influenced by the church, her spirituality came to a heightened level when she and her Jesus began having actual communication with one another. While the church was catalyzing religious experience in medieval communities, upon the realization of direct mystical connection with Christ in the lives of people such as Margery, the desire for the inward search for spiritual satisfaction spread.
Society today is split in many different ways: the smart and the dumb, the pretty and the ugly, the popular and the awkward, and of course the rich and the poor. This key difference has led to many areas of conflict among the population. The rich and the poor often have different views on issues, and have different problems within their lives. Moral decay and materialism are two issues prevalent among the wealthy, while things such as socio-economic class conflict and the American dream may be more important to those without money. Ethics and responsibilities are an area of thought for both classes, with noblesse oblige leaning more towards the wealthy.
"Karl Marx on Religion: The Opiate of the Masses?" About.com Agnosticism / Atheism. N.p., n.d. Web. 02 May 2014.
The stronger will do anything in their power to make a profit, leaving the weak with nothing. Kuyper says, “…the more powerful exploited the weaker by means of a weapon against which there was no defense” (Kuyper, Abraham, and James W. Skillen 26). Additionally, he states that “…the idolization of money killed the nobility in the human heart” (Kuyper, Abraham, and James W. Skillen 31). Kuyper talks about how Jesus felt bad for the rich and sided with the poor (Kuyper, Abraham, and James W. Skillen 32). Matthew 6:19-21 says, “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” Earthly materials mean nothing because the real treasure awaits in
Proving to be the paramount of the conflict between faith and reason, the European Enlightenment of the eighteenth century challenged each of the traditional values of that age. Europeans were changing, but Europe’s institutions were not keeping pace with that change.1 Throughout that time period, the most influential and conservative institution of Europe, the Roman Catholic Church, was forced into direct confrontation with these changing ideals. The Church continued to insist that it was the only source of truth and that all who lived beyond its bounds were damned; it was painfully apparent to any reasonably educated person, however, that the majority of the world’s population were not Christians.2 In the wake of witch hunts, imperial conquest, and an intellectual revolution, the Roman Catholic Church found itself threatened by change on all fronts.3 The significant role that the Church played during the Enlightenment was ultimately challenged by the populace’s refusal to abide by religious intolerance, the power of the aristocracy and Absolutism, and the rising popularity of champions of reform and print culture, the philosophes, who shared a general opposition to the Roman Catholic Church.
Wealth has both a good and a bad side. It can change the life of a person for the better or worse, and that is clearly shown in F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby and Zora Neale Hurston’s Their Eyes Were Watching God. Wealth affects the lives of the characters of Their Eyes Were Watching God very differently than the characters of The Great Gatsby. Janie’s wealth came about, mainly, from her failed relationships.
In the midst of the many events of the sixteenth century, a schism of the Catholic Church was due to the political, social, and economic aspects of life. Religion was ultimately the cause of the schism and was also greatly affected by the aftermath. To see this, one can observe the opposition to the Church at the time, the lack of a secular state, and the Church’s “need” for funds obtained via indulgences. Around this time, life was forever impacted by the many ideas differing from the Catholic Church.
The Roman Catholic Church had complete influence over the lives of everyone in medieval society, including their beliefs and values. The Church’s fame in power and wealth had provided them with the ability to make their own laws and follow their own social hierarchy. With strong political strength in hand, the Church could even determine holidays and festivals. It gained significant force in the arts, education, religion, politics as well as their capability to alter the feudal structure through their wealth and power. The Church was organised into a hierarchical system that sustained the Church’s stability and control over the people and lower clergy, by organising them into different groups.
Marx saw religion as a tool for class oppression because of the conflict it provided for societies. According to Marx, “religion is the opium of the people” and “religion promotes stratification because it supports a hierarchy of people in Earth and the subordination of humankind to divine authority.” Marx believes that man makes religion, and not vice versa. He argues that religion is a mere product of man and is for people who have not won himself or has lost himself again. He calls for the banishment of religion stating that religion is just an illusion of happiness and the abolition of it is a demand for real happiness. Religion highlights social conditions and causes people to think and act the way religion teaches instead of having individuals act based on their own agency.
Marx saw religion as an evil that existed in society and that it brought down all the people that believed in that religion. Marx said that, ?It [religion] is the opium of the people,?[1] and in saying this, Marx meant that religion was contagious on society. Once the society had a taste for the religion, they became totally engulfed it in, and then they do not want to get out of that way of live because they see it as a good way to live. Then even if people wanted to get out of the religion it was hard to get out because the whole society had already been infected by the ?opium.?