Dejanee Miles

How did religion shape politics, identity, and community?

An Introspection of the Jurisdiction and Consequences of Religion in Western Civilization
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For many a millennium, various religions throughout the duration of the Middle-Ages
have garnered so much power from their conception to their demise that they have greatly and
positively influenced several aspects of ancient Western civilization and their ways of living.
This eventually permeated into the public cultural identity, upper and lower social factions, in
addition to the very political climate of grander Western society in tangible and intellectual ways.
Over time, however, many of these other doctrines and theologies soon became diminished in
their power due to the sudden increase in faith and generalized rise in sovereignty that was
established within the harmful Christian practices of worship as well as the domineering
institution that better represents its central dogma, the Church. Without the combined efforts of
these spiritual beliefs, however, much of what is known regarding modern-day approaches to
living and the characterization of certain religious figures would otherwise be lost to the sands of
time.
Before Christianity became the dominant religion of the West and grew into its ensuing
supremacy for the years to come, both the Islamic faith along with Judaism impacted the
methods by which the past was made accessible in the present without the need for certain
technologies during the inception of the Early Middle-Ages. Also, the present allowed
opportunities for members of other devout beliefs to engage. One instance of this includes how
the “Cordoba library”1 within Islamic Spain, otherwise known as “the largest library”2 during the
beginning of the Middle-Ages, housed around “4000,000 volumes”3 of texts while also
“champion[ing] the translation of Greek philosophy”4 as part of their collection, as an academic
scholar and historian Dr. Sandrine Sanos describes in the lecture video “Hist 2311: The Middle
Ages (I).” (2022, 0:24-0:48). Dr. Sanos further explains how this permitted “Western and
Northern Europeans [to rediscover] Aristotle”5 and incorporate it into “the Christian
tradition[s]”6 of the time (Sanos 2022, 0:24-0:48). Such an incredible revelation that has
transferred from one religion to another has greatly altered the course of history not only in the
sense of this reclamation of the past but also in the notion that the practices of one pious system
of beliefs have changed the existing practices of another belief system that it otherwise does not
identify with. Moreover, with this cross-reference between differing denominations came a
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shared yet unspoken semblance of community seeing as both Christianity and Islam were joined
together through the respective customs of each faith being dependent on one another without
complete isolation from any external influence as initially thought. Another moment of influence
that Dr. Sanos also briefly mentions was when a figure named “Hasadai Ibn Shiprut,”7 who was a
“high ranking ruler”8 within his particular Jewish commune was promoted to the position of
Vizir, or “prime minister, by King Abd Al Rahman III”9 in Islamic Spain for his intellectual
prowess in speaking and writing in “Arabic...Latin, Mozarabic, and Hebrew”10 (Sanos 2022,
1
Sanos, Sandrine, “Hist 2311: The Middle Ages (I),” September 19, 2022, video, 0:24-0:48,
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YSQ2sg6APhQ.
2. Ibid
3. Ibid
4. Ibid
5. Ibid
6. Ibid
7. Ibid, 0:49-1:10
8. Ibid, 0:49-1:10
9. Ibid, 0:49-1:10
10. Ibid, 0:49-1:10
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0:49-1:10). This moment proves to be another occasion in which there was an exchange between
different forms of theological worship, albeit, in a much more direct way, where another power
was shared, though it was political, not conceptual. This specific decision to have these two
representatives from opposite ends of the religious spectrum mutually benefit from each other
through political powers also indirectly affected the Islamic Spanish community due to the fact
that the legislations and policies created by the Vizir explicitly dictated how the denizens of
Spain lived accordingly. Such distinct examples of a harmonious union between these creeds
demonstrate that religion has had some positive effects on Western society.
Though these valuable cross-sections between doctrines occurred, that does not negate
how religion had guided and brought about internalized debates and inquiries into the exact
amount of power and impact it was authorized to have in relation to Western civilization,
ultimately having negative effects on the identities of a certain select few of worshippers. More
specifically, the nonfiction educational publication referred to as Sources of the Making of the
West Volume 1: to 1740 holds a primary source from King Henry IV in the form of a letter to
Pope Gregory VII in 1076 that asserted that when he forbade the ‘investing…’ [of] church
leaders”11 it was a countermeasure to not be potentially “judged by [anyone beside] God”12 as he
finds he has not “deviate[d] from the [f]aith”13 at all (197). Supplementarily, he further
illuminates that the pope “do[es] not fear God”14 and was thusly actively “dishonor[ing] [him],
ordained of Him”15 as the “true pope Saint Peter”16 had supposedly suggested to ‘fear God, [and]
honor the [k]ing”17 (Katherine Lualdi, 198). In spite of the fact that he was defending himself in
this context, King Henry IV was utilizing his devoutness to Christianity and the Church for the
sole purpose of striving to maintain his dominion over the general public. It reveals how the
piousness he gained from the denomination affected how he perceived his own role in society
relative to the individual beliefs he held which had impacted how he treated his citizens and
other powerful people. Pope Gregory VII himself in the same year, being one of those affected
by the mindset of King Henry IV, responded through a letter to the king concerning his
“rebell[ion] against [the] Church”18 and “releasing all Christian men from [any] allegiance”19
with him Katherine Lualdi, 197-198). In addition to forbidding “anyone to serve him as king”20
seeing as “the Holy Roman Church forced”21 him into the role of “be[ing] its ruler…against [his]
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will”22 (Katherine Lualdi, 197-198). Here the essential spokesperson for Christianity was
simultaneously weaponizing the pious identities of members of the widespread congregation of
the Church as well as that of his assumed divine authority as a means of securing his and its
place as the one true administrative figure that has the license to impose its will over others

Katherine Lualdi (ed.) Sources of the Making of the West, Vol. I: to 1740 (Bedford & St
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Martin’s), 197.
12. Ibid, 198
13. Ibid
14. Ibid
15. Ibid
16. Ibid
17. Ibid
18. Ibid, to 198
19. Ibid, to 198
20. Ibid, to 198
21. Ibid, to 198
22. Ibid, to 198
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similar to the king. This particular letter by Pop Gregory VII fundamentally illustrates, however,
how the presumed abilities of the Church and Christianity and, by proxy, any spirituality in the
past, had the potential adverse effect on the very personal outlooks and identities of its followers
seeing as the pope and the king purposefully misconstrued the central teachings of their faith to
better suit his personal needs and desires for control.
Reflecting the tangible consequences theology had on other regions of the world that
admitted them to be more connected to in a communal sense, it has also unfortunately been
utilized as a means of reinforcing political ideologies that it birthed leading to physical violence
toward other seemingly deviating ritualist credences. In the same video lecture previously
referenced Dr. Sanos briefly explains that there had been some “elements of religious reform”23
from which the notion and “radical change”24 of ‘free[ing] the Church from the world’ stemmed
(2022, 2:01-2:15). This resulted in the coalesced ‘myths’ and passions’ of the Church and many
a Christian alike that were used to antagonize “both Jews and Muslims”25 through being
“incredibly more rigid and exclusionary”26 toward them (Sanos 2022, 6:06-6:23). The inciting
sentiments of action and ferocity are exhibited in this chronicling by Dr. Sanos since, although
they can be viewed as simple procedures transcribed for the masses, they did have an immense
amount of regulatory conceptual force behind them that went on to directly govern the very
personhood of Spanish Muslims and Jewish people. To further simplify, religion had been
employed in a political manner once more for the sake of estranging and belittling divergent
followers of other spiritualities, which for many was a personalized aspect of their core identity,
mirroring aspects of the antisemitic and Islamaphobic rhetoric and characterization in
present-day. The proceeding Christian Crusades against these specific non-secular delegations
were additionally “blessed by church leaders”27 themselves as many Christian men rallied
together their combined forces to supposedly protect themselves and the Church from any
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perceived threats to their doctrines, as delineated by another nonfiction educational publication
known as The Making of the West Volume 1: to 1740 (Lynn Hunt et al., 353). This proves to be
another instance in which there was confidence in an ideology that had only severed to
strengthen the politicized ideas of moral altruism that originated from religion and were, again, a
mentality fervently brandished in opposition to the mere existence of other creeds. Such a hostile
point of view conjoined with the deliberately misinterpreted teachings of religion had cultivated
into the vicious physical manifestation of the “us versus them” frame of thinking.
To be much more specific regarding this matter of conflating piety with policy,
Christianity had been used as a vehicle by respected individuals in its community to advance a
narrative of determining identifiable virtue through brutality. One such individual includes Pope
Urban II who felt that those who participated in the Crusades needed to “wrest that land from the
wicked race,”28 as it was apparently the only foreseeable method of “subjec[ing] it to”29
themselves, enforcing the impression of using force to gain an apparently lost piece of
self-identity (Lynn Hunt et al., 354). Additionally, he persuaded the soldiers of the Crusades with

Sanos, “Hist 2311: The Middle Ages (I),” 2022, 2:01-2:15.

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24. Ibid
25. Ibid, 6:06-6:23
26. Ibid
28. Lynn Hunt et al. (ed.) The Making of the West, Vol. 1: to 1740 (Bedford & St Martin’s, 4th
ed.), 354.
29. Ibid
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“the forgiveness of [their] sins” (Lynn Hunt et al., 354). Similarly to Pope Gregory VII, Pope
Urban II weaponized the identities of both Christians as well as Muslims and Jewish people, with
the former being used against the latter, which was primarily dependent upon the policing of
those considered worthy of salvation and who were not deemed devout enough Christians.
Moreover, there was a semblance of irony in the fact that a community used the hatred of others
to strive for isolation from them, showcasing the paradoxical and nonsensical nature of
exclusion-based applications of faith. In a speech at Clermont in 1095 Pope Urban II later stated
that “the Lord”31 has made certain to “beseech [the public] as Christ’s heralds”32 who must
“destroy the vile race”33 and support the “lands of [their] friends”34 that were supposedly there,
with the lands referring to the freedom of “Jerusalem and the Holy Land”35 from that of “the
Seljuk Turks”36 (Katherine Lualdi, 199-200). Once again there was an assertion of the “us versus
them” sentimentality present within this speech where he appealed to their sensibilities of
non-secular zealousness and the preservation of any culture related to their institution of the
Church to make them feel superior over Muslims and Jewish individuals. Since the religion of
Christianity consists of a congregation of Christians as its main source of representation and
support, their shared religious identity brings them together as a community to attack any
believed menaces to their traditions or principle dogma in a political manner.
After the intense violence and force used by a sect of Christians were enacted, the air of
supremacy reflected in their now domineering status was incorporated conceptually into the
social and theoretical spheres of Western living. In a different lecture video designated “Hist
2311: The Gothic,” Dr. Sanos unravels how the intermediate point of the Middle-Ages, also
known as “the High Middle Ages,”37 saw the new inclusion of “Gothic cathedrals”38 in Christian
territories (2022, 0:04-0:07 & 2:26-2:37). They were particularly meant to portray “signs of
wealth and pride”39 in addition to “the might of God…and the institution”40 of the Church (Sanos
2022, 2:26-2:37 & 2:55-3:09). As indicated by Dr. Sanos, these Gothic cathedrals served to be
the physical manifestations of holy indoctrination coalesced into communal spaces that
figuratively reaffirmed the structural faith of Christianity. By establishing these buildings as
another representation of the Church, it was able to literally uphold the essential Christian
4
30. Ibid
31. Lualdi, 199-200.
32. Ibid
33. Ibid
34. Ibid
35. Ibid
36. Ibid
37. Sanos, Sandrine, “Hist 2311: The Gothic,” September 26, 2022, video, 0:04 -0:07, 2:26-2:37,
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q-T8emyLq34.
38. Ibid
39. Ibid, and 2:55-3:09
40. Ibid Sanos, Sandrine, “Hist 23:11 Heresy,” September 26, 2022, video, 2:05-2:08, 2:14-2:20,
and 3:16-3:21, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Be1Gwdh8iXE.
41. Ibid
42. Ibid
43. Ibid
44. Ibid
45. Ibid
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assumption of possessing a strong faith in Christianity through the sound yet commanding
architecture and, to some extent, the Church itself. This also expands to policing of bodies once
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more as Dr. Sanos describes in the lecture video “Hist 2311: Heresy” that heresy, or ‘treason to
God’ 41 was viewed as “an infection”42 or “contamination”43 that permitted the Church to
“unleash all of its powers,”44 including that of violence, to combat “any form of heresy”45 that
was discovered (2022, 2:05-2:08, 2:14-2:20, & 3:16-3:21). Here, non-secularism was employed
to allow the Church to further exert its rule over Christians and people of other denominations
given the control they had with their divine powers to decree a sudden rise in heresy while
ensuring its association with negative connotations. Both moments display how religion has
influenced these rather oppressive symbols of authority to be veiled under the guise of protection
and order.
Lastly, the ensuing age of pedagogy within the Late Middle Ages was somewhat
impacted by the piety of Christianity as it imbued itself into the increased interests of
intellectualism and became interconnected with the personalized viewpoints of the public.
Scholasticism was one of the largest philosophical perspectives at the time that centered around
the reconciliation between “faith and reason”46 as well as locating any semblance of
“commonalities in the sacred and secular realms,”47 more specifically the “culmination of logical
and exposition”48 between the two (Lynn Hunt et al., 312 & 411). The same debate about the
influence of the Church and religion between Pope Gregory II and King Henry IV previously
mentioned occurred in this instance, although it is more so rooted in genuine confusion as
opposed to a beseeching of the divine forces. The faithful nature of these followers also speaks to
another form of indoctrination that the Church engaged in since they were unwilling to detach
themselves from the religious institution in favor of an academic one. On person that best
encapsulates these apprehensions was Saint Thomas Aquinas, an emerging pious philosopher in
this era, who “departed from Aristotle”49 and his disciplines as he found there were “some
exceptions”50 to the musings of Aristotle (Lynn Hunt et al., 368). Supplementarily, he was
believed to have been “placing too much emphasis on reason”51 though he thought “God, nature,
and reason”52 to be “in harmony”53 (Lynn Hunt et al., 368). For a member of the clergy to be
accused of such an act divulges the arbitrary regulations that religious sect had imposed in a
desperate endeavor to unite congregants as a community through the politicized aspects of their
identity.
In essence, several of the religions in Western civilization during most of the
Middle-Ages have had a large effect on public politics, identities, and communities that have
either improved or regressed these facts of society as shown above. While Islam and Judaism
have allowed greater possibilities of expanding upon the social and educational benefits their
religions offer, the aggressive, confrontational, and oftentimes seclusionary attitude that
Christianity and the Church adopted discloses how debilitating religion can be as well when
weaponized.
5 46
Lynn Hunt et al., 312 & 411.
47. Ibid
48. Ibid,
49. Ibid, 368
50. Ibid
51. Ibid
52. Ibid
53. Ibid