Catholic Church And The Rulers example essay topic

During the 16th century, Europe was influenced by many rulers. Henry of Navarre, Elizabeth I and William of Orange are three that come to mind. Politiques were people who put political survival above religious unity. However, they did not just change how Europe was politically but how it was culturally also. Henry of Navarre, also known as Henry IV, would be considered a politique because during his reign he converted to Catholicism because he knew that he would be taken more seriously by the masses. However even after becoming Catholic he passed the Edict of Nantes to give his Protestant brothers freedoms much like Charles V did with the Peace of Augsburg.

Elizabeth I is considered a politique because she helped form a "truce" between the Catholics and Protestants. She merged a centralized Episcopal system, which she firmly controlled, with broadly-defined Protestant doctrine and traditional Catholic ritual. Thereby creating the Anglican church and some semblance of religious peace in her realm. William of Orange would be considered a politique because he assisted greatly in the Compromise of 1564 in the Netherlands. Also by helping and persuading the northern Protestant regions of the Netherlands to join with the southern Catholic regions of the Netherlands to help eliminate Spanish rule. Political survival was the top priority of all politiques of the time.

Religion had been a problem for far to long. By having a ruler that was not so involved with having their country all one religion, the politiques believed that the political view of their country would be changed. All three rulers saw, during their reign, that such change did indeed occur. Henry of Navarre's edict made sure of the beginnings of religious freedom in France, and Elizabeth I continued that tradition in England. This separation of these countries' religions from that of the ruler was a great step in the establishment of what would become the American tradition of separation between church and state. William of Orange was a Protestant in a very Catholic country.

His flight to the Netherlands brought about the Compromise in the Netherlands that helped them eliminate Spanish rule of the Netherlands. With their leaders not overly concerned about religion, the common people, artists and musicians were allowed to express themselves in many more ways than previously. The Baroque period in architecture and music was a combination of extremely ornate and very simple styles. The Catholic church and the rulers who subscribed to that religion built ornate and elaborate churches, while the politique rulers allowed poets, musicians and other craftsmen freedom to express themselves in ways that would not have been allowed under a strict religious reign. In conclusion, the politique attitude of self-preservation helped pave the way in 16th Century Europe for the coming of the next wave of reform.

The willingness of the rulers to place their political careers before their religious beliefs allowed the culture and economics of their respective countries to survive and even thrive. The Baroque style of architecture, art and music, brought about by the Catholic Church to protest the plainness of Protestant worship and belief, provided work for the common laborer as well as the many artists and musicians of Europe. The legacy of rich art, music and architecture is still ours to enjoy.