Religion and society, last SAC, Galileo

The books Galileo wrote

-"The Starry Messenger" (1610) -"Letter to the Grand Duchess Christina" (1615) -"The Assayer" (1623) -"Dialogue Concerning the Two Chief World Systems" (1632)

The aspects that were challenged

-Text and social structure -Text -Social structure and belief

The influence of the CCT's response on Galileo and the challenge

-Galileo was found "vehemently suspect of heresy" by advocating for the heliocentric view of the universe - that the sun is at the centre of the universe and the Earth moves around it. He was required to "abjure, curse and detest" those opinions by the Inquisition and was ordered imprisoned, later changed to house arrest. He was also ordered to recite prayers as penance for the rest of his life, a task, his daughter a nun, undertook for him. -Galileo's book "Dialogue of the 2 Chief World Systems" was banned and publication of any of his works was forbidden, including any he might write in the future. These stances and responses by the CCT effectively silenced Galileo and the heliocentric debate indefinitely. -It wasn't until 1718 that the CCT lifted the ban on reprinting Galileo's works. In 1758, the general ban against works advocating heliocentrism was removed from the Index of prohibited books. However, the specific ban on uncensored versions of Galileo's "Dialogue" book remained. -In 1835, all traces of official opposition to heliocentrism by the Church disappeared and the books were dropped from the Index

Response by the CCT

-In 1615, some philosophers and clerics denounced Galileo to the Vatican's "Inquisition". The Inquisition was a permanent institution within the Catholic Church charged with investigating and eradicating heresies. -1616: the Inquisition condemned heliocentrism as "false and contrary to scripture" and Galielo was cleared of an offence, but was warned to abandon his support of it (which he promised to do). -1623: His good friend, Cardinal Barberini is elected as Pope Urban VIII. -1632: he wrote a book called "Dialogue concerning the Two Chief World Systems". He received formal authorisation from the Inquisition and papal permission to write the book. Pope Urban VIII asked Galileo to give arguments for and against heliocentrism in the book, but to be careful to not advocate for heliocentrism. -1633: Galileo was ordered to stand trial on suspicion of heresy before the Inquisiton. The sentence of the Inquisition was essentially in 3 parts; (1) Galileo was found "vehemently suspect of heresy" by holding the belief of heliocentrism, a belief declared contrary to Holy Scripture. He was required to "abjure, curse and detest" (recant) those opinions. (2) He was ordered imprisoned; the sentence was later changed to house arrest. (3) His offending "Dialogue" was banned and placed on the "Index" of forbidden writings. And in an action not announced at the trial, publication of any of his works was forbidden, including any he might write in the future. * "The Index" was a list of forbidden books, first drawn up by the Congregation of the Inquisition of the Roman Catholic Church. The first list was published in 1559.

Heliocentrism and Geocentrism

-People believed in the Aristotelian view that "the world was the centre of the universe" (geocentrism) and that the sun revolved around it. This is the view that was held for 2000 years. Copernacism argued the opposite heliocentric view; that the sun was the centre of the universe and that the earth revolved around the sun. Galileo discovered that (through his modification of the telescope) that the earth revolved around the sun, based upon the shading of the planets.

The influence of the responses on the religious tradition itself and on wider society

-The CCT's response to the challenge of Galileo and heliocentrism had quite a detrimental effect on the Church itself. The Church earnt itself a reputation, within wider society, as an institution that was "hostile to Science" and this was a reputation that it would take almost 400 years to shed. As a result of its responses to the challenge, the wider society came to regard the Church as archaic, narrow-minded and not open to scientific research and reason. For example, even as late as 2008 the then Pope Benedict was forced to cancel a speech at Rome's La Sapienza University. This was after a group of professors, citing the Galileo incident, argued that he shouldn't be allowed to speak as he was a "...religious figure opposed to science". -One step the Church took in improving wider society's opinion of it was the establishment of its own Vatican Observatory in 1891, which undertakes its own 'top-notch' astronomical and educational research. -As late as 1992, Pope John Paul II declared that the ruling against Galileo was an error resulting from "tragic mutual incomprehension". -In May of 2008, several Vatican officials participated in an international conference to re-examine the Galileo affair. The conference was presumably called by the Church as a result from internal and external pressure to do so. At the conference, a prominent Cardinal stated that Galileo was a man who "...lovingly cultivated his faith and his profound religious conviction" and "...who saw nature as a book authored by God". There were even plans afoot to erect a statue of Galileo in the Vatican gardens, in his honour. -Pope Benedict, in particular, was a Church leader who wanted to make the "faith-reason" argument a key aspect of exploration and discussion in his papacy. For example, he allowed the Vatican's own newspaper to run a story on the possibility of alien life on another planet. -In summary, 400 years on, the Galileo episode still rankles with some members of wider society. In 2008, the Vatican's chief astronomer Rev. Jose Funes stated, "...the dramatic clash between Galileo and some men of the Church left wounds that are still open today". But Rev. Funes further added that the Church in some ways had recognised its errors........(but) one can always do better

The Council of Trent

-The Council of Trent was the 19th ecumenical Council (a conference of ecclesiastical dignitaries and theological dignitaries and theological experts convened to discuss and settle matters if Church doctrine and practice) of the Roman Catholic Church, and was held at Northern Italy between 1545 and 1563. -During this Council, the Catholic dogma was finally established in a concrete fashion, and all of its decrees were formally confirmed by Pope Pius IV in 1564. Although doctrine was established about the sacraments, purgatory and the Bible, among other things, the teachings and decisions about indulgences and the interpretation of scripture were most notable. They decided to ban the sale of indulgences as a result of the fallout from the Protestant Reformation, however, the validity (meaning) of indulgences themselves were upheld. They also decided that Vulgate (Latin) translation was the only authoritative text, and that translation into other languages was forbidden. In this way, full authority was given to the Church, as only Church Fathers (taught orthodox doctrine and learning, possessed holiness of life, and had a certain antiquity) could interpret and enforce Church doctrine. The statements of the Church Fathers was regarded as definitive for all time in matters of faith and morals. -As Vulgate was the only authoritative text and interpretation was only to be done by Church Fathers, translation into any other languages was forbidden and any Christian who his own interpretation was a heretic. -The Council of Trent further reiterated the Church's belief that both Scripture and Church Tradition were necessary for the Christian belief. Both were of equal authority.

Why did the Church not like the idea of religious freedom?

A major source of conflict between the Enlightenment and the Church was the issue of religious freedom. The key medieval idea at the time was that there had to be unity of religion! Unity of religion was the basis of social order! This was a very strong and prevailing view in both the Protestant and the Catholic world.

Text

Heliocentrism contradicted the scriptures and theology. "The world is firmly established, it cannot be moved..." (Psalm 96:10

Challenge details

Name of the challenge: Age of Enlightenment/Rise of Modernity Source of the challenge: The invention of the telscope and Galileo's discoveries Date/s: 1610'onwards Nature of the challenge: Theology Stance of the religous tradition: Against

Text and social structure

Only men of religious authority were permitted to interpret Holy Scriptures. Anyone who substituted his own interpretation was a heretic.

Why was the Council of Trent held?

Th Council was held because the Catholic Church needed to response to the challenge of the Protestant Reformation (and formed a key part of the Counter-Reformation).

Social structure and belief

The Council of Trent (1545 - 1563) reiterated the Church's belief that both Scripture and Church Tradition were necessary for true Christian belief. Both were of equal authority. Church tradition was based on the authority of the Church Fathers. The Church Fathers were early and influential theologians, eminent Christian teachers and great bishops. A Church Father was anyone who taught orthodox doctrine and learning, possessed holiness of life and had a certain anitiquity. (e.g) St. Augustine of Hippo. Their statements were regarded as definitive for all times in matters of faith and morals.

Broader background of the challenge

The significant challenge itself & the broader context •The challenge itself was the AGE OF ENLIGHTENMENT & THE RISE OF MODERNITY of the seventeenth century (of which Galileo Galilei was a part). This was itself an external challenge. It was an age that promoted human reason and had an optimistic view of the world and human nature. •It was an age that saw the emergence of "thinkers", such as scientists and mathematicians, who offered a different view of the cosmos, the nature of man and of religion, etc. Copernicus and his heliocentric view of the Earth was an example. •These "thinkers" of the Enlightenment were also part of a movement called "critical rationalism". This meant that a person should accept as true only what seemed to be true to him, based on the basis of rational evidence. Whereas the Church argued that the truth was based on scripture, that only the Church had the authority to interpret. •The Catholic Church's response to the free thinkers was largely defensive and negative, as they were often unable to meet the free thinkers on their own grounds. As a result, they frequently condemned their ideas and forcefully repressed them.