THE CATHOLIC CHURCH AND HER DESTRUCTIVE ENEMIES: THE RENAISSANCE, THE REFORMATION, AND THE ABSOLUTE MONARCHS

Before the modernization process, the Church had been shaping the daily life of ordinary people, intervening in important political decisions made by empires and dominating the subjects of the medieval intelligentsia, all at the same time. This article is about the transformation of this supposed “invar-iable” social power of the Catholic Church at the very beginning of the Eu-ropean modernization process. The article aims to present the transforma-tive and staggering effects of the emergence of Renaissance, Reformation and Absolute Monarchies on the power of the Church. The qualitative approach was adopted and the data obtained through accessing primary and secondary sources were subjected to descriptive analysis. The article reveals the follow-ings: In the process beginning with the Renaissance, the fields of thought and culture began to distance themselves from the Church. The Church was not regarded as the sole institution for salvation and eternal happiness anymore and the concept of an intermediary institution between God and individu-als became defunct for almost half of the continent. Over a period of approx-imately 200 years, the kings previously enthroned by the Pope either formed their own churches or declared their independence from the Papacy.

KATOLİK KİLİSESİ VE YIKICI DÜŞMANLARI: RÖNESANS, REFORMASYON VE MUTLAK MONARŞİLER

Modernleşme sürecinden önce Katolik Kilisesi Avrupa’da gündelik yaşamı şekillendiriyor, imparatorlukların aldıkları önemli siyasi kararlara müdahil oluyor, dönemin entelektüel dünyasının konularını belirliyor ve krallara tacını giydiriyordu. Bu makale, Katolik Kilisesi’nin değişmez sanılacak kadar gör-kemli olan bu toplumsal gücünün Avrupa modernleşme sürecinin başlarında yaşadığı dönüşümü konu ediniyor. Makalenin amacı ise, özellikle Rönesans, Reform ve Mutlak Monarşilerin ortaya çıkış sürecinin, Kilise’nin gücünü nasıl sarstığını okuyucuya sunmaktır. Çalışma nitel araştırma yaklaşımını benim-senmiş olup, birincil ve ikincil kaynaklara ulaşarak yapılan literatür taraması ile elde edilen veriler betimsel analize tabii tutulmuştur. Makale şu bilgileri ortaya koymaktadır: Rönesans ile başlayan süreçte düşünce ve kültür alanı yavaşça kendisini Kilise’den ayırmıştır. Kilise artık ruhun kurtuluşu ve sonsuz mutluluk konularında bireylerin sığınacağı tek kurum olmaktan çıkmıştır ve dinden de-ğil ama dinî özgürlük Avrupa halklarının sahip olduğu bir ilke haline gelmiştir. Yaklaşık 200 senelik bir süre zarfında, daha önce papa tarafından taç giydirilen krallar ya kendi kiliselerini kurmuşlardır ya da papadan bağımsızlıklarını ilan etmişlerdir. Kilise üyeleri krallar tarafından yargılanmaya başlanmışlardır.

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