Separation of Church and State

In 1500 to 1700, the Protestants wanted separation of Church and state.  Catholic monarchs had long been making life hell for Protestants, but if the Church became separate and did not have power over the state, the Protestants would be able to worship in the way in which they were accustomed without fearing death.  Monarchs like Mary I of England showed how dangerous the union of Church and state could be for anyone other than Catholics.  The Medici proved that it was easy to influence the Church, and thereby, easy to influence the state.  The Divine Right of Kings illustrated perfectly the union of church and state, and how corrupt it could be.  The Protestants were right to think that Church and state should be separated, as Mary I, the Medici, and The Divine Right of Kings prove that the union can only lead to corruption.

Mary I of England, otherwise known as Bloody Mary, was a Catholic monarch who used her power to persecute Protestants.  Mary viewed her religion ass the most important duty she had as a queen, and refused to have anyone disagree with her.  Any Protestant living in that time or after would want the separation of Church and state, as it would save the lives of their people.  When only the Catholic or Protestant side is in power, there is an unbalance that can only lead to the abuse of one side.  The only way to avoid that is to remove religion from the equation of ruling.

The Medici were the epitome of corruption of the Church.  They bought the Pope-hood for Giovanni Medici, which was simply a power play on their part.  By placing someone as pope, they became the most powerful family in Florence.  While the papacy is supposed to be incorruptible, the real fault is that they could gain so much power by having a Medici as a pope.  They became the most trusted bank in Florence, which meant that they got to be extremely wealthy.  By buying their way to the top of the Church, the ensured political gain, which should never be able to take place.

The Divine Right of Kings most clearly illustrates the point of why the separation of Church and state was necessary.  The idea behind the Divine Right of Kings was that monarchs were chosen by God to rule.  if they could claim to have the power of God behind them, they could do anything and say that it was God's will.  Kings were pretty much printing out licences to do what they wanted, and there was no way that any Christian could stop them without fearing the wrath of God.  The Divine Right of Kings was the ultimate union of the Church and state, and possibly the most corrupt of all.

The separation of Church and state was an issue that Protestants wanted to see resolved.  It was a way to gain power corruptly, but had almost no good sides to it.  The Church and state, while a powerful bond, was not the moral thing to do, nor was it stable for people in the Church or in government.  The Protestants received the worst end of this deal, and needed some sort of separation to occur.  With the Church ad state unified, the Protestants could expect persecution by Mary I and other Catholic rulers, corrupt gain of power and money by the Medici, and the ability for monarchs to rule with being questioned under the Divine Right of Kings.