The Church
Examining the relationship between religion and science in Renaissance Italy
Boasting a long history of Roman Catholicism, the Italian peninsula of the Renaissance era experienced the authority of the Catholic Church. As one of the dominant institutions of Renaissance Italy, the Church asserted its influence over the lives of the Italian people, including their selection of reading material. One aspect of being a devout Christian involved keeping one’s spirit clean of heretical ideas. The Catholic Church took it as a mission to facilitate its followers’ devoutness by censoring texts for heresy. This mission manifested itself as the Roman Inquisition, or Holy Office.
According to Findlen and Marcus, the Holy Office investigated twelve men of science between 1542 and 1600. This group included Giordano Bruno and Girolamo Borri, one of Galileo’s professors at Pisa; the investigations were based on the apparent need for evaluation of their actions or publications for suitability for Catholic readers. Of the twelve, the Catholic Church condemned only Bruno to death in 1600. Even then, Findlen and Marcus point out that it was not particularly Bruno’s science (cosmic pluralism) that caused his condemnation but rather his radical theology (denial of the Trinity). Though he was a Dominican friar, Bruno’s theology rejected some of the pillars of Catholicism; if these ideas caught on, the Catholic Church considered itself ruined. The Church would not allow this, especially under the threat of the Protestant Reformation. The part of Bruno’s theology unrelated to his science was his undoing at the hands of the Catholic Church. Thus, science was not necessarily seen as a threat to the Church during the Renaissance.
According to Findlen and Marcus, the Holy Office investigated twelve men of science between 1542 and 1600. This group included Giordano Bruno and Girolamo Borri, one of Galileo’s professors at Pisa; the investigations were based on the apparent need for evaluation of their actions or publications for suitability for Catholic readers. Of the twelve, the Catholic Church condemned only Bruno to death in 1600. Even then, Findlen and Marcus point out that it was not particularly Bruno’s science (cosmic pluralism) that caused his condemnation but rather his radical theology (denial of the Trinity). Though he was a Dominican friar, Bruno’s theology rejected some of the pillars of Catholicism; if these ideas caught on, the Catholic Church considered itself ruined. The Church would not allow this, especially under the threat of the Protestant Reformation. The part of Bruno’s theology unrelated to his science was his undoing at the hands of the Catholic Church. Thus, science was not necessarily seen as a threat to the Church during the Renaissance.
Likewise, interpreted as hypothesis rather than truth, Copernicus’s heliocentric theory, published in 1543, would not even be prohibited until 1616. The Church found the astronomical advancements of Copernicus and Galileo opportune, as they aided the improvement of religious calendars and agriculture. Pope Urban VIII, leader of the Catholic Church from 1623-1644, assured Galileo that he could write about Copernican theory as long as it remained a theoretical proposition. These examples demonstrate that during the Renaissance, the Catholic authorities considered science useful and compatible with Church doctrine if interpreted as theories attempting to explain observations. The Church influenced Italian Renaissance science by requiring that it maintain a hypothetical nature, make itself useful to Church aims, and not contradict explicit theological doctrine.
However, Galileo tested these limits. In 1633, he faced the Roman Inquisition for his book, Dialogue Concerning the Two Chief World Systems, which promoted heliocentrism and depicted Urban as a simpleton. However, it was probably the latter offense that precipitated Galileo’s forced repentance and lifelong house arrest. The Inquisition was part of the Counter-Reformation, the attempts made by the Catholic Church to curb Protestantism during the Reformation, which itself was inspired by enlightened Renaissance thinking. Beginning with Martin Luther, the Church was losing followers; the Inquisition was one way to filter out heresy opposing the Church, therefore reinforcing the power of the Catholic Church and pope. While Galileo did support heliocentrism, a view clashing with the biblical Earth- and human-centrism, he committed a greater crime by humiliating Pope Urban VIII. The religious environment of Renaissance, Counter-Reformation Italy was one affected by politics, and Galileo got in the way.
As evident in the examples of Bruno, Copernicus, and Galileo, the practicality and political convenience of science to the authority of the Catholic Church often trumped small theological discords. The Church armed itself with the Inquisition when science, or more appropriately, scientists, threatened its power. Overall, science and religion were compatible in the Renaissance period of Italy. The Church supported and rewarded science conducted to aid the Church, such as for astronomical calendars, and punished science that undermined its position as an Italian Renaissance authority, which often didn’t have an entirely direct relationship to the scientific advancements themselves.
However, Galileo tested these limits. In 1633, he faced the Roman Inquisition for his book, Dialogue Concerning the Two Chief World Systems, which promoted heliocentrism and depicted Urban as a simpleton. However, it was probably the latter offense that precipitated Galileo’s forced repentance and lifelong house arrest. The Inquisition was part of the Counter-Reformation, the attempts made by the Catholic Church to curb Protestantism during the Reformation, which itself was inspired by enlightened Renaissance thinking. Beginning with Martin Luther, the Church was losing followers; the Inquisition was one way to filter out heresy opposing the Church, therefore reinforcing the power of the Catholic Church and pope. While Galileo did support heliocentrism, a view clashing with the biblical Earth- and human-centrism, he committed a greater crime by humiliating Pope Urban VIII. The religious environment of Renaissance, Counter-Reformation Italy was one affected by politics, and Galileo got in the way.
As evident in the examples of Bruno, Copernicus, and Galileo, the practicality and political convenience of science to the authority of the Catholic Church often trumped small theological discords. The Church armed itself with the Inquisition when science, or more appropriately, scientists, threatened its power. Overall, science and religion were compatible in the Renaissance period of Italy. The Church supported and rewarded science conducted to aid the Church, such as for astronomical calendars, and punished science that undermined its position as an Italian Renaissance authority, which often didn’t have an entirely direct relationship to the scientific advancements themselves.
Sources and Further Reading:
- Findlen, Paula and Marcus, Hannah. “Science under Inquisition: Heresy and Knowledge in Catholic Reformation Rome.” Review of Catholic Church and Modern Science: Documents from the Archives of the Roman Congregations of the Holy Office and the Index, by Ugo Baldini. Isis 103.2 (2012): 376-382. JSTOR. http://www.jstor.org/stable/10.1086/666367
- Smith, Pamela H. The Business of Alchemy: Science and Culture in the Holy Roman Empire. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1997. Accessed November 2, 2014. http://books.google.it/books/princeton?id=ik80ua7vHMwC&dq=the+business+of+alchemy&source=gbs_navlinks_s
- The Galileo Project. “The Inquisition.” Last updated 1995. http://galileo.rice.edu/chr/inquisition.html