Written for Phebe Jensen's class on English literature, September 2018.
Sir Thomas More's Critiques and Commendations for Catholicism
By C. Randall Nicholson
In Utopia, Sir Thomas More described the "ideal" society, sometimes seriously and sometimes satirically, but in either case making observations about the one he lived in. He was a fiercely devout Catholic who sacrificed his life rather than renounce his principles, yet was surely impacted by the religious turmoil and dissatisfaction of his time. Utopia was published only the year before the Protestant Reformation began. Discontent was already simmering beneath the surface throughout Europe, and while More was by and large immune to it, he was unafraid to give his own religion fresh scrutiny. Through his seminal work, he poked fun at some aspects of European religion and philosophy, and showed an openness toward other religions and philosophies that was far ahead of its time, but ultimately reaffirmed Catholicism's core truths to be wholesome and correct.
Though particular sections of Utopia are specifically devoted to religion, it can be said that religion is woven throughout and one of, if not the most important subject touched upon – yet More subtly questions its monolithic centrality. “Christian faith structured and informed everyday lives in ways which it does not today... [F]or example, it structured the way in which ideas about society were formulated... the way in which science and its uses were articulated... and the European view of the colonisation of the Americas.” (Aughterson 9) Of course this was the same Christian faith throughout virtually all of Europe when Utopia was written, giving people little choice in the matter. In a time before the thousands of Christian denominations that exist today, More almost prophetically described “different forms of religion throughout the island, and even in individual cities.” (More 634) Of course he was familiar with other forms of religion, such as paganism and Islam, and the ancient Greek and Roman beliefs had heavily influenced science and medicine in Europe. (Aughterson 346-47) Yet totally non-Christian religions were not widely practiced or approved of. Utopia outlines a paradigm of religious freedom and tolerance that simply did not exist anywhere in the world at that time. Well after the Reformation and More's death, churches were still trying to force people to adhere to their doctrines and practices. (Aughterson 13) More had no place for this approach in his ideal society – though of course, he made sure to point out that “by far the wisest” “believe in a single power, unknown, eternal, infinite, inexplicable, beyond the grasp of the human mind, and diffused throughout the universe, not physically, but in influence.” (More 634) This is not much different from the traditional Christian conception of God, and the similarities to Christianity extend deeper than that. “In matters of moral philosophy, they carry on the same arguments as we do.” (More 614) “Though these are indeed religious beliefs, they think that reason leads us to believe and accept them.” (More 615)
Indeed, for the most part the Utopian religion not only reaffirms Christianity / Catholicism but also chastens the people of England for not adhering more closely to its teachings. More, for example, is very critical of the practice of executing thieves, and so the Utopian legal system practices Christian charity and encourages repentance. “It is clear how mild and practical they are, for the aim of the punishment is to destroy vices and save men. The criminals are treated so that they become good of necessity, and for the rest of their lives they atone for the wrong they have done before.” (More 586) The Bible teaches that love of money is the root of all evil and that believers should lay up treasures in heaven instead of on Earth, and accordingly the Utopians have little use for gold and mock those who do. (More 611-13) This was only twenty-four years after Christopher Columbus “discovered” the Americas, and many nominal Christians were in a mad frenzy to sail over and make their fortunes. Similarly, while many Christians past and present had been proudly violent and bloodthirsty, often citing God's favor as justification, the Utopians “despise war as an activity fit only for beasts, yet practiced more by man than by any other creature.” (More 629) Christ tells his followers to share their blessings with each other, and accordingly the Utopians have set up a form of voluntary proto-socialism, a mutual generosity on which their whole society operates. Divorce is frowned upon and not easily granted (625-26) – a controversial position in the real world that would lead to a schism and the creation of the Church of England not long after Utopia was published.
The Utopian religion varies from and therefore critiques Catholicism in a few respects. For example, its practitioners “conclude, after carefully considering and weighing the matter, that all our actions and the virtues exercised within them look toward pleasure and happiness as their ultimate end.” (More 616) He affirms, of course, that only “good and honest pleasure” (More 615) is worthwhile and that there is a system of regulations to determine when and how pleasure is pursued. This stands in stark contrast to the traditional Christian belief, especially at the time, that things of the body are sinful or at least impure. While sex within marriage was tolerated, total celibacy was considered to be a higher law and required (at least in theory) for leadership positions within the Catholic Church. More evidently did not agree with this perspective. In fact, when Utopians are planning to marry, “the woman is shown naked to the suitor by a responsible and respectable matron; and similarly, some respectable man presents the suitor naked to the woman.” (More 625) This practice is compared to examining a colt before buying it and is certainly intended as satire. Yet it startles readers even now, and would have been even more surprising to the early sixteenth-century Catholic audience, grabbing their attention enough for More to make them think about his tamer suggestion that seeking pleasure is a form of godliness, not its antithesis. If any took offense at this suggestion, he could point out that he was merely describing the practices of a fictional country.
It is clear in hindsight that Sir Thomas More had no intention of reforming or overthrowing Catholicism altogether, but it is also clear that he was criticizing, as for a time some of the “dangerous” religious and philosophical ideas in Utopia were open to misinterpretation. “Ten years after the first edition of Utopia, Europe had become a different world, often a much more hostile one, a place in which Thomas More assured he would not have repeated the same adventure. In 1532, when busy writing his great polemical work against William Tyndale, More went as far as thinking that Utopia... needed to be destroyed.” (Phélippeau 570) He was opposed to the Protestant Reformation and alarmed that its adherents could potentially use his work as ammunition. Though criticizing the Church could be dangerous before and after the Reformation, More seems to have gotten away with it in part because he used a self-deprecating sense of humor that was shared by at least a few other Catholics. He hinted at this in the story itself with a friar who jokes at the expense of his own profession, a character who does not hail from Utopia and certainly would not have been inserted if he were entirely unbelievable (More 587). This shows that More's criticisms did not come from a place of hostility. Before the Reformation started, most of his original audience would have understood his intention (Phélippeau 570), which was clearly born of a sincere interest in the well-being of the Catholic Church and its people.
In an era long before freedom of speech and religion as we understand it today, and before Martin Luther became a household name, Sir Thomas More was making sometimes unflattering observations on contemporary religion and philosophy in works such as Utopia. Yet he was a devout practitioner of the religion he held up to scrutiny. He set an example of combining faith and reason as Christians of the time prided themselves on doing. Perhaps above all, he displayed a sense of humility about his own beliefs, as the inhabitants of his ideal society pray to “thank God for benefits received, and particularly for the divine favor which placed them in the happiest of commonwealths and inspired them with religious ideas which they hope are the truest. If they are wrong in this, and if there is some sort of society or religion more acceptable to God, they pray that he will, in his goodness, reveal it to them, for they are ready to follow wherever he leads.” (More 641-42)
Though particular sections of Utopia are specifically devoted to religion, it can be said that religion is woven throughout and one of, if not the most important subject touched upon – yet More subtly questions its monolithic centrality. “Christian faith structured and informed everyday lives in ways which it does not today... [F]or example, it structured the way in which ideas about society were formulated... the way in which science and its uses were articulated... and the European view of the colonisation of the Americas.” (Aughterson 9) Of course this was the same Christian faith throughout virtually all of Europe when Utopia was written, giving people little choice in the matter. In a time before the thousands of Christian denominations that exist today, More almost prophetically described “different forms of religion throughout the island, and even in individual cities.” (More 634) Of course he was familiar with other forms of religion, such as paganism and Islam, and the ancient Greek and Roman beliefs had heavily influenced science and medicine in Europe. (Aughterson 346-47) Yet totally non-Christian religions were not widely practiced or approved of. Utopia outlines a paradigm of religious freedom and tolerance that simply did not exist anywhere in the world at that time. Well after the Reformation and More's death, churches were still trying to force people to adhere to their doctrines and practices. (Aughterson 13) More had no place for this approach in his ideal society – though of course, he made sure to point out that “by far the wisest” “believe in a single power, unknown, eternal, infinite, inexplicable, beyond the grasp of the human mind, and diffused throughout the universe, not physically, but in influence.” (More 634) This is not much different from the traditional Christian conception of God, and the similarities to Christianity extend deeper than that. “In matters of moral philosophy, they carry on the same arguments as we do.” (More 614) “Though these are indeed religious beliefs, they think that reason leads us to believe and accept them.” (More 615)
Indeed, for the most part the Utopian religion not only reaffirms Christianity / Catholicism but also chastens the people of England for not adhering more closely to its teachings. More, for example, is very critical of the practice of executing thieves, and so the Utopian legal system practices Christian charity and encourages repentance. “It is clear how mild and practical they are, for the aim of the punishment is to destroy vices and save men. The criminals are treated so that they become good of necessity, and for the rest of their lives they atone for the wrong they have done before.” (More 586) The Bible teaches that love of money is the root of all evil and that believers should lay up treasures in heaven instead of on Earth, and accordingly the Utopians have little use for gold and mock those who do. (More 611-13) This was only twenty-four years after Christopher Columbus “discovered” the Americas, and many nominal Christians were in a mad frenzy to sail over and make their fortunes. Similarly, while many Christians past and present had been proudly violent and bloodthirsty, often citing God's favor as justification, the Utopians “despise war as an activity fit only for beasts, yet practiced more by man than by any other creature.” (More 629) Christ tells his followers to share their blessings with each other, and accordingly the Utopians have set up a form of voluntary proto-socialism, a mutual generosity on which their whole society operates. Divorce is frowned upon and not easily granted (625-26) – a controversial position in the real world that would lead to a schism and the creation of the Church of England not long after Utopia was published.
The Utopian religion varies from and therefore critiques Catholicism in a few respects. For example, its practitioners “conclude, after carefully considering and weighing the matter, that all our actions and the virtues exercised within them look toward pleasure and happiness as their ultimate end.” (More 616) He affirms, of course, that only “good and honest pleasure” (More 615) is worthwhile and that there is a system of regulations to determine when and how pleasure is pursued. This stands in stark contrast to the traditional Christian belief, especially at the time, that things of the body are sinful or at least impure. While sex within marriage was tolerated, total celibacy was considered to be a higher law and required (at least in theory) for leadership positions within the Catholic Church. More evidently did not agree with this perspective. In fact, when Utopians are planning to marry, “the woman is shown naked to the suitor by a responsible and respectable matron; and similarly, some respectable man presents the suitor naked to the woman.” (More 625) This practice is compared to examining a colt before buying it and is certainly intended as satire. Yet it startles readers even now, and would have been even more surprising to the early sixteenth-century Catholic audience, grabbing their attention enough for More to make them think about his tamer suggestion that seeking pleasure is a form of godliness, not its antithesis. If any took offense at this suggestion, he could point out that he was merely describing the practices of a fictional country.
It is clear in hindsight that Sir Thomas More had no intention of reforming or overthrowing Catholicism altogether, but it is also clear that he was criticizing, as for a time some of the “dangerous” religious and philosophical ideas in Utopia were open to misinterpretation. “Ten years after the first edition of Utopia, Europe had become a different world, often a much more hostile one, a place in which Thomas More assured he would not have repeated the same adventure. In 1532, when busy writing his great polemical work against William Tyndale, More went as far as thinking that Utopia... needed to be destroyed.” (Phélippeau 570) He was opposed to the Protestant Reformation and alarmed that its adherents could potentially use his work as ammunition. Though criticizing the Church could be dangerous before and after the Reformation, More seems to have gotten away with it in part because he used a self-deprecating sense of humor that was shared by at least a few other Catholics. He hinted at this in the story itself with a friar who jokes at the expense of his own profession, a character who does not hail from Utopia and certainly would not have been inserted if he were entirely unbelievable (More 587). This shows that More's criticisms did not come from a place of hostility. Before the Reformation started, most of his original audience would have understood his intention (Phélippeau 570), which was clearly born of a sincere interest in the well-being of the Catholic Church and its people.
In an era long before freedom of speech and religion as we understand it today, and before Martin Luther became a household name, Sir Thomas More was making sometimes unflattering observations on contemporary religion and philosophy in works such as Utopia. Yet he was a devout practitioner of the religion he held up to scrutiny. He set an example of combining faith and reason as Christians of the time prided themselves on doing. Perhaps above all, he displayed a sense of humility about his own beliefs, as the inhabitants of his ideal society pray to “thank God for benefits received, and particularly for the divine favor which placed them in the happiest of commonwealths and inspired them with religious ideas which they hope are the truest. If they are wrong in this, and if there is some sort of society or religion more acceptable to God, they pray that he will, in his goodness, reveal it to them, for they are ready to follow wherever he leads.” (More 641-42)
Bibliography
Aughterson, Kate. The English Renaissance: An Anthology of Sources and Documents. New York: Routledge, 1998.
More, Thomas. Utopia. The Norton Anthology English Literature. New York, London: W.W. Norton & Company, 2012.
Phélippeau, Marie-Claire. “Controversial More and Puzzling Utopia: Five Hundred Years of History.” Utopian Studies: Journal of the Society for Utopian Studies, vol. 27, no. 3, 2016, pp. 569–585. EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=mzh&AN=2017306631&site=ehost-live.
Read more of my essays here.
More, Thomas. Utopia. The Norton Anthology English Literature. New York, London: W.W. Norton & Company, 2012.
Phélippeau, Marie-Claire. “Controversial More and Puzzling Utopia: Five Hundred Years of History.” Utopian Studies: Journal of the Society for Utopian Studies, vol. 27, no. 3, 2016, pp. 569–585. EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=mzh&AN=2017306631&site=ehost-live.
Read more of my essays here.
