Religion In The Decameron

Boccaccio's the Decameron is a collection of stories written during the time of the Black Plague in Europe during the 1340's. There are many themes and motifs used in the Decameron. The most interesting motif is the fact that the story is closely bound around people escaping the plague, but none of the stories take any kind of solid religious or political stance. He however, specifically does not take what would be called a Christian point of view on the plague, in fact, he provides a negative view of the Christian church. In part, this indicates that part of the purpose of the Decameron being a fictional work about the plague is not to state that it has come to be because of some divine influence, but rather the purpose of it being to
intensify his criticism of the strict ways of the Christian church. In his criticism of the Christian ways, he shows compassion for the suffering of the Florentine people, in the way that the Christian church is holding them back from normal human behavior. The best story from our readings in the Decameron that exemplifies Boccaccio's negative view of the Christian church was the story about the monk and the abbot.
In the story, a monk secretly brings a woman into his dormitory, and proceeds to have relations with her that are forbidden for a monk like himself. The abbot (head of the abbey) happens to come across the monk's room, and eavesdrops on them, finding out the sin the monk had just committed. The abbot decides to return to his room, and wait to see what the monk would do, unaware that the monk had actually just seen the abbot spying on him. In an attempt to create a means of bringing the woman back outside the abbey, the monk goes to the abbot's room, and pretends that he was unaware of the abbot's presence. He asks permission to leave the grounds to complete a task that he was assigned earlier, and leaves the room. The abbot, unawares that he had been seen earlier, heads to the monk's room and finds the woman. This is where the story gets interesting, in that the abbot proceeds to also have relations with this woman, and not only that, but he is being eavesdropped on by the monk. The story comes full circle when the monk later approaches the abbot. Upon the abbot finding out that he was being eavesdropped upon by the monk, he agreed to overlook the monk's sin, fearing hypocrisy, a human emotional
behavior. This story is a perfect example of Boccaccio's attitude towards the church, in that the church forbids relations outside of marriage, especially for a member of said church, but it happened anyway in his fictional story.
This is why renaissance writing is so interesting. It is the birth of a new way of thinking, ideals separated from the way of the church. For the first time, people are thinking that if they have relations out of wedlock, that maybe that's okay in the long run, and that divine punishment is something that's not even proven to exist, but is based on faith. Boccaccio brings in a point of view that strongly suggests that strictly following the rules of the Christian church is
overrated. I believe that Boccaccio's representation of the church in this way is completely fair and called for. If you look at the role of the Christian church in modern society, it is fairly obvious that its influence around the globe has greatly decreased. Modern popular culture has taken Christianity (and religion in general) and torn it to pieces. The influence of science and technology holds a big responsibility in this, as a growing number of people rely mainly on what they can experience with their sensory perception and have explained to them through scientific method. The popularization these kinds of views doses out large amounts of discredit, and in turn effects the general population's faith in the ways of the church. This makes the term “faith,” one so widely used in describing the practice of a religion, quite the literal term. You either believe in the ancient teachings, or you don't. I agree with Boccaccio's compassion given to the people of Florence. A man should never be punished for expressing normal human behavior, and said behavior should never be defined by a faith. The purpose of a faith should be to guide you in the complicated human thought process associated with mortality. When one faces one's own mortality, the search for answers never stops. Even if it may not be proven “real,” a faith can still guide you in proper life decisions and provide prospective and finality to the journey of life, but you have to also realize the facts and determine for yourself what is right and what is not right. The church is being judged by Boccaccio for punishing people that did not follow the rules of their faith. When faith is supposed to bring meaning and clarity to your life, instead it is bringing confusion and despair because you have normal human desires. This is why one of the biggest topics of the Decameron has to do with the early ideas of the separation of church and state, and that people should not be ruled by religious ideals.