Thomas More's Utopia Egalitarian Society
Utopias are often created due to disatisfactions with their contemporary society and striving for a change. This is evident in Thomas More’s Utopia, which illustrates the idiosyncratic corruption and the lack of equality due to the feudal system in Tudor England through the contrast of an idea egalitarian society. Through the use of Utopia, More is able to highlight several key flaws within his society, including the main focus of the feudal system and the problems that it caused, the legal system and the harsh punishments in its methods of justice and the over emphasis of materialistic wealth. By utilising a juxtaposition between the two worlds, a real and imagined, through the structure of his text, the reader is encouraged to think critically
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Tudor England was deeply religious and heavily influenced by Christianity and the Catholic Church. Other religions, such as Judaism where heavily discriminated against and often forced to practise there religion in secret. Although More was a devout follower in Catholicism, he was disgusted by the abuse and corruption of the priest within the Catholic Church. This is conveyed through a major idea within the Utopian laws, which state “everyone was free to practice what religion they liked”. This law displaying the religious freedom allowed in Utopia served as a antidote to the discrimination within Tudor England and encouraged religious tolerancy by portraying the benefits Utopian citizens enjoyed. More also criticizes the priest within the Catholic Church and illustrates their corruption and abuse of power. The contrast in the descriptions of the priest in each respective society reinforced this point. Raphael’s analogy of the Catholic priest’s as being “a lazy gang…and so called religious men” demonstrated the lack of integrity of the Catholic Church, through the use of the collective term “gang”, which as negative connotations and emphasizes the adverse contribution they had to society. Raphael’s view on Utopian priest’s were directly opposite, describing them as “Great Holiness…therefore very few”. This is another attack on the Catholic Church, as More believed that only a select few had the appropriate characteristics of being a priest, rather than the large number of corrupt priests within the Catholic
Tudor England was deeply religious and heavily influenced by Christianity and the Catholic Church. Other religions, such as Judaism where heavily discriminated against and often forced to practise there religion in secret. Although More was a devout follower in Catholicism, he was disgusted by the abuse and corruption of the priest within the Catholic Church. This is conveyed through a major idea within the Utopian laws, which state “everyone was free to practice what religion they liked”. This law displaying the religious freedom allowed in Utopia served as a antidote to the discrimination within Tudor England and encouraged religious tolerancy by portraying the benefits Utopian citizens enjoyed. More also criticizes the priest within the Catholic Church and illustrates their corruption and abuse of power. The contrast in the descriptions of the priest in each respective society reinforced this point. Raphael’s analogy of the Catholic priest’s as being “a lazy gang…and so called religious men” demonstrated the lack of integrity of the Catholic Church, through the use of the collective term “gang”, which as negative connotations and emphasizes the adverse contribution they had to society. Raphael’s view on Utopian priest’s were directly opposite, describing them as “Great Holiness…therefore very few”. This is another attack on the Catholic Church, as More believed that only a select few had the appropriate characteristics of being a priest, rather than the large number of corrupt priests within the Catholic