Dbq Catholic Church In The 1600s

Ava Crozier
AP Euro, Period 4
Mr. Garner
7 February 2023
DBQ: Evaluate whether or not the Catholic Church in the 1600s was opposed to new ideas in science. Throughout the 17th century, the Catholic Church faced having to determine whether they stood more pro- or anti-science. Leading up to this, renaissance ideas of humanism and secularism were generally accepted, as long as they were able to align with the Church as well. Greco-Roman thought was studied, but it was often changed to support more modern ideas, like how the neoplatonists used some of Plato’s ideas to support Christian thought. However, the Protestant church was very accepting of science and knowledge. The Protestant Reformation led to the Scientific Revolution and was assisted

This debate was sparked by the discussion of geocentrism versus heliocentrism, and Paolo Antonio Foscarini, both a monk and a scientist, argued that heliocentrism took so long to become popular because it went against the scriptures (Doc 1). Even though Foscarini saw the reason behind heliocentrism, he agreed that it went against the Church. Cardinal Bellarmine wrote a letter of response to Foscarini, and in it he explained that it is dangerous to entertain ideas of science, because they can be interpreted to go against the consensus of the Holy Fathers (Doc 2). This means that it cannot be understood through the eyes of the Catholic faith, and therefore goes against the Church. In a letter to the Grand Duchess Christina of Tuscany, a secular leader, Galileo Galilei wrote that he believes the Bible to contain metaphors, but it would be considered heretical to suggest any ideas other than the commonly accepted one by the Catholic Church (Doc 4). He realized that, while science and religion may be able to agree, the Church did not agree with science, and instead sided with a literal interpretation of the Bible. After he expressed his opinions, Galileo was forced to denounce them in an inquisition (EBD). The church believed Galileo to be going against faith, and put him on trial under threat of torture. This reaction to Galileo’s suggestions proves that the Church would not acknowledge the importance and truth to science, instead favoring their traditional view of the world. In addition, the Jesuits of Clermont College published a critique of Descartes, the creator of the scientific method, saying his thoughts went against everything they stood for, including math, philosophy, and religion (Doc 7). As a group that supported both education and religion, it was obvious they viewed modern science as a threat and did not support it. This evidence shows that many