Jews and the State
Since the birth of Christ, the relationship among Jews and Christians and the state has radically shifted from one end of the spectrum to the other. Since its inception, Christianity had been the religion coping with intolerance from the Jews and the state, yet as time progressed the attitude toward Jewry turned for the worse. As more Christian rulers came into power, laws and regulations turned against those Jews who had once turned against those supporting Christ. Not until after the medieval ages did the state's position on Jews begin to loosen up again. This is not to say that time would heal all problems. In truth, time simply brought a change. Social and economic structure developed over the centuries, and some restrictions on Jews were abandoned while still others were just being formed. Treatment of the Jews varied greatly from region to region. The Age of Enlightenment would bring changes that would finally have a long-standing impact on the Jewish community. The Middle Ages began poorly for the Jews of Europe. In the early fourth century, it was inconceivable to separate church and state. In fact, religion played an important role in the government until well after the Reformation. Constantine, the first R
In some cities, the Jews set fire to their own houses and killed themselves (53). As Christianity rose in power, Judaism weakened in political power and suffered great hardship for centuries to follow. Frederick II regarded the Jews as property and even used these "urban serfs" in his power struggle against the church (98). France was stricken with several massacres, and Jews were forced to pay large amounts of money for protection from the crusaders. In essence, Jews have finally taken on Christian standards that had long been eluded, and religious tolerance has been assumed by the model of modern government. Twenty years later, Constantius forbade marriage between Jewish men and Christian women, and that law was later expanded to deny all marriages between Christians and Jews. As time passed, Jewish autonomy slowly began to dissolve. In the 1400s, no longer able to support themselves through commerce and finance, Jews found new professions as merchants and transporters of crops; they became peddlers of urban goods to the countryside as well. Twenty years after the plague, Jews were readmitted into Strasbourg again (Marcus 53). In essence, religious persecution was used as a political tool. Jews enjoyed the same rights as non-Jews. Some of these expulsions, however, did not last long. The once decentralized Christian Europe was becoming more centralized, especially in Spain and the Holy Roman Empire. Similar to the old code, Jews could not convert Christians to Judaism or they would be put to death (42). The political scene in Spain fell apart, losing its power to a central monarchy, and Jews lived in fear until their expulsion from Spain in 1492 (59).
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Black Death,
Roman Empire,
Spain Catholic,
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Messiah Christianity,
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public office,
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anti-jewish riots,
jews living,
jewish autonomy slowly,
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Acceptance Essays
