Bigjoe963 asked:


Why was religion so important in peoples lives in the later middle ages?

please write in detail, I have a test tommorow.

Thankyou in advance.

6 Responses to “Why was religion so important in peoples lives in the later middle ages?”

1. hbw101893 on May 10th, 2008 2:41 am

   it was because everybody was a good catholic and wanted to go to heaven

2. henry l on May 12th, 2008 3:54 am

   people had a shorter life expectancy back then… about 40 years old. That means if you are 20, you have experienced the death of at least one relative. People were closer to death at that time. Thus, they need to be closer to religion for support.

3. corney on May 15th, 2008 5:11 am

   Because as people move closer to their death, they begin to realize the reality of dying. They being to wonder what the after-life is really about, and want to seal the deal for heaven before they die.

4. Rubydragon on May 17th, 2008 3:37 am

   If I read it right, you are talking about the Late Middle Ages as a period and not about people who are getting older?

   The orders in the Middle Ages were usually grouped into two main divisions: minor orders and major orders. With the Tridentine (Council of Trent) ordering, priest, deacon and subdeacon were major orders, and the others were minor. Only those in the major orders had full priestly powers.

   The minor orders had by the late Middle Ages developed into an important role in the Church and in society at large. For example, just about everyone who entered any university anywhere entered minor orders. A great many “clergymen” in secular government had in fact only taken minor orders. Thus the Church had a tremendous influence in lay society, but by way of a body of men who were not particularly religious or interested in becoming religious. Minor orders had become for many a convenient doorway into a career in public service.

   Almost from the beginning of the Christian Church, the bishop was the key to organization and government. The Church reflected the quintessentially urban nature of ancient civilization in that a bishop was always associated with, and resided in, a city. The city had authority over a surrounding region, and the episcopal organization of the Church followed this practice, which persisted right through the Middle Ages.

   This is, of course, the theological explanantion. Personally I think that people didn’t want to be ‘picked up’ by the Inquisition and found guilty of being a heretic and burnt on the stake. And of course around that time the witchcraft trials were very ‘popular’.

5. אמיליה Bleu© on May 17th, 2008 12:54 pm

   It was all part of ludicrous conspiracy. The crusades started it all. After the fall of Rome and after the black plague led many people to believe it was part of the devil. So, they started their persecution and tried to convert everyone to Christianity.
   If you didn’t they would kill you, the ones that suffered the most were the Jews, they were persecuted. And also homosexuals were too.

6. kkelly58 on May 18th, 2008 11:57 am

   What you have to understand is life was so bad, it seemed like there was nothing to live for, so the thought of religion and an after life was everything. During this time there was no seasoning for food, there was constant killing and raiding and often people felt oppressed by the rulers. There were plaques and famine.