Machiavelli on Religion

NiccolÐ"І Machiavelli thoroughly discusses the importance of religion in the formation and maintenance of political authority in his famous works, The Prince and The Discourses. In his writing on religion, he states that religion is beneficiary in the formation of political authority and political leaders must support and endorse religion in order to maintain power. However, Machiavelli also critiques corrupt religious institutions that become involved in politics and in turn, cause corruption in the citizenry and divisions among the state. In the following essay, I will examine Machiavelli's analysis of religion and discuss the relationship between religion and politics in Machiavelli's thought.

It is important to establish from the very beginning of the essay what Machiavelli's politics are and how he arrives at his beliefs in order to understand his views on religion in politics. Machiavelli is a realist thinker whose main arguments are about maintaining political authority over a state by using historical evidence, especially Roman, in order to support his theories. His main writings are an illustration of realpolitik, a government policy that emphasizes retaining power by using any means necessary including war and deceit. "NiccolÐ"І Machiavelli Ð'... emphasized a political calculus based on interest, prudence, power, and expediency above all other considerations." (Kegley pp 36) Therefore, one must remember when reading Machiavelli that he is attempting to use religion as an instrument to maintain political power rather than a mechanism for achieving ideals.

Machiavelli's view on religion stems from his famous argument of whether it is better to be feared or loved as a leader of a state. Machiavelli feels that it is safer to be feared than loved, but a great leader would hope to be both even though it is rather difficult. His reasoning behind this is that he feels the nature of man is to be fickle and greedy and man will turn against the political leaders in difficult times despite his loyalty during prosperous times. Machiavelli writes, "Ð'...that prince who bases his power entirely on their words, finding himself stripped of other preparations, comes to ruin; for friendships that are acquired by a price and not by greatness and nobility of character are purchased but are not owned, and at proper time cannot be spent." (The Prince Chapter XVII) He goes further by stating that a prince should hope that he is considered merciful by his people but should not rule based on mercy alone. A political leader should not worry about being perceived as cruel if his actions are just and done in order to keep his people united because with these "very few" examples of cruelty, he will appear more merciful than the merciful leader who lets acts of cruelty go on without intervention.

Machiavelli's argument also focuses on the topic of integrity and generosity and on how a political leader should keep his word. On one hand, he states that it is commendable for a political leader to live by integrity and to be considered generous; however the leaders who have accomplished great deeds throughout history hardly cared about keeping their word and were men that were known to be able to manipulate every situation by clever and shrewd means. Since it is impossible to always maintain all the qualities that man consider good and also maintain a state in his view, a great leader would know when to break those qualities when it is needed for the preservation of the state. However, he warns of excess generosity and the burdens it brings because in order for a leader to maintain his reputation as generous, he has to continuously tax his people in order to raise his funds. This process in turn makes those who employ excessive generosity appear to be the most miserly of all since they tax everyone in order to appear generous to a few.

Machiavelli uses the historical examples of Hannibal and Scipio as support for his argument. He cites that Hannibal was inhumanly cruel and because of this he was perpetually respected by his large army.

"Among the praiseworthy deeds of Hannibal is counted this: that, having a very large army, made up of all kinds of men, which he commanded in foreign lands, there never arose the slightest dissention, neither among themselves nor against their princes, both during his good and bad fortune." (The Prince Chapter XVII)

On the other hand, he gives credit to Scipio for being an extraordinary man but states that Scipio gave his men more liberty than military discipline should allow and his own men rebelled against him. His tolerant nature allowed the wrongdoing of the Locrians to go uncorrected adding to his reputation as a leader who only knew how not to harm his people, but didn't know how to prevent them from harm either.

This brings my analysis to the subject of religion and its relationship with political authority. Machiavelli feels religion is a double edged sword where an excess of it in government is harmful but the appearance that it is part of government is not only beneficiary, but necessary. Machiavelli writes that a political leader, "Ð'...should appear, upon seeing and hearing him, to be all mercy, all faithfulness, all integrity, all religion. And there is nothing more necessary than to seem to possess this last quality." (The Prince Chapter XVIII) Machiavelli's argument centers around his assertion that having all these qualities and employing them at all times is harmful because a leader often has to resort to contradictory measures in order to maintain the loyalty and unity of his people. That is why Machiavelli argues that a political leader must only appear to rule in the name of mercy, faithfulness, integrity and religion because he must act on the contrary when he is obliged to do so. For a political leader will often have to act out against his promise of maintaining charity, humanity and religion in order to maintain his state.

Machiavelli views religion as a fundamental organization necessary for the preservation of public authority, for religion instills the fear of God; a fear that keeps man disciplined and obedient. As Machiavelli writes, "Ð'...these citizens were more afraid of breaking an oath than of breaking the laws, since they respected the power of God more than that of man." (The Discourses Book I Chapter XI) For when the citizens lose their love for their country and no longer find her laws just, they can be kept loyal to the state if they are religious and pious because they will be restrained by an oath they made to the religion of the state. For example, he cites that the people of Rome took an oath that forced their allegiance to their fatherland and despite the havoc caused