“After they had heard from us an account of the doctrine, the course of life, and the miracles of Christ, and of the wonderful constancy of so many martyrs, whose blood, so willingly offered up by them, was the chief occasion of spreading their religion over a vast number of nations, it is not to be imagined how inclined they were to receive it.”
In this sentence from Thomas More’s Utopia, the character known as Hythloday is telling the story of a land he had visited in his travels – specifically, he is telling of how the Utopians reacted to his tales of Christ and of Christianity. This quote provides a crucial theme to the story – the matter of religion. Religion occurs multiple times throughout the book, which More fully intended his readers to question. In context, this displays More’s compromising position – he felt that the world needed to discuss religion in its largest forms, yet More was writing during the time of Reformation, and if he spoke too controversially, he would join those who were losing their lives. Yet, during this moment in the story, More is comparing “New World” exploration to the exploration of the metaphorical “Utopia” in an effort to mask his feelings on the matter while still carrying his argument through the story.
The Utopians are quite impressed by the tales of Christ, and some later choose to follow the strong figure. What is interesting is that Christianity has one chief similarity with the Utopian belief system – it is a monotheistic religion. The Utopians believe that their deity instills in them a moral code by which to live by and that this deity is all-knowing and all-powerful – much like that of Christian belief. This proves that More wrote Christianity to be similar to a utopian religion – that is, a religion that would bring utopia to its people. This may be simply because of the time period in which More wrote Utopia, or perhaps More truly did believe that something similar to Christianity would prevail in bringing forth a utopian world. However, one difference in our world during the 16th century and the world of Utopia is that there is freedom of religion for those who choose not to believe in the nameless “monotheistic religion.” Our world has grown slightly to except this idea, but in the world of Utopia, it is truly a right, and it does not result in judgement. It is important to not that More foresaw that this key right would play a role in a perfect world, and though he only hinted at it through means of Utopia, his intentions were perceived clearly throughout the ages.
It is remarkable that the religious teachings Utopia are as present today as they were in the 16th century. Religion is still a controversial concept, split by those who judge and push their teachings upon others and those who have simply accepted their beliefs and stick to them. To some, “religion” is a term to describe a moral code, while others seek different meanings. Some change religions because of a difference in story, perception or deities themselves, while yet others refuse to be deterred by what they know to be true. In Utopia, Thomas More attempted to tackle the question of what religion’s purpose is in a society, as well as what it means to any individual. To this day, the question is still unanswered, and though the answer may never be clear, Thomas More was one of the first to open the discussion of what religion means to us.
Cyrus Waters 