Orta-Çağ Avrupasının Başat Aktörlerinden Biri Olarak Din (Rodney Stark Eleştirisi)

Year 2020, Volume: 20 Issue: 2, 351 - 368, 30.12.2020

Volkan Ertit

https://doi.org/10.33420/marife.762902

Abstract

Hem entelektüel tartışmalarda hem de gündelik konuşmalar içerisinde söz konusu Ortaçağ ise, genellikle o dönemin inanç açısından “Altın Çağ” olduğu ifade edilir. Bununla birlikte, bireylerin sahip oldukları ideoloji ya da siyasi fikirlerden dolayı normatif ifadeler de Orta Çağ dönemini adlandırmak için kullanılabilir. Özellikle Rönesans bilginleri kendilerinden önceki dönemi tanımlamak için "Karanlık Çağlar" ifadelerini kullanmışlardı. Ancak 20. yüzyılın sonlarına doğru bu ifade sorgulanmaya başlanmıştır. Rodney Stark başta olmak üzere kimi araştırmacılar Orta Çağ olarak adlandırılan dönemde aslında dinin iddia edildiği kadar güçlü olmadığını vurgulamışlardır. Bu makale ise, Stark’ın ve diğer araştırmacıların Orta Çağ anlatılarının karikatürize edilmiş bir tarih anlatısı olduğunu ve Orta Çağ ile ilgili ifade ettiklerinin o dönemi yansıtmaktan uzak olduğunu iddia etmektedir. Çalışma nitel araştırma yaklaşımını benimsenmiş olup, birincil ve ikincil kaynaklara ulaşarak yapılan literatür taraması ile elde edilen veriler betimsel analize tabii tutulmuştur. Makale dinin etkisiz olduğunu değil, aksine, dinin ve dinî kurumların hem sıradan bireyin gündelik yaşamını şekillendirdiğini, hem imparatorlukların aldıkları önemli siyasi kararlara müdahil olduklarını, hem de dönemin entelektüel dünyasının konularını domine ettikleri iddiasını savunmaktadır. Bu sebeple makale kilisenin ve dinin gündelik yaşam, politika ve entelektüel kültür üzerindeki etkilerini bu sıra ile okuyucuya sunmakta ve Stark’ın iddialarının Orta Çağ’ı yansıtmadığını vurgulamaktadır.

Keywords

Orta Çağ, Katolik Kilisesi, Din, Din Sosyolojisi, Rodney Stark

Religion as one of the Leading Actors of Medieval Europe (A Critique of Rodney Stark)

Abstract

The Middle Age is described as the Golden Age of Faith in both intellectual discussions and casual conversations. In addition, normative terms due to people’s ideologies or political convictions are also used to define Europe in the Middle Ages. Renaissance scholars in particular used the term "Dark Ages" to describe the period before them. However, this notion began to be questioned towards the end of the 20th century. Some researchers, especially Rodney Stark, argued that in the Middle Ages, religion was not as dominant as suggested. However, this article claims that their Medieval narrative is a caricatured historical narrative and that their claims regarding the Middle Ages are far away from reflecting that period. For the study, a qualitative research approach was adopted and the data obtained through literature review with primary and secondary sources were subjected to a descriptive analysis. The article argues that, contrary to the claims of Stark and other scholars, The Church and religion shaped the daily life of the lay people, influenced important political decisions made by empires, and dominated the thoughts of medieval intelligentsia. For this reason, the article presents the effects of the church and religion on daily life, politics and intellectual culture in this order and emphasizes that Stark's claims do not reflect the Middle Ages.

Keywords

Sociology of Religion, Medieval Age, The Church, Religion, Rodney Stark

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