Thomas More Utopia - Essay Example

It appears that everyone has a common desire for the best life attainable. "Utopia" is the word used to denote the best life attainable. Since each person has their own unique vision of Utopia, the only universally agreeable description of Utopia is, "the ability for each person to live in their own vision of paradise." Humanity should strive to obtain that ability. Thomas Moore's Utopia was a description of such an ideal land where social structures had been molded to afford evry individual this very ability to have the fullest from life.

In following paragraphs we examine the description of a compelling aspect of humn life viz.religion as dealt in Thomas Moore's UTOPIA. Moore began his description of religious practices in his utopian society with the statement that there were no fetters on religious practices. There was multiplicity of religions. For instance, people worshipped awe inspiring natural object such as the sun and some worshipped even local heroes and distinguished personalities-past and present. Such worshippers were divided in their treatment of such objects of worship.

While many treated such objects of worship as ordinary deities others equated them to Supreme God. Moore distinguishes between such believers and a layer of wiser and deeper persons who did not have such identifiable objects of worship but who ," adored one eternal, invisible, infinite, and incomprehensible Deity; as a being that is far above all our apprehensions, that is spread over the whole universe, not by His bulk, but by His power and virtue; Him they call the Father of All, and acknowledge that the beginnings, the increase, the progress, the vicissitudes, and the end of all thin but to Him alone.

And indeed, though they differ concerning other things, yet all agree in this, that they think there is one Supreme Being that made and governs the world, whom they call in the language of their country Mithras"(Moore, Book II).In Moore's world, idol worship was clearly distinguished from the concept of the essence of Supreme Being and it was common to find both idol worshippers and believers in essence of the Supreme Being .However it was clearly understood that even idol worshippers acknowledged the limitations of their idols and had an overall belief in the existence of a Supreme Being.

In Utopus several religious superstitions had been rationalized and the people were not only willing to hear the merits of various religions but also to adopt and follow them. The role of priest in the society was acknowledged and all the functions and duties they could attend to were identified. Religious intolerance in violent and seditious manner was not allowed as utopians had a bitter experience in the past of the divisive qualities of religion and their land had suffered under subjugation due to that.

Moore writes," he made a law that every man might be of what religion he pleased, and might endeavor to draw others to it by force of argument, and by amicable and modest ways, but without bitterness against those of other opinions; but that he ought to use no other force but that of persuasion, and was neither to mix with it reproaches nor violence; and such as did otherwise were to be condemned to banishment or slavery"(Moore, Book II). Such a law was made not only to preserve societal peace but to prevent daily bitterness amongst