The Inquisition, Religious Police, and Women:

The Inquisition was started as a means to ensure that anyone who wasnt practicing the Christian faith was weeded out and charged as a heretic. When most people think of the Inquisition, they think about the Spanish Inquisition, which was the most notorious of Spain's myriad organizations. The Spanish Inquisiton gained much of its power from the support which was recieved from Spain's reigning monarchs: Queen Isabella and King Ferdinand. With this valuable support, the Inquisition swelled until the very mention of the word 'Inquisition' would arouse fear, even in the countryside. The first Grand Inquisitor was Tomas de Torquemada. Torquemada is sometimes viewed as the protoype of a fanatical, and cruel inquisitor. He presented himself as a man of God but in truth he was a guant, sunken eyed sadist who wrapped himself in the austere robes of a monastic monk and was responsible for exiling more than 100,000 of Spain's Jews, forcing them to leave their property behind. The Inquisition tended to use torture to get those who were considered heretics to confess to crimes, even if they didnt commit them. As the inquisitors well knew, anyone would confess to anything simply to end the pain inflicted on them. While the Inquisition tried to unify the country under one faith, they also tried to make the lives of those who practiced opposing faiths extremely miserable. Muslims, Jews, and especially Jews who had converted to Christianity as they were thought to practice their faith in secret, were all prime targets of the Inquisition. It is because of the Inquisition that science was in a period of stagnation. Copernicus's books about a heliocentric world were banned by the Inquisition and when Galileo adopted similar views, he was forced to recant them under threat of torture. Descartes had to change several of his ideas for fear of incurring the wrath of the Inquisition. The Inquisition prevented science from expanding because scientific ideas challenged the notions that were held to be true by many religious scholars. Inevitably, science and religion still quarrel with each other to this day. While the Inquisition today is not the organisation it once was, it still possesses considerable influence. One of the best examples of religious police that I can think of is Iran. In Iran there are strict rules and regulations on those who dont comform to society and its dominant religion. Those who choose to be rebels are reprimanded and persecuted by the religious police. If you ask me, religion should be something that everyone has a right to practice and they should be allowed to practice it in any way. Women shouldnt have to conceal themselves, why do they do it in the first place? To keep the lascivious impulses of the men in check? The only thing it can possibly be good for in a desert country like Iran would be to protect yourself from getting skin cancer. One thing is for certain however, religion seems to have a history of being particularly vindictive towards women. From the times of the Salem Witch Trials when many women were burned at the stake because they were supposedly witches, to the low standing of women in certain Arab countries. One case in such a country, told of a man who shot his wife because she hadnt been faithful to him. He stayed in prison for one week, and then was released in exchange for a cow.