ODD FELLOWSHIP, RELIGION AND THE ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH
By Louie Blake Saile Sarmiento Author; Master of Arts in Industrial/Organizational Psychology; Juris Doctor AGE OF ENLIGHTENMENT Religious and political intolerance and bigotry were very common in England until the end of the 18 th century. When the monarchy and the churches still held absolute power and influence, any group or person who possessed a new way of thinking was at once branded as blasphemous, heretic, a cult follower, a witch, or even a devil-worshiper. In fact there was a time when churches condemned their followers from intermingling with those professing other religious beliefs. [i] There was a time when a Catholic was prohibited from marrying a Protestant or a Muslim, vice-versa. Those who were found guilty of going against their commands were subjected to torture or were persecuted to death and, in many cases, burned at the stake. Thousands of people across Europe, mainly women, were charged with witchcraft and were burned fo...