Theocentrism: What It Is And Characteristics Of This Religious Phenomenon
Although, in the current era, all thinking revolves around the human being himself, this was not always the case.
In contrast to the current anthropocentrism of most societies today, there was previously theocentrism. Below we will take a tour to discover the most relevant aspects of this concept and what led humanity to establish such a profound paradigm shift.
Theocentrism is an interpretation of reality in which everything happens through God As the very translation of the word indicates, God (theo) would occupy the center of all thought about the universe itself. Therefore, everything that happens, and the way in which it happens, according to theocentrism, would be by the will of God. Even scientific discoveries would be attributed to divine rules, so any event or reasoning would fit with theocentrism, since the explanation that God encompasses everything is valid in any case.
Thus, theocentrism would explain everything from the mere existence of the Earth, the sky and the stars (even when its statements were wrong, such as that the Earth was flat) to the existence of life itself, and of course also the behavior of both animals as well as human beings themselves. Any event that happened, whether fortunate or tragic, was part of God’s plan, his designs, and therefore was explained by theocentrism.
Theocentrism was the prevailing thought throughout the Middle Ages in Europe , when the Christian religion was inseparable from the monarchies themselves that ruled in all the countries of the Old Continent. Theocentrism was also used at this time to establish social distinctions as a matter that obeyed the will of God, so that the common people, highly influenced by religion, since their entire lives revolved around it, would not show resistance. to this form of distribution of society.
The 5 characteristics of theocentrism
Although we have already anticipated some of them, the truth is that there are a series of characteristics that clearly explain the background of theocentrism. Below we are going to explore them carefully in order to understand the implications of this profound concept.
The first characteristic of theocentrism is that affirms that God is the origin of the entire universe, and is the cause that makes it move in the direction in which it does , also encompassing the behaviors of human beings themselves. Therefore, according to theocentrism, any event will be within the supreme plans of God, although people cannot understand why.
2. Omnipresent God
God is everywhere, and dominates every aspect of the world Divine omnipresence is another of the characteristics attributed to theocentrism. And the concept of a God at the center of everything necessarily implies that any event, no matter how small or large, necessarily passes through the Deity. Nothing in the universe escapes the designs of the Supreme Being.
3. Faith over reason
Nothing is above faith, not even reason. Thus, logical reason should only be aimed at demonstrating the validity of faith and therefore the existence of God We will delve deeper into this point later when talking about theocentrist philosophy. Any logical reasoning would be nothing more than another proof of God’s will and divine laws.
4. Faith as a control
Theocentrism also favors the use of faith as a method of controlling society, and in such a profoundly theocentric society, political power is inseparable from religious power , so the sacred teachings themselves become a code of values ​​and guide people’s behavior. Although it may seem surprising, this heritage continues to this day, and clear differences can be seen between societies based on the religion that has historically been the majority in that territory.
5. Religious leaders
The last characteristic of theocentrism speaks about the appearance of religious personalities who establish themselves as shepherds of society, guardians of the faith and of the word of God. Their importance is equal to or even greater than that of political authority, and they occupy a special place alongside the monarchs, guiding their actions, since they know that the will of the people depends largely on the guidelines that they, as representatives of God on Earth, impose on believers.
All the philosophical studies developed during the Middle Ages responded to theocentric style, as is logical. As the greatest exponent of the philosophy of this time we find Saint Thomas Aquinas, Italian theologian , with a more than prolific work in which he tried to explain all existing reality through God, from a rational perspective, or what is the same, according to systematic theology. His works on metaphysics were a reference, and remained valid for several centuries.
One of the most important works of Thomas Aquinas and that shows the power of theocentrism, is his theory of the Five Ways It is a set of reasoning, apparently irrefutable, by which one can only reach the conclusion that God exists, and therefore, effectively, is the origin and end of the entire universe. Logically, later some critical voices emerged that claimed that there were important errors in these reasonings and that they were therefore invalid.
The work of Saint Thomas Aquinas was so important for the Catholicism of the time due to his magnificent arguments to defend theocentrism that it came to be taken as an absolute reference in institutions such as the Inquisition itself and the Council of Trent. Such was the importance of his figure, that after his death he was not only canonized, but was named Doctor of the Church, a title reserved only for sanctified people who have also proven to be masters in their areas of thought, such as is the case.
Although the approaches have changed a lot since then, The importance of the works of Saint Thomas Aquinas continues to this day and even some eminences of philosophy consider him one of the great references in the history of thought in the history of the West.
Its presence in other societies and religions
Although this article is focused on Christian theocentrism experienced in the West during the Middle Ages, the truth is that it is not the only type that has existed, far from it. And theocentrism seems to be a very common phase in the development of all societies , since it has also manifested itself in places where other religions were professed, such as Judaism or Islam. In fact, in the case of Islam, there are today certain regions in which the mode of thought would be merely theocentric.
Furthermore, theocentrism not limited to monotheistic religions , since there is evidence that even in the pre-Columbian peoples of America there were cultures in which religion and its gods were the center of all thought and behavior, just as was the case with the Christian theocentrism that we talked about previously. We can also observe this phenomenon in civilizations as ancient as the Egyptian, where the Pharaoh, religious and political leader, was considered a descendant of the Sun god.
You don’t have to go that far back in time to find other examples. In Japan itself, where Shintoism predominates, a curious episode occurred when said nation had to surrender to the United States in World War II, and this act would mean, for the emperor, admitting that he was not a god. Given this example, it is evident that we would be facing an example of theocentrism in a world power in the 20th century.
Paradigm shift
The end of Christian theocentrism came with the Renaissance, with the entry of the Modern Age, the discovery of the New World and all the changes that society experienced. The human being replaced God at the center of all explanations about the functioning of the world itself and it was then that theocentrism was abandoned to move to anthropocentrism.
Then each event stopped being seen as the work of God, and the causes of each phenomenon began to be investigated. scientific and rational thought increasingly developing , this time without being conditioned to demonstrate the existence of a higher entity that fit with the dictates of the Church. It was, therefore, a period of splendor and growth in everything related to knowledge about the world, in all existing areas of study.
