Religia i świeckość jako obszary badawcze w pismach Niccolo Machiavellego

Abstract

This article presents the relationship between religion and secularism in Machiavelli’s social philosophy. Machiavelli used the same method to study both state and religion. For him, in fact, there is no difference between the world of state and the world of religion. Machiavelli’s works mainly include tips on how a ruler should rule a country. According to the metaphor he used, a prince must be a lion and a fox at the same time. A ruler should also be able to use religion as an instrument of state policy. Religion teaches us that moral goodness is an element of people’s moral life. Machiavelli, however, felt that the old pagan religions, especially the Roman religion, were better than the Christian religion. In his opinion ancient religions cultivated the virtue of courage. A lord and prince, however, should be above moral standards that are drawn from religion. These and other Machiavelli’s arguments make his thought very secular.