When one thinks of religion the words associated can include faith, purity and piety. A person who fully devotes themselves to religion implies that they will live in accordance to their religion demands. In Christianity, that usually means having to remain chaste, act generously, be humble and believe in the Christian God. The understanding is that religious folk are expected to live free of sin, greed and hatred. However in the Canterbury Tales, Chaucer paints a new picture of what religion really is. Through his descriptions in the prologue, Chaucer points out the hypocrisy found in religion and suggests that for the majority, religion is a simply a meaningless shield that people use to hide and excuse their corruption. In the prologue of the Canterbury Tales, Chaucer spends the majority of the time describing the characters of the book. All of the
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Many characters of the religious class don’t actually appear to be religious. In fact, some characters such as the monk outright admit to it. Chaucer states “For he [the Monk] thought that text [the Bible] was not worth an oyster” (4). Although he is a rather important religious figure, the Monk makes no conscious effort to adhere to the guidelines of his religious institution, suggesting that for many, religion can be meaningless as well. Chaucer alludes to the church’s function as a shield in most of his descriptions, but especially in the description of the Friar. The Friar was a greedy man who used religion as an excuse to get what he wanted. He was a manipulative man who “above everything else, wherever there was a chance for profit, this Friar was a courteous and humble man” (5) and he used his job to make some extra profit on the side. The Pardoner was another example. He used his affiliation with religion as a way to cheat others and make himself money, yet another person who uses religion to hide his
Many characters of the religious class don’t actually appear to be religious. In fact, some characters such as the monk outright admit to it. Chaucer states “For he [the Monk] thought that text [the Bible] was not worth an oyster” (4). Although he is a rather important religious figure, the Monk makes no conscious effort to adhere to the guidelines of his religious institution, suggesting that for many, religion can be meaningless as well. Chaucer alludes to the church’s function as a shield in most of his descriptions, but especially in the description of the Friar. The Friar was a greedy man who used religion as an excuse to get what he wanted. He was a manipulative man who “above everything else, wherever there was a chance for profit, this Friar was a courteous and humble man” (5) and he used his job to make some extra profit on the side. The Pardoner was another example. He used his affiliation with religion as a way to cheat others and make himself money, yet another person who uses religion to hide his