밀턴의 반감독제 산문에 나타난 영국 종교개혁의 정치성

Abstract

The English Reformation got closely involved in England's political conflicts during the 1640s. In pursuit of the completion of the English Reformation, Milton wrote five antiprelatical pamphlets. Since prelacy in the Church of England coexisted with kingship, his antiprelatical polemic was necessarily political in nature. It can be understood in the context of Milton's contemporary political circumstances in England that his revolutionary ideas found a breakthrough in the English Reformation. As Milton found no other fundamental change in the English Reformation but the transfer of power from the pope to the king, he argued that each individual Christian's faith should not be controled by any external authority, whether kingship or prelacy. Of Reformation does not argue for the church's independence from kingship but its independency from prelacy. In Of Prelatical Episcopacy, Milton's attitude toward kingship seems positive rather than negative. But Animadversions and An Apology anticipate his future career as a political revolutionary, as he attacks his opponents by the use of poignant language and pungent satire. In The Reason of Church-Government, Milton again argues for church-government against prelacy. As he thinks that prelacy governs religious affairs in each individual church by its collaboration with the secular political system, he excludes the intervention of secular politics in the affairs of each church. Ironically, Milton implicitly reveals his interest in politics, while he excludes politics from church-government. So, his antiprelatical ideas can be summed up in his confidence in religious freedom, which in turn leads to his later pursuit of political freedom during the Puritan Revolution. While Milton's abandonment of a clerical career can be attributed to his denial of prelatical church-government, it shows his increasing interest in political issues outside of the church. As Milton regards prelacy as religious tyranny to oppress each believer's faith, his interest in church-government in opposition to prelacy extends to his later interest in people's political freedom in opposition to monarchism.