Date of Graduation
5-2016
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Bachelor of Arts
Degree Level
Undergraduate
Department
History
Advisor/Mentor
Dominguez, Freddy
Committee Member/Reader
Muntz, Charles
Committee Member/Second Reader
Dowdle, Andrew
Committee Member/Third Reader
Engen, Mindy
Abstract
This paper attempts to reconsider the role that Christian religion played in the political philosophy of Niccolò Machiavelli, focusing specifically on The Prince. Despite regnant popular and scholastic opinion, this paper posits that Machiavelli's ideological foundation falls squarely into the theological and moral traditions and scripture of Christianity, and is thus an inseparable element of the political theory of Machiavelli. Further, this work seeks to illustrate the presence of orthodox political and religious beliefs contained within The Prince and throughout the Machiavellian corpus, focusing on the socio-political milieu of Renaissance Florence and the broader traditions of humanist thought. In doing so, this paper argues for a much more religiously-compatible understanding of Machiavelli and his political philosophy, even going so far as to place the Christian God at the center of his political advice in The Prince.
Citation
Addison, J. G. (2016). A Machiavellian Christian: Analyzing the Political Theology of 'The Prince'. History Undergraduate Honors Theses Retrieved from https://scholarworks.uark.edu/histuht/5
Included in
Ethics and Political Philosophy Commons, Intellectual History Commons, Political History Commons, Religious Thought, Theology and Philosophy of Religion Commons