How does Friar John represent Rabelais’ philosophy--a unique synthesis of humanism and Catholicism--as portrayed in his Gargantua and Pantagruel? Friar John perhaps represents Rabelais ' himself: a Catholic monk who rejects the austerity of monastic life and accepts the liberal and fraternal ideas of Humanism
Humanism emphasizes human potential and positive, innate aspects of humankind, thus putting it at odds with basic Catholic teachings and doctrines such as original sin and dependency on God. However, Rabelais ' interest in humanistic ideas does not culminate in a renunciation of Catholicism—he remained Catholic for the rest of his life. A total refusal of his religion, which perhaps he did not even consider, would have been an