How Did The Catholic Church Influence Dante's Inferno

During the time of Dante, the Catholic Church was a major power of control and had ruled over a vast amount of land deemed the “Holy Roman Empire” when the Roman Catholic Church was at the height of its popularity. The ruling with papal influence caused much controversy throughout Italy and Western Europe and led to a great deal of discontent. People had either been pro-church control or anti-church control and the commentary throughout literature about politics and religion was very present. Dante, in Inferno, addresses his views toward the church and what he believes has gone wrong. Throughout Inferno, Dante alludes to his views toward the Catholic church, and his overall discontent with the way that it had been controlling the way that people were living. Dante had been a strong believer in Catholicism, but Pope Boniface VIII had become one who did not represent what religion was supposed to be about. He was extremely power-hungry and wanted all control to be

97). Even though Dante had a strong belief in the Catholic faith, he still saw people who did not believe in God to be more upstanding citizens than church officials had been. The unbaptized people are not seen to be condemned to a fate worse than corrupt church officials because they had not committed a crime in the name of the church or had involved themselves in simony. Corrupt actions and crimes in the name of the church had been seen as something that was almost equivalent to a crime against God. Those who have power are held to a higher obligation to be the embodiment of righteousness and dedication toward God. But when they do not, the fate of their soul is much harsher than anything else. Dante sees the sins of these people to be some of the worst which leads them to receive some of the worst