Lay Investiture

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Lay investiture was a major problem during the reign of King Henry IV and the papacy of Pope Gregory VII. Up to this point, secular leaders had the power to appoint bishops and abbots in their land, causing a blend between the lines of Church and state. Gregory or “Hildebrand” recognized this dilemma and restricted investiture to the duty of the pope in 1075. Henry IV responded very cruelly and Hildebrand promptly excommunicated him. The Concordat of Worms eventually solved this controversy in 1122, in which lay investiture by secular leaders was eliminated. This was one of the first examples of the struggle between Church and state and it certainly was not the last.
I believe that laws should be made acknowledging the beliefs of not just Christianity, but all religions. No laws should be passed infringing on the practices and beliefs of any religion, no matter how strange it may seem. Anything that would interfere with the Church would cause another mix between Church and state, which is not desirable. However, the line between Church and state is not clearly drawn in the United St...

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