Religio Medici Analysis

1428 Words3 Pages

Isaac Evans
Dr. Harless
British Literature
7 April 2014
An Explication of Religio Medici
Although members of a religion may title themselves with the name of a faith, each member has their own opinions, interpretation, and application of the teachings of their embraced religion. In Religio Medici, Sir Thomas Browne illustrates how he interprets the Christian religion and also how he applies the teachings of Christianity to his sense of reason. His writing is a reflection of his inner most mental convictions. His writing also illustrates how he combines his own ideas and world-view with the dogmatic precepts he has learned form his Christian faith. In paragraph one Browne states that in regard to his own religion some people might think he has no religion whatsoever. However, Browne then writes that he is of the honorable style of a Christian. Browne writes with the intention to prove to his readers that he is a Christian and also to stop people from labeling him as an atheist.
Perhaps Browne is aware that some people believe that even though a person can be bred by their parents as Christian, the child-turned-adult may reject the teachings he or she was taught to believe as a child. Browne works in his writing to prove to his readers that he is not a person who has rejected the faith of his upbringing. He states, “Having in my riper years and confirmed judgment seen and examined all, I find myself obliged by the principles of grace and the law of mine own reason to embrace no other name but this [: Christian]” (Greenblatt 1697).
The framing of Browne’s writing is built and written with such a sequence that enlightens the reader with understanding about what type of Christian best defines Browne’s inner most thoughts. F...

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...s a coat of armor in order to be seen as undeniably Christian by his observers.
Religio Medici was written by Browne to serve as a creative tool that provokes thoughts of allegation – that Browne is not Christian – from the minds of his readers. He cleverly answers each thought of allegation with examples about why he is not a heretic by using his own brain to answer certain questions left unanswered by constitutions of the Church.
In conclusion, Browne exemplifies how it is possible for a person to paradoxically attach to the dogmas of a religion and also to the dictates of the human brain. Browne teaches us that it is acceptable to be double-minded individuals in regards to religious faith. It is possible to believe in double-faced philosophical truths and also to hold firm to the divine road that religion paves for its followers to walk (Greenblatt 1700).

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