The Black Death and Religious Beliefs

Conflict between Science and Religion

Abstract

The black plague appeared in the 14^th century in Europe by the bacterium Yersinia pestis transmitted by fleas and black rat (Rattus rattus) , moreover the spread of this disease was very quickly through silk and spices trade routes. The high rate of contagion and mortality led many people to rely on religion, because they believed it would save themselves. At the time, as scientific knowledge about this type of diseases was scarce, the population believed in a relationship between medicine and religion, considering the Black Death as a divine punishment for the sins creating a serious social problem. Over the course of history, the Catholic Church may have been a limiting factor in the development of scientific knowledge. Ignorance and unreasonable faith led to serious consequences, such as, the persecution and murder of innocents in the name of the faith, thus being responsible for a high number of deaths in the Middle Ages for encouraging the elimination of Jews in Europe, as a need for redeem themselves for their sins.

In this text, we intend to present the main contributions to the development of knowledge about this pathology as well its relationship with religion, the theories disseminated by the Church and the people's blind belief in them to obtain God's forgiveness. Religion can be an obstacle to scientific knowledge, preventing the advance of Science, in addition to leading people to commit wrong and perverse attitudes to achieve their objectives.