What was part of the reason that the Inquisition was so intense in Spain?

Answer 1

Ethnic and cultural division between Jews, Muslims and Catholics encouraged virtual paranoia amongst the Spanish ruling elite and they became virulently pro-Catholic. It was partly due to the fact that much of Spain had been dominated by Islam for many centuries.

Answer 2

The Church blamed the loss of power on the Renaissance.

The Renaissance was blamed on the Muslims.

Free thought and scientific research under Islamic Rule was the greatest threat to the power of the Pope.

They started the inquistions and then the Crusades to make sure this heresy of LEARNING the sciences woud not enter Europe with the Muslims.


“The Renaissance of Europe did not take place in the 15th century. Rather it began when Europe learned from the culture of the Arabs. The cradle of European awakening is not Italy. It is the Muslim Spain.” (Robert Briffault, The Making Of Mankind)


"History makes it clear however, that the legend of fanatical Muslims
sweeping through the world and forcing Islam at the point of the sword upon
conquered races is one of the most fantastically absurd myths that historians
have ever repeated." --De Lacy O'Leary, ISLAM AT THE CROSSROADS, London,
1923, p. 8.


“The Christian World came to wage crusades against Muslims but eventually knelt before them to gain knowledge. They were spellbound to see that Muslims were owners of a culture that was far superior to their own. The Dark Ages of Europe were illuminated by nothing but the beacon of Muslim Civilization.” (F.J.C Hearushaw, The Science of History.)




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Answer 3

Fear. Jews and Muslims were blamed for the Renaissance and the loss of power by the Church. The Church leaders were afraid that without the power they were somehow wrong for how they had led the people and were destined for Hell. For the people, they believed that allowing Jews and Muslims to live among them was opening the door for Satan or would be a sin because they weren't actively making them be Christian. It seems an underlying human trait that once a group of people taste blood, they develop a further bloodlust that runs unchecked until one day it just seems too much (this is seen over and over again in mass hysteria). Repressive societies that rely on guilt and fear are breeding grounds for this kind of mass hysteria.

Answer 4

Under Islamic rule, Spain tolerated people of virtually any faith. When the Christians reconquered Spain, it was full of Muslims, Jews, and Christian heretics, whom the Church would not tolerate. It was also a time of increasing secularism, and the Church was trying desperately to reassert its power.