What Sir Thomas More Teaches Us About the World and Judaism Today

I was always interested in history — and being from England, especially English history. One of the most significant eras there was the 16th century. After years of disastrous infighting in the Wars of the Roses, Henry 7th and then Henry 8th began to stabilize English society and lay the foundations for the empire that was to follow. As we know, Henry 8th had six wives. As the saying went, “Divorced, beheaded, died, divorced, beheaded, survived.”

Henry was not only a cruel tyrant, but also horrible to his counselors. The two most significant after Cardinal Wolseley were Sir Thomas More (1478-1535) and Thomas Cromwell (1485-1540), both of whom were beheaded.

Martin Luther (1483-1546) initiated the Protestant split with Rome when he pinned his 95 articles on the gates of Wittenberg Cathedral. Sir Thomas More, loyal to the Pope, wrote a fierce rebuff and encouraged Henry to write a defense of the Catholic Church for which he was given the title “ Defender of the Faith” (abbreviated in its Latin to FidDef). This is still used by English monarchs.

When Henry wanted to get rid of his first wife, Katherine of Aragon, the Pope refused. Henry broke with Rome and set up the Church of England, and expected everyone else to follow him and accept him as the religious head of the Church (and thus defy the Catholic Church). To this day, the English Monarch is still head of the Church of England, which may explain why it has become such a pathetic disaster (although I think King Charles happens to be a good guy but certainly no saint).

Thomas More was a giant in English society — not just because of his political prowess and brilliance, but also because he had written a major work of English literature, Utopia, which described a mythical perfect world that was both a political satire and an aspirational dream of a perfect society. Sir Thomas was conflicted over whether to stand firm on his principles and face death or capitulate and obey his monarch. He refused to capitulate, and it cost him his life.

The unstable history of religious turmoil only ended when Henry’s daughter, Elizabeth, stabilized the country at home and survived the attempts of Catholic Spain to remove her. And by the way, there were no Jews allowed to live in England in those days, so you can’t blame them.

In 1960, the dramatist Robert Bolt produced a remarkable play called A Man for All Seasons, about Sir Thomas More as a brilliant, stable counterforce to the unpredictability of his master, King Henry, and his struggle, moral and religious. It was subsequently made into a very successful and award-winning feature film.

Much has been written about Thomas More. But in our days, he is known by most people from Hilary Mantel’s brilliant historical novel Wolf Hall, which was turned into a widely watched and praised television series that dramatizes the relationship between More and Thomas Cromwell, his pupil and then nemesis.

My interest in it is because I see so much of the present struggle between religious and political fanaticism and extremism not only in general, but also in Jewish religious life today. There are those who absolutely refuse to budge, see another point of view, and even resort to violence — although no one has been beheaded yet.

As for Martin Luther, he claimed he stood for a new open-minded version of Christianity in reaction to the corrupt Catholic authority of Rome, which only allowed the priesthood to determine what ideas and interpretations were acceptable. Luther wanted the Bible to be accessible to everyone, in a way to democratize religion. Initially he hoped the Jews would join him because we encouraged everyone to have access to our holy books. But when we politely refused, Luther turned into one of the most despicable antisemites.

That is one of the reasons why so many (not all of course) religions that sprang from us are uncomfortable with our independence, and end up being so antagonistic to Jews. Precisely because we are different and stand out in following our own paths. Most people don’t like those who disagree. There are many who die each year solely for their religion.

I wonder whether despite our technological and scientific advances, we are not as primitive, addicted to power, and as bloodthirsty as people were back then. In the end, we might say these religious upheavals laid the ground for a better world. Sadly, now it looks like we are being taken back to the Middle Ages.

The author is a rabbi based in New York.