Why was inquisition established?

Answer 1

The prime purpose was to enhance the power of the monarchy, and of the Roman Catholic Church in Spain, by requiring that Catholics were loyal to the faith. As a political program, it led to confiscations and the torture of alleged heretics, and eventually to the expulsion of non-Catholics from Spain.

In 15th century Spain, Jews and Muslims were able to avoid legal restrictions and cultural bias by converting to Catholicism. Many still covertly practiced their former faiths, and might therefore be considered disloyal to the crown. The Spanish rulers extended a form of the Papal Inquisition of medieval times, which punished those who opposed certain Church doctrines. Suspected heretics were often tortured until they publicly "confessed" (the auto-da-fé) and were then cruelly executed.

Answer 2

The Inquisition was a formal court set up by the Church to try people accused of not following the teachings of the Church. It had the power to torture the accused, who had no rights to a fair trial (assuming that one should ever be tried for not following mainstream beliefs), and could hand the accused over for execution.

The Episcopal Inquisition began in 1184 when Pope Lucius III sent a list of heresies to Europe's bishops and commanded them to take an active role in determining whether those accused of heresy were, in fact, guilty. Rather than relying on secular courts, local lords, or just mobs, bishops were to see to it that accused heretics in their dioceses were examined by knowledgeable churchmen using Roman laws of evidence. In other words, they were to "inquire" - thus, the term "inquisition."

In the years between 1227 and 1235, Pope Gregory IX issued a number of decrees that established the Papal Inquisition. Unlike earlier tribunals, which were haphazardly administered by local bishops, it was directed "from the apostolic see", the papacy. This led to a tremendous increase in efficiency and centralisation for the persecutions. Gregory's purpose was to eliminate all followers in Western Europe of Christian doctrines that differed in any way from Roman Catholic teachings, whether by forced conversion or martyrdom.

In 1478, Pope Sixtus IV issued a bull allowing the Spanish crown to form an inquisitorial tribunal, which was to become the infamous Spanish Inquisition. Its goal was to identify, among those former Jews and Muslims who had purportedly converted to Christianity under duress, those who continued secretly to follow their former religion. Once again, death was the outcome for the accused if they failed to demonstrate total conviction in the Catholic faith.

Answer 3

To socially stabilise a newly reunified country with different peoples.

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Catholic AnswerThe main purpose was to proceed against lapsed converts from Judaism (Maranos), crypto-Jews and other apostates whose secret activities were dangerous to Church and state. It was also extended to the Christian Moors (Moriscos) who were in danger of apostasy. The Inquisition only had power over those who were baptized Catholics. If you really want to know the truth, the actual documents from the Inquistion are just now coming to light, the Inquisition wrote down everything in great detail, please watch the videos - links below the answer.

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from A Catholic Dictionary, edited by Donald Attwater, Second edition, revised 1957

The Spanish Inquisition, set up by King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella in 1478 and empowered by Pope Sixtus IV, was directed against the lapsed converts from Judaism, crypto-Jews, and other apostates whose secret activities were dangerous to Church and State. The civil government had great influence in the administration of this Inquisition, and the Spanish ecclesiastical tribunal accused of scandalous cruelty must share its condemnations with them. The latter worked during these days in defiance of the Holy See, which often condemned inquisitors because of their cruelties. Even so, these cruelties have been grossly exaggerated, and the fact that the Inquisition did tremendous good in saving the Latin countries from anarchy has been forgotten. Much falsehood surrounds the events of this period, which should be judged by the standards of those times, not by modern ideas of the human person and of religious freedom.

Answer

For medieval people, religion was not a personal preference but an abiding and universal truth. Heresy struck at the heart of that truth and no Christian doubted that God would punish a community that allowed heresy to take root and spread. The Spanish Inquisition was not the first Inquisition in Europe. The medieval Inquisition began in 1184 when Pope Lucius III sent a list of heresies to Europe's bishops and commanded them to take an active role in determining whether those accused of heresy were, in fact, guilty. Following the expulsion of the Muslim Moorish rulers from Spain, many Jews and Muslims converted, sometimes unwillingly, to Catholicism, and were referred to as 'conversos'. In some cases, it was believed that they secretly continued as Jews or Muslims. In 1478, Pope Sixtus IV issued a bull to allow the Spanish crown to form an inquisitorial tribunal. In this early stage of the Spanish Inquisition, Old Christians and Jews used the tribunals as a weapon against their converso enemies. Since the Inquisition's sole purpose was to investigate conversos, the Old Christians had nothing to fear from it and the Jews were immune to the Inquisition. After 1530, the Spanish Inquisition turned its attention away from the conversos and toward the new Protestant Reformation.

Answer

First of all it was certainly geared towards getting rid of of heretics in Spain but also it was to calm the populace of Spain because at the time riots in Spain centered around heretics were common and in fact a huge group of riots happened in 1391 that literally swept across the nation. To add in the Spanish Inquisition Isabell changed something key in the laws centered around the Inquisition. Namely what happened to Heretics who had their land annexed because of heretical beliefs. Before the land and riches of that heretic went straight to the church but now it went to Isabela and Ferdinand.

Political reasons were abound to including the fact that the Monarcy wanted a better relation with the Pope and needed a way to unite Spain under one religion. Which would allow them to strengthen their power. It's not be correct to claim that the Spanish Inquisition was not a completely religious organization.

For medieval people, religion was not a personal preference but an abiding and universal truth. Heresy struck at the heart of that truth and no Christian doubted that God would punish a community that allowed heresy to take root and spread.

The Spanish Inquisition was not the first Inquisition in Europe. The medieval Inquisition began in 1184 when Pope Lucius III sent a list of heresies to Europe's bishops and commanded them to take an active role in determining whether those accused of heresy were, in fact, guilty.

Following the expulsion of the Muslim Moorish rulers from Spain, many Jews and Muslims converted, sometimes unwillingly, to Catholicism, and were referred to as 'conversos'.In some cases, it was believed that they secretly continued as Jews or Muslims. In 1478,Pope Sixtus IV issued a bull to allow the Spanish crown to form an inquisitorial tribunal. In this early stage of the Spanish Inquisition, Old Christians and Jews used the tribunals as a weapon against their converso enemies. Since the Inquisition's sole purpose was to investigate conversos, the Old Christians had nothing to fear from it and the Jews were immune to the Inquisition.

After 1530, the Spanish Inquisition turned its attention away from the conversos and toward the new Protestant Reformation.

Answer 4

It is a little difficult to answer your question for the simple reason that there were any number of Inquisitions over the course of roughly a thousand years. By the way, the woodcut above is part of the English Propaganda that has been shown to be totally false. The above scene never happened, except in the minds of those who were churning out propaganda for the war against Spain. The primary purpose of all the Inquisitions was to preserve the faith, and to suppress heresy. For the most part the Inquisition was probably the biggest blessing that Europe ever had, (other than the Crusades) - without these two institutions the modern world would be a much darker place than it currently is. For more information about the Inquisition, please see the links below:

The Myth of the Spanish Inquisition:

Part I: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eMkjvCKTK3Q

Part II: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MgtLDECsUY0

Part III: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rQBrAUcoaxo

Part IV: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y4KZ1o6j_ss

Part V: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZHk9AJ8-aQk

Benefits of the Inquisition

We have seen that the original goal of the Inquisition was to protect the purity of the Faith in the souls of the faithful. It should be obvious that there is no obligation to “tolerate” errors in doctrine that can endanger the supernatural life of the soul. The destruction of that life was always considered a greater evil than the murder of the body. Therefore, heretics who would destroy the souls of others had either to be converted or prevented from doing harm through exile–or, later on, by other punishments, which could include the death penalty.

The political motives that were mixed with religious movements such as Catharism, as well as the difficult problem of false converts in Spain, often meant that the role of the State in dealing with heresy was greater than that of the Church — and also that the Church was able to exercise little control over the methods used, as was at times the case in Spain. There can be little doubt, however, that in most periods the inquisitions did work for the good of souls. The sinister dualism of the Cathars would certainly have triumphed in a large area of France without the persistent efforts of the inquisitors, quite apart from the armed expeditions of the French kings. (Even Henry Charles Lea, the fierce critic of inquisitions in general, admitted that in the case of the Cathars, the Church was on the side of the angels.)

Similarly, the preservation of Spanish Catholicism, particularly from the Protestant infiltration that would have brought the civil wars and other disasters it had already caused in the north, was surely to the credit of the Inquisition. Were there cruel inquisitors in some places? Of course. Were methods of interrogation distasteful to modern sensibilities? Sure–though we can certainly think of worse methods employed even in our enlightened modern times. Given its formidable task of guarding the purity of the Faith in Christian souls, however, the overall record of the Inquisition in dealing with heresy is not only defensible but admirable.

Answer 5

stop the spread of ideas considered heretical
The purpose of the inquisitions was to locate, punish and prevent many heresies that were causing disturbances among society.

Answer 6

There was big money for those church leaders who tortured heretics. Greed is the primary cause of the Inquisition.

Answer 7

catholic religious purity