Christian Tradition And The Western Rule Of Law

Building a country under the rule of law is our pursuit.However,in thousands of years the rule of law was not our nation's survival style.This situation prompts us to need a deeper understanding of the emergence,the development and the fonrmtion of the rule of law in the West.Studying the relationship of Christianity and the rule of law in western society can meet this requirement.Western civilization is also known as "Greek and Hebrew civilization",so we can see that Christian tradition gives a profound impact on Western civilization.Therefore,as an important part of the western civilization,the rule of law in western world no doubt must be influenced deeply by its religious tradition.In this paper,we use the historical research and comparative analysis to explore the relationship between the Western Christian tradition and the rule of law in the west.First of all,in the history,the rule of law in the west started in ancient Greece and had the corresponding practice.Then because of the Roman times' political chaos, the rule of law declined too.In the middle Ages,the strong state power and the powerful Christianity fought against each other,and a series of historical fact happened,which did not stop the process of the rule of law,on the contrary objectively promoted the separation of powers,supremacy of law,and other phenomenon of the rule of law.Secondly,through the comparative study of both traditions,we find that in the conception levels,the two have some same ideas, including human nature,reason,as well as some real world's concepts such as equality and contract.This is the basis that Christian tradition and the rule of law in the west can influenced each other.Thirdly,natural law school is the main bearer of the rule of law in the west.The middle Ages didn't destroy it,and more strongly expressed it.This is another important contribution that Christianity gave to the rule of law in the west.Finally,as an organization,the Church greatly limited the royal power,and incredibly first realized the separation of church and state in the world.At the same time,the church ceremony also marked the West legal ceremony of a deep imprint.Through research,we found that the Christian tradition and the rule of law inextricably linked.However,according to historical materialism,the decisive factor to promote the rule of law in the West is economic form.The concept of wealth of Christianity coupled with it precisely.Therefore,no doubt,in the West,the Christian tradition played an important role in the realization of the rule of law.