Reflection Paper: Life of St. Thomas More Faith and politics are often viewed as contrasting or irreconcilable matters.

Some would take in the absolute sense that religion and politics should be separated as they have their own distinct spheres. Also, some religious believer would find it hard to conceive the idea of entertaining politics as this may run counter to their faith. The branding of St. Thomas More as the Patron of Statesmen and Politicians puts forward the idea that it is not in all cases that faith be detached from matters of purely secular affairs like politics and establishment of a state. It is, then, interesting to reflect how St. Thomas More, a man of morals and believer of the Kingdom of God, would act and think as a statesman and at the same time a promoter of the faith. Many great thinkers have proposed an ideal government for the people. One noteworthy is Plato. In his The Republic, Plato conceived the idea that the ideal rulers and officials of a government should be the Philosophers whom are free from any family ties, as these persons are the most apt to rule since they possess the qualities of being inclined in reason and not in emotions. Plato viewed that by committing only to the profession of a statesman and not to any other particular interest like family is giving ones portion of justice to the society. St. Thomas More has his somewhat similar but better version. It is for this Saint that the principles of being a statesman should be concentrated on promoting justice and restraining the harmful influence of those who advanced their own interests at the expense of the weak. This is paralleled to Platos idea that to govern should mean prioritize the people and not oneself. St. Thomas More, as an English Statesman, was said to place his own public activity at the service of the person and detaching himself from honors and wealth. However, St. Thomas More, in contrast with Plato, has incorporated the idea of the indispensable role of faith and moral integrity to the equation of being an effective statesman. It is for St. Thomas More that the inalienable dignity of the human conscience be in primacy over the politics of governance. For him, man cannot be sundered from God, nor politics from morality. He was identified to illustrate a fundamental truth of political ethics such as the idea that the defence of the Churchs freedom from unwarranted interference by the State is at the same time a defence, in the name of the primacy of conscience, of the individuals freedom vis-vis political power. The modern French thinker, and Thomist, Jacques Maritain once said that the ideal political system for the people who recognize human dignity is a system that is basically democratic in such a way that every person is given value. This idea has already been the inclination of St. Thomas More in his life as a statesman. In fact, he is to be acknowledged as a source of inspiration for a political system which has as its supreme goal the service of the human person. He refused to take the oath requested of him that would involve accepting a political and ecclesiastical arrangement that prepared the way for uncontrolled despotism. He conducts himself as a statesman that is in the service of every person. His being a politician is identified to be a life devoted to God and his neighbor. With such inclinations we can see that St. Thomas More is an advocator of religion and States symbiotic relationship.