[Cesar Chacon El Paso, TX USA]
I think it is important for a student that is thinking on getting a major related to social, theological, or political science major to know about the Spanish Inquisition. An inquisition is a systematic investigation that violates the rights or privacy of individuals, a tribunal dedicated to the suppression of heresy (Dictionary.com). It is by these two definitions where many questions rise. Such as: to what the extent should the government have the right to intervene or dominate our private lives? Is the establishment of one and only religion upon a society crucial to form a powerful nation? Is the union of Church and State possible without the corruption of the system? Maybe there is no real answer for these questions but having an understanding of what happened in the Spanish Inquisition might help to rationalize with more background long-held controversies like the separation between church and state.

The first reason is that from long ago in the history of the US there has been a continuous controversy about the separation between Church and State. We can make hypothetical questions about the Spanish inquisition. Would the Inquisition have been avoided if Ferdinand and Isabella had not been Catholic? Supposing they had established a freedom of religion as we are guaranteed according to the first amendment of the Constitution, would the inquisition had not begun?, or would the on growing hate of the Christians towards the Jewish population had triggered the inquisition?. Most people in the US believe in something divine, so there comes the importance of respecting and tolerating other religions. Since the US has a large diversity, a student with social-related studies must have knowledge on how to make policies that do not offend people’s race, gender, religion, age, ethnicity, disabilities, among other characteristics. In this case religion is the main issue, but other characteristics arise as well that are motive for the Spanish people to discriminate certain minorities.

Also, to increase racism awareness, because in the US there are not much campaigns to promote racism awareness, and even though regular Americans usually presume that they are very open minded and they respect other cultures the reality is very different. In large cities like New York were the diversity of cultures gathered is more notorious. The difficulties of making laws and public policies are greater than in small towns or villages. As a the City Mayor or a Senator you would not like to upset any of the major contributors to the economy of your city that belong to a minority group.

Some people might say that the Spanish Inquisition is an event that happened too long a go to be studied in the 21st century. But I don’t think no one would like an “American Inquisition,” therefore, the study of the historical context of this event would make future politicians, and lawmakers more aware of what discrimination of religion may cause, sort of a medical frame from which a disease may emerge.

In conclusion, I think it is very important to understand the Spanish Inquisition, because is more than just bloody tortures, or voracious human prosecutions. It is about a social harmony that has to be maintained, it all comes down to the phrase “Do you as a leader, prefer to be feared or to be respected by your followers?”.