A Brief History
On May 12, 1593, History shows us a good example of the problems that develop when Church and State are not separate. Playwright Thomas Kyd was swept up with many others in a sweep of suspects in “libelous” postings (“divers lewd and mutinous libels”) around London, England, accused of posting letters denying the Holy Trinity and the Godliness of Jesus Christ (Arianism) and comments critical of the government. Kyd and the others were questioned and tortured by the Privy Council, as was the customary treatment of suspected blasphemers, and their lodgings were searched for evidence.
Digging Deeper
At the time of his arrest, the 34 year old Kyd was a notable playwright and was in the service of a nobleman, but History is not sure exactly whom Kyd served. Kyd was a contemporary of and former roommate of author Christopher Marlowe, an atheist, which is probably the source of the suspicion about Kyd. In fact, Kyd was not an atheist, nor was he an author of the inflammatory postings.

Found in Kyd’s lodgings was Arianist literature, writings that belonged to Christopher Marlowe, the ownership of which was extracted from Kyd under torture. The tortured Kyd denounced Marlowe and declared him an atheist and a traitor that believed Jesus Christ had been a homosexual. In reality, Kyd himself was not an atheist, though Marlowe was. Marlowe himself was arrest a week later, and on May 30, 1593, was stabbed to death, though it is not known if the murder was related to his arrest.
The unfortunate Kyd was released, but his benefactor refused to take him back into employment. Kyd died the following year at the age of 35, a broken man, deeply enough in debt that his mother renounced his estate. He had spent his last year attempting to clear his name, protesting that he was innocent and not in fact an atheist. Thomas Kyd’s efforts to right his legacy were fruitless, leaving him another of the millions of victims of religious intolerance.
Another sad note to the life and death of Thomas Kyd, is that the place of his burial, St. Mary Colechurch, was consumed by the Great Fire of 1666, and Kyd’s grave has been lost to history.

Question for students (and subscribers): What do you think of the separation of Church and State? Is this a concept that belongs in the United States? Does the concept belong in other countries as well? Should any country be able to declare a state religion and base its laws on that religion? Let us know your opinions in the comments section below this article.
Note: The Privy Council in Britain is composed of high ranking politicians assigned to council the Sovereign. Duties include issuing Royal Charters, enacting Acts of Parliament, and issuing Orders of Council. In the past, the Privy Council held much more power than today’s version, many of the former functions having been passed to cabinet members. The Privy Council used to act as The High Court of Appeal for the British Empire, and currently has a Judicial Committee of judges that act in a role similar to the Supreme Court of the United States.
Note: Arianism is defined by the Oxford Dictionaries as “an influential heresy denying the divinity of Christ, originating with the Alexandrian priest Arius (circa 250–circa 336). Arianism maintained that the Son of God was created by the Father and was therefore neither coeternal with the Father, nor consubstantial.”
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Historical Evidence
For more information, please see…
Berndt, Guido M. and Roland Steinacher. Arianism: Roman Heresy and Barbarian Creed. Routledge, 2014.
Boas, Fredrick. The Works of Thomas Kyd: Edited From the Original Texts; With Introduction, Notes, and Facsimiles. Forgotten Books, 2016.
Honan, Park. Christopher Marlowe: Poet & Spy. Oxford University Press, 2007.