The Cathers April 26th 2012

The Cathars were a religious group in the 1200s that were wiped out by the Inquisition of the Catholic Church. Before their existence women were usually married only for money or to pass on wealth. Marrying for love was frowned upon. However, the Cathars believed in Marriage with Love or no marriage at all and they also believed that sex wasn't just for procreation but also for cementing the bonds of love that helped families stay together. They also believed that women were equal to men and believed that everyone should be educated. Actually, they were far more of a financial problem for the Catholic church at that time because they lived their beliefs and Catholic Feudalism in regard to the way money moved in the Catholic Church in southern France began to collapse as whole churches turned into Cathar Christian churches.

So, the Catholic church instituted the Inquisition and declared all Cathar beliefs illegal and took away all the money and property of all families of people who were Cathars and put to death most of the adults who were Cathars in Southern France. However, like Martin Luther, the Cathars were a part of the beginning of the Protestant movement. Many people think the ideas of the 1960s social movements throughout the world were an ongoing part of the ideal of equality of men and women and all people. And the fact that marriage has become less and less necessary even for raising children in the world also harkens back to the Cathars. Also, after most adult Cathars were killed and all their wealth and properties taken by the Catholic Church, the ideas of the Cathars were incorporated within the Franciscan and Jesuit movements of the Catholic Church. And vestments of Cathars also found their way into the Catholic Church at that time also. So, all those who died as Cathars during that time were also martyrs to the cause of equal education for all and equality for men and women, and likely one of the most important contributions of the French Cathars is they believed in marrying or getting together for love ongoing which resulted in stories like Christian and Isolde which were one of the original archetypal undying loves that brought the idea of marrying for love rather than just for property and wealth.