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Why did William of Ockham defend the English kingâs right to tax church property?
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William of Ockham
English theologian and philosopher William of Ockham, detail from a stained-glass window, c. 1985; in All Saints' Church, Ockham, Surrey, England.
William of Ockham defended the English kingâs right to tax church property in 1339 based on his belief that the power of the pope is limited by the freedom of Christians, which is established by the gospel and natural law.1
Ockham argued that it was legitimate and consistent with the gospel to defend such temporal authority against the papacy. This stance was part of his broader political philosophy, which emerged from his intense disputes with the papacy over the nature of Franciscan poverty and the limits of ecclesiastical authority.1