It sounds like your only use for the church is the Knights of Seiros and the military might they represent, not the actual religion. [Claude looks amused.] Which, I mean, I'm not judging, but also that's a very shallow form of 'benefiting from the church'. Even I'll allow that the church's beliefs and teachings - in moderation, and specifically certain parts of them as opposed to other parts - can be good for people looking for some greater thing to place their faith in and for guidance in how to best live their lives, but do you not think it's even worth that much?
That said, it really does seem like the Church of Seiros has maybe too much influence over Fodlan. I know it's largely behind the Crest system, for instance, and the elevation of Crested nobility, and that's certainly at the root of any number of problems. And Edelgard is clearly of the opinion that the Church of Seiros needs to be completely eliminated for a better future for Fodlan, considering she declared war on it directly as emperor and Garreg Mach was her first military target of the war...
Personally, I agree the Church of Seiros definitely has its problems and secrets, but getting rid of it entirely feels like going way too far. Telling people what they can and can't believe, or even declaring war on them for it...even if you say it's for the greater good, that's the sort of thing that turns bad fast. The line between savior and dictator is so thin you'll never even notice you've crossed it. I'll admit that I don't know if there's some easier, more diplomatic way to extract the worst parts of the church from its followers' beliefs, to loosen how tightly it's bound up with Faerghus, or to get the kind of world Edelgard wants with it gone...but I do know that, as far as I'm aware, no one's actually tried yet. Definitely not Edelgard. So I can't agree with Edelgard's just deciding she needed to go for ramming change through by force as her opening move.
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That said, it really does seem like the Church of Seiros has maybe too much influence over Fodlan. I know it's largely behind the Crest system, for instance, and the elevation of Crested nobility, and that's certainly at the root of any number of problems. And Edelgard is clearly of the opinion that the Church of Seiros needs to be completely eliminated for a better future for Fodlan, considering she declared war on it directly as emperor and Garreg Mach was her first military target of the war...
Personally, I agree the Church of Seiros definitely has its problems and secrets, but getting rid of it entirely feels like going way too far. Telling people what they can and can't believe, or even declaring war on them for it...even if you say it's for the greater good, that's the sort of thing that turns bad fast. The line between savior and dictator is so thin you'll never even notice you've crossed it. I'll admit that I don't know if there's some easier, more diplomatic way to extract the worst parts of the church from its followers' beliefs, to loosen how tightly it's bound up with Faerghus, or to get the kind of world Edelgard wants with it gone...but I do know that, as far as I'm aware, no one's actually tried yet. Definitely not Edelgard. So I can't agree with Edelgard's just deciding she needed to go for ramming change through by force as her opening move.