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For me, one of the most interesting elements of this play is the way the church is so determined to hold to their traditional beliefs. Mainly what interested me was the fact that the church felt that Earth was the center of the universe and that if it was proven not to be, the whole structure of society would break down. I feel like this was a very self-centered way of thinking on the side of the church. For instance, at one point the little monk (when he was still first sceptical) said that it would be so terrible for the less fortunate people to realize that they are simply meaningless little creatures wondering around on a worthless star. Other members of the church then go on to confirm similar beliefs that, once the people believed they were not there for a divine purpose, all of the social structure would collapse, because people would no longer feel the need to be moral and/or work hard/go through the suffering they currently believed they were enduring for the sake of the heavens.

I see this extreme self-centeredness of the church autorities to be a sort of commentary on how the church was at the time - very much focused on control of social structures and a very narrow minded view of the world. To me, the idea that the earth revolves around the sun does not make me feel any more insignificant as does the idea the sun revolves around the earth. (Surely, this is also due to the time I have grown up in and the fact that I have always known that the sun is actually the center -- it never really occurred to me what it might mean if the earth was the center.) Still, the church refuses to seek other answers or even compromises (for instance, what if this discovery does not disprove God, simply changes the understanding of his ultimate plan?).

I disagree with the first poster who says Galileo was self-involved. He was concerned with the pursuit of truth. In a way, it may be considered a bit self-involved considering the fact that he refused to give up his argument even when his daughter's husband threatened to leave her (which in my opinion, made that guy unworthy anyway), but he only gave up the public fight in the face of death, which can be seen as only human. Even so, he did not give up his pursuit and even managed to get his work out into the world through Andrea. I think he was thinking of science more than just himself.