The Sadducees were a religious party in Judaism, originating about the same period as the Pharisees. They were the aristocratic, priestly party, who, being identified with the government in the time of the Hasmonaeans, became more worldly in their policy, more eager about the independence of the state than about the ideals of religion. Hence they rejected the traditions of the Pharisees. Religion was by them construed as a code of morals, with certain peculiar practices rather than obedience to a god's will; hence their insistence on the freedom of the will. When the temple fell, they, having no other support than the Mosaic ritual, disappeared with it. Research Sadducees
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Research Sadducees
