Religion Influence On Western Civilization

Rome was founded in 753 B.C. Roman has the great influences in Western Civilizations and society. Christianity is a monotheistic religion; it established right after the death of Jesus Christ. Christians are the follower of Jesus Christ (4 B.C.-29 A.D.). Roman sees Jesus as a political protestor who might want to push a revolt against roman rule, that’s why Jesus was sentences to death by crucifixion. Churches in Ancient Europe were divided into The West and The East, whose centers were Rome and Constantinople respectively.

The positive influence of Christianity is far reaching especially in the rich history and culture of Western Civilization despite a long standing ignorance or adamant denial of its contributions. The Bible itself is responsible for much of the language, literature, and fine arts we enjoy today as its artists and composers were heavily influenced by its writings. Paul Maier, in writing the forward to the book How Christianity Changed the World by Alvin J. Schmidt, says this about the profound impact Christianity has had on the development of Western Civilization:

Between 1000- 1750, Christianity maintained authority over the people due to religious and political power, thereby greatly influencing art and education, however exposure to new knowledge from the Islamic world led to changes in the way the church was perceived and depicted in Western Europe.

The population of medieval Europe (500AD-1500AD) was controlled by three major factors, feudalism, religion and the justice system. The justice system controlled all the punishments for each crime and what was punishable by death. Religion controlled people by blackmail saying they would go to hell after they died if they didn't do what they asked and feudalism gave control and power to the higher class, allowing them to manipulate the lower classes. I think that religion was the most controlling and powerful over the medieval society since the idea of disobeying the creator of earth and fate after death seemed much more threatening to capital punishment or higher classes using their power to control everyone below them.

Christianity was by far the dominant religion, those that didn’t believe in Christianity were often considered to be Pagan. Whoever was Christian believed in Gods Will, Gods Will was like a law book for Christians it guided them on the correct path .Priests were also Doctors, if you had a headache he would drill a hole in your head to let all the demons inside you escape. If you were in court they would make you hold a stick of iron for 10 minutes, then they would wrap your hand up in cloth, if it got infected you were guilty, if it didn’t you were innocent, they called this Trial by Ordeal. Charlemagne was the Holy Roman Emperor in 771CE, he really encouraged Christianity, and in fact Charlemagne would kill anyone who refused to believe in God. The Crusades was a very significant factor for Christianity. The crusades were a series of Holy Wars beginning the late 11th century. Pope Urban ll lead the wars. There ended up being nine major wars, but twelve altogether. The Medieval time was definitely a very significant time, where many people's beliefs influenced the way they

The birth of modern science created conflict between religion and science in European societies. With the conflicts, the people had started to question the church. These conflicted changes between religion and science, had positively impacted the common people and had greatly damaged the stability of the church itself. The idea that everything was to be perfect affected the communities of the people. The ideas that the church had displayed in decades past, rejected any further discoveries or advancements that they didn’t see fit.

The church had a dynamic effect on the development of Western Civilization. The spiritual enthusiasm displayed spiritual growth and passion during the High Middle Ages. The High Middle Ages influenced a great deal of the European Society. The church was one of the most powerful forces during the creation of the middle ages and caused great innovation throughout Europe. Therefore, the European

Religion was far more important in almost every aspect of medieval life than it is in most modern societies. The vast majority of people in Europe followed the Christian religion under the authority of the Roman Catholic Church. The church in the medieval era possessed great wealth, political power and influence over community life, art, architecture and education. Its religious acknowledgements gave shape to the calendar; its spiritual rituals marked important moments in an individual's life (such as baptism, acceptance, marriage, forgiveness, holy orders and the last rites), and its teachings depend upon dominant beliefs about ethics, the meaning of life, and the afterlife. Churches where ultimately the only connection that the peasants and nobles shared.

Throughout history, religion has been a very important part of all the empires, civilizations, and ages we learn about. Each religion has its own characteristics, texts, deities, and unique symbols that set it apart from others. Religion is more than believing in gods or following an ancient text, it created new civilizations and ideas. For one, religion influenced leaders and well known historical figures throughout world history. Leaders such as monarchs, referred to themselves as representatives to their god(s). Since their god(s) are not physically with them, someone has to step up and represent them. The Hebrew prophet Abraham, is believed to have been spoken to by God and angels. He then became the leader of the well-known religion, Judaism.

Religion has always had a special role in history, shaping culture, language, wars, and even geographic borders. Polytheistic worship shaped the ancient West--Egypt, Mesopotamia, Ancient Greece, and Rome--and Christianity took over in the European Middle Ages, but the change was more of an evolution than a revolution.

Society was affected by religion in a negative way the majority of the time, but most specifically to another specific group of people. For example, a Christian group would most likely make sure to change the perspective of a different individual who has a different belief. The new religion would force him to see the benefits of Christianity and how the individual has to convert their religion because it was morally wrong and any opinion stated would be irrelevant. Another example would be marriage. The action of getting married can force the women to change her religion just because the man is dominant and has the right since back in that era women were treated differently. The impact that religion made affected others in a way where those victims seemed like if they were

People in the middle ages were very religious. People believed that Roman Catholic Church represent God. The church had a big influence on the content spread in the Middle Ages, and they were content with religious or moralistic. The only religion recognized in Middle Ages Europe was Christianity and specifically Catholicism. Christianity in the middle ages dominated the lives. The life of the medieval people was dominated entirely by the church and many religious institutions gained power and wealth. It was single the larges institution in west of Europe. It touched everyone’s life no matter what rank in social class they lived in. Everyone in western Europe was Rome Catholic Christian at that time. From the reaches king all the way down.

During the middles ages, church was more than just the place you went to worship, it was a place of power. It had a government, courts, a system of taxation, and laws. Teachings of the church influenced everyone in the society. The Christian Church molded the way the culture was during the middle ages. Christianity is the name given to the system of religious belief and practice which was taught by Jesus Christ in the country of Palestine during the reign of the Roman Emperor Tiberius. Since Christianity was the dominant religion during the Middle Ages, attempts to purify the church and society led to many Christian campaigns against other religions. These campaigns were led by bishops, scholars and warriors who made efforts to make the Christian world free of all the non-Christians.

Monasteries were places where groups of men or women could live together and worship God. The men in the monasteries were called monks and the women were called nuns. A monastery is sometimes called an 'abbey' or a 'priory'. Monasteries for women are also sometimes called 'nunneries'. Monasteries always had lots of small buildings for the monks or nuns to live in. These are called 'cells'. British ones were usually round. Saxon ones were rectangular. There would also be a kitchen and workshops. They could be built of wood or stone.

How has the geography of religion evolved over the centuries? The region has evolved in many ways for example the birth of KRISHNA too place in 3,000 B.C, Hinduism started around 1,500 B.C. in India and grew then the birth of ABRAHAM around 1,500 B.C. Judaism began as the covenant between God and Abraham around 1812 B.C. shortly after where the Israelites conquer Levant, the birth of Buddhism began around the 6th century into present day in Lumbini, Nepal and it is one of the oldest religion today. The map displays the spread of certain religions that stayed mainly in the Middle East and Southeast Asia. Islam started in 610 through the Arabian Peninsula. Christianity was developed out of Judaism in the 1st century and was founded on the resurrection of Jesus Christ and that Jesus was the son of God. Christianity and Islam expanded throughout the world becoming the two most dominant religions overtime. Christianity spread abroad and was the main religion throughout the world with Islam following. The map again displays that Christianity spread throughout with Islam and Judaism mostly in the middle east, Hinduism and Buddhism in India and Asia.