Impact of Christianity on Civilization

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The role of the Christianity in Western civilization has been intricately intertwined with the history and formation of Western society. Through its long history, the church has been a major source of social services like schooling, several universities in the world were founded by the Church, [1] some historians of science J.L. Heilbron,[2] A.C. Crombie, David Lindberg,[3] Edward Grant, Thomas Goldstein,[4] and Ted Davis, have argued that the Church had Church had a significant, positive influence on the development of science,[5][6] and the Church's priest-scientists, many of whom were Jesuits, have been among the leading lights in astronomy, genetics, geomagnetism, meteorology, seismology, and solar physics, becoming some of the "fathers" of these sciences,.[7]

Church encourages medical care and welfare services and had influence in economic;[8]: inspiration for culture and philosophy; and influential player in politics and religion. Engineering and mathematics was highly advanced and its reflected through the evolution of architecture in the Middle Ages. In various ways it has sought to affect Western attitudes to vice and virtue in diverse fields. It has, over many centuries, promulgated the teachings of Jesus within the Western World and remains a source of continuity linking modern Western culture to classical Western culture.

The Bible and Christian theology have also strongly influenced Western philosophers and political activists.[9][10] The teachings of Jesus, such as the Parable of the Good Samaritan, are among the important sources for modern notions of Human Rights and the welfare measures commonly provided by governments in the West.[11] Long held Christian teachings on sexuality and marriage have also been influential in family life.

Christianity played a role in ending practices such as human sacrifice, slavery,[12] infanticide and polygamy.[13] Christianity in general affected the status of women by condemning infanticide (female infants were more likely to be killed), divorce, incest, polygamy, birth control, abortion and marital infidelity.[14] While official Church teaching[15] considers women and men to be complementary

Influence of Christianity does not stop the on Western civilization, Christians also have played a prominent role in the development and pioneering features of the Islamic civilization.[16]

The cultural influence of the Church has been vast. festivals like Easter and Christmas are marked universally as public holidays; Pope Gregory XIII's Gregorian Calendar has been adopted internationally as the civil calendar; and time itself is measured by the West from the assumed date of the birth of the Church's founder, Jesus of Nazareth: the Year One AD (Anno Domini). In the list of the 100 Most Influential People in Human history, Percent 65 Christian figures from various fields.[17]

References [change]

  1. ↑ Christianity and eduction
  2. ↑ "J.L. Heilbron". London Review of Books. http://www.lrb.co.uk/contribhome.php?get=heil01. Retrieved 2006-09-15.
  3. ↑ Lindberg, David C.; Numbers, Ronald L. (October 2003). When Science and Christianity Meet. University of Chicago Press. ISBN 978-0-226-48214-9.
  4. ↑ Goldstein, Thomas (April 1995). Dawn of Modern Science: From the Ancient Greeks to the Renaissance. Da Capo Press. ISBN 978-0-306-80637-7.
  5. ↑ Christianity and science
  6. ↑ Are Christians "Anti-Science?"
  7. ↑ Wright, Jonathan (2004). The Jesuits. p. 189.
  8. ↑ Weber, Max "The Protestant Ethic and The Spirit of Capitalism" (Penguin Books, 2002) translated by Peter Baehr and Gordon C. Wells
  9. ↑ church and law[dead link]
  10. ↑ BiBle and Law
  11. ↑ Good Samaritan. (n.d.). Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of Law. Retrieved January 09, 2010, from Dictionary.com website: http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/Good Samaritan
  12. ↑ Chadwick, Owen p. 242.
  13. ↑ Hastings, p. 309.
  14. ↑ Stark, p. 104.
  15. ↑ Kreeft, p. 61.
  16. ↑ Rémi Brague, Assyrians contributions to the Islamic civilization
  17. ↑ Religious Affiliation of History's 100 Most Influential People Archived 1 January 2012 at WebCite

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