Cultural Transformations: Religion and Science (1450-1750)
The marriage of Greek rationality and monotheistic tradition set up the modern Western cultural civilization. Though Europeans were "central players" (644) in the rising of these two cultural trends, Strayer does not leave out the other civilizations and religious traditions that experienced cultural transformations too during this era that other texts are likely to skip over. After all, this is world history, not just Western civilization.
The Globalization of Christianity
The significance of the Protestant Reformation in the globalization of Christianity was that it gave rise to a divided but "renewed" (650) Christianity. The movement began with Martin Luther, who essentially protested the corrupt, authoritative tradition of the Roman Catholic Church. His ideas, which many resonated with, encouraged people to read the Bible for themselves, independent of the Church institution. Christianity also spread during the European movement overseas. Europeans intended to get in on the wealth from spices, but also to spread Christianity. However, one of my favorite quotes from this section is: "Neither man sensed any contradiction or hypocrisy in the blending of religious and material concerns. If religion drove and justified European ventures abroad, it is difficult to imagine the globalization without the support of empire" (652) because it shows how the Europeans were not as concerned with converting natives but displacing them, and it was the missionaries who mainly spread Christianity.
Persistence and Change in Afro-Asian Cultural Traditions
In the politically and culturally weak Spanish America, European Christianity was absorbed and integrated into Native American culture, but emerged as Andean Christianity tradition. This differed from China's encounter with European Christianity, where there was not a mass conversion, (though a few converted, attracted to the missionaries' modern Western knowledge of science and technology and the morals of Christianity) because it was politically stronger, the missionaries were banned from China for being to authoritative, and because Christianity was generally unfitting of Chinese spirituality. In Afro-Asian cultural traditions too, change took place. In the Afro-Asian world, Islamization occurred through renewal and movements that emphasized the wrongness of idolatry and straying away from the original Islam teachings, mainly through the the Wahhabi movement that became a reformist state. In China, influenced by Daoism and Buddhism, Neo-Confucianism emerged, and new directions took place through an emphasis on individualism, kaozheng in Chinese elite culture, and pop culture. In India, a cultural transformation took place through the union of Hinduism and Islam through bhakti, a tradition of Hindu devotional practices, and the emergence of Sikhism as a new religious tradition, both of which drew away from the traditional caste system. Last semester I completed my research project on the topic of the caste system of India. After reading this section, it gave me insight on why untouchability and caste-based discrimination was finally outlawed in the 20th century.
A New Way of Thinking: The Birth of Modern Science
The Scientific Revolution, a cultural transformation, took place in Europe because of their political fragmentation, universities, and their likelihood to draw ideas and experiences from other cultures, as European thinkers began questioning the birth of the universe, challenging the Church, and focusing on rationality, all of which created a long-term impact. This movement began with Copernicus, who argued that everything in the Universe revolved around the sun, and the peak was with Newton's idea of gravity as Strayer describes as "the grand unifying idea of early modern science" (667). The universe was now explained through physical laws, and while it challenged religion, it still persisted, changed, and revived in some cases. The Enlightenment took place in the 18th century, and the main idea that came out from it was that human action, guided by reason, could change society. Humanity could be changed through rationality. These ideas would later be challenged by Darwin and his idea of evolution and Marx with his idea of capitalism and human history. China and Japan were both interested in this emerging of European techniques. The Ottoman empire was more concerned with Europe's practical techniques such as mapmaking.
World History II and Religions of the World
I am taking Religions of the World at the same time I am taking this course, and it is insightful when ideas and concepts from the two overlap. For example, the idea that reason and faith merged together and created today's Western cultural outlook became more clear to me when Strayer said it in his text, and when I read it in the text I have for Religions of the World, which is The Case for God by Karen Armstrong. For example, reading the creation myth and other biblical passages literally is something we do in Western tradition, but to get the most out of the Scriptures, there needs to be more than just comprehension. As Armstrong puts it, "Today, because the modern West is a society of logos, some people read the Bible literally, assuming that its intention is to give us the kind of accurate information that we expect from any other supposedly historical text and that this is the way these stories have always been understood" (28). Another related point Armstrong shares that is relevant to Chapter 15 is, "As Christianity spread in the Hellenistic world, the more educated converts brought with them the insights and expectations of their own Greek education. From an early date, they regarded Christianity as a philosophia that had much in common with the Greek schools" (93). Much of the cultures that emerged during the early modern era happened because of the political, historical, and social contexts.
The marriage of Greek rationality and monotheistic tradition set up the modern Western cultural civilization. Though Europeans were "central players" (644) in the rising of these two cultural trends, Strayer does not leave out the other civilizations and religious traditions that experienced cultural transformations too during this era that other texts are likely to skip over. After all, this is world history, not just Western civilization.
The Globalization of Christianity
The significance of the Protestant Reformation in the globalization of Christianity was that it gave rise to a divided but "renewed" (650) Christianity. The movement began with Martin Luther, who essentially protested the corrupt, authoritative tradition of the Roman Catholic Church. His ideas, which many resonated with, encouraged people to read the Bible for themselves, independent of the Church institution. Christianity also spread during the European movement overseas. Europeans intended to get in on the wealth from spices, but also to spread Christianity. However, one of my favorite quotes from this section is: "Neither man sensed any contradiction or hypocrisy in the blending of religious and material concerns. If religion drove and justified European ventures abroad, it is difficult to imagine the globalization without the support of empire" (652) because it shows how the Europeans were not as concerned with converting natives but displacing them, and it was the missionaries who mainly spread Christianity.
Persistence and Change in Afro-Asian Cultural Traditions
In the politically and culturally weak Spanish America, European Christianity was absorbed and integrated into Native American culture, but emerged as Andean Christianity tradition. This differed from China's encounter with European Christianity, where there was not a mass conversion, (though a few converted, attracted to the missionaries' modern Western knowledge of science and technology and the morals of Christianity) because it was politically stronger, the missionaries were banned from China for being to authoritative, and because Christianity was generally unfitting of Chinese spirituality. In Afro-Asian cultural traditions too, change took place. In the Afro-Asian world, Islamization occurred through renewal and movements that emphasized the wrongness of idolatry and straying away from the original Islam teachings, mainly through the the Wahhabi movement that became a reformist state. In China, influenced by Daoism and Buddhism, Neo-Confucianism emerged, and new directions took place through an emphasis on individualism, kaozheng in Chinese elite culture, and pop culture. In India, a cultural transformation took place through the union of Hinduism and Islam through bhakti, a tradition of Hindu devotional practices, and the emergence of Sikhism as a new religious tradition, both of which drew away from the traditional caste system. Last semester I completed my research project on the topic of the caste system of India. After reading this section, it gave me insight on why untouchability and caste-based discrimination was finally outlawed in the 20th century.
A New Way of Thinking: The Birth of Modern Science
The Scientific Revolution, a cultural transformation, took place in Europe because of their political fragmentation, universities, and their likelihood to draw ideas and experiences from other cultures, as European thinkers began questioning the birth of the universe, challenging the Church, and focusing on rationality, all of which created a long-term impact. This movement began with Copernicus, who argued that everything in the Universe revolved around the sun, and the peak was with Newton's idea of gravity as Strayer describes as "the grand unifying idea of early modern science" (667). The universe was now explained through physical laws, and while it challenged religion, it still persisted, changed, and revived in some cases. The Enlightenment took place in the 18th century, and the main idea that came out from it was that human action, guided by reason, could change society. Humanity could be changed through rationality. These ideas would later be challenged by Darwin and his idea of evolution and Marx with his idea of capitalism and human history. China and Japan were both interested in this emerging of European techniques. The Ottoman empire was more concerned with Europe's practical techniques such as mapmaking.
World History II and Religions of the World
I am taking Religions of the World at the same time I am taking this course, and it is insightful when ideas and concepts from the two overlap. For example, the idea that reason and faith merged together and created today's Western cultural outlook became more clear to me when Strayer said it in his text, and when I read it in the text I have for Religions of the World, which is The Case for God by Karen Armstrong. For example, reading the creation myth and other biblical passages literally is something we do in Western tradition, but to get the most out of the Scriptures, there needs to be more than just comprehension. As Armstrong puts it, "Today, because the modern West is a society of logos, some people read the Bible literally, assuming that its intention is to give us the kind of accurate information that we expect from any other supposedly historical text and that this is the way these stories have always been understood" (28). Another related point Armstrong shares that is relevant to Chapter 15 is, "As Christianity spread in the Hellenistic world, the more educated converts brought with them the insights and expectations of their own Greek education. From an early date, they regarded Christianity as a philosophia that had much in common with the Greek schools" (93). Much of the cultures that emerged during the early modern era happened because of the political, historical, and social contexts.
Comments
Post a Comment