Why Do We Own The Catholic Church For Built The Western Civilization?

Significant reforms took place during the reign of King Henry VIII in the 16th Century, which influenced Christianity and the way it is practiced today. Prior to this, the institution of the church was very powerful with the Pope and bishops held in high esteem as they presented themselves as the gateway to God. The Pope, head of the Catholic church, would not grant an annulment in the marriage of Henry VIII to enable him to marry Anne Boleyn and this seems to be the catalyst for the changes to the church’s power pursued by Henry. The Catholic Church’s authority was systematically attacked through a series of events brought about by the actions of Henry, through economic, personal and political means.

Not only did the Christian Church hold importance but it also held authority. Document 11 describes the power of the Catholic Inquisition. In attempting to try a man for heresy, they killed him by means of torture. Not only did they have the judging authority, but they could kill men without consequence. The greatest minds of Western Europe were captivated by Christianity as well. Document 13 describes Thomas Aquinas, one of the best thinkers of the Christian postclassical world, in his use of science to try to determine the right and Christian relationship between men and women. In every aspect of Western Europe, Christianity was a defining characteristic.

When the scientific revolution was going on, the Church was possibly one of the most dominant institutions in the world. The Church power was especially prominent in

In the Medieval times, the Roman Catholic Church played a great role in the development of England and had much more power than the Church of today does. In Medieval England, the Roman Catholic Church dominated everyday life and controlled everyone whether it is knights, peasants or kings. The Church was one of the most influential institutions in all of Medieval England and played a large role in education and religion. The Church's power was so great that they could order and control knights and sends them to battle whenever they wished to. The Church also had the power to influence the decision of Kings and could stop or pass laws which benefited them in the long run, adding to this, the Church had most of the wealth in Europe as the

After the fall of the Roman Empire, there was no main dominating force in Europe to enforce laws and protection for the people. The Middle Ages had begun and without the Romans, life became centered around survival. The destabilization caused rates of illiteracy, disease, and deaths to rise dramatically and to remedy the average peasants worry, the feudalism system flourished and required work in exchange for the safety of manors. Yet while there was not a overlooking empire to look towards for authority, the Catholic Church served its role to bring all classes together (Document 6). The Middle Ages will be ultimately known as an age of faith because of the prevalence of violence, power of religion, and the Catholic Church’s preservation of knowledge.

Before the start of the Renaissance, the Catholic Church influenced every aspect of society. The Renaissance and it’s ideals changed this. The Humanist movement opposed the Catholic Church’s involvement in the lives of the citizens. Humanists advocated for personal independence and individual expression, an idea that directly opposed the Catholic Church’s ideals. The Church believed that citizens should dedicate their lives to the service of God and by extension, the Church. The introduction of the idea that the Church does not control every aspect of society was revolutionary to Early Modern Western Civilization because it allowed people to pursue things that they had not been previously able to pursue because of the limitations the Catholic Church placed upon them. Although only the wealthy were able to dedicate all of their time to these pursuits, there were still significant advancements in art, literature, and science, all of which impacted Early Modern Western Civilization.

Big changes happened in the past time of life in European history. In the Middle Ages to the Renaissance people start thinking different they had new ideas. They went from praising religion to praising humankind. In the text it states, “during the Middle Ages, the Roman Catholic Church and the Pope were the primary players in Europe.” This is important because it emphasizes that that was the trending topic it was the most important thing to people back then before 1400 until 1700 time period came and it shows who was in charge at that time. However, people move on from religion when the Renaissance came. New invention came like the printing press which causes people to think differently and not always focus on religion and start praising humankind.

When the Roman Empire collapsed, the Catholic Church was the only powerful authority not complete disrupted by the attack by barbarians. In fact, the work of great Popes is what helped their power increase even more. The newly christened barbarians, done by the Pope Gregory the Great, inaugurated a new age in Jesus Christ called Christendom. All culture in Christendom conformed to that of the Church’s, and, with its headquarters in Rome, the powerful “papal monarchs”, as they were called, controlled the machine that was the Catholic Church.

Religion had such a huge influence on the people in history. Once the officials of the catholic church were caught in the corruption they were in the people started to question it all. The church manipulated

As time constantly presses forward and the earth continues to revolve, the world will never stop progressing and adapting to better suit the needs of mankind. The evolution of religion has greatly enhanced the quality of life for humanity by providing individuals with a strong belief system that is now the foundation of many peoples’ core values. One universal religion that has undergone extensive amounts of reform is Christianity. In particular, the Catholic church is well-known for the development of their famous ecumenical council meetings that help determine the future of the church. Numerous Councils have been conducted throughout the course of history, but none more significant than the most recent, the Second Vatican Council or Vatican II. The Catholic church was operating as if it was still the medieval period and desperately needed to be modernized. As a result, every Roman Catholic Church official was gathered to meet and devise a plan for how to introduce the church to the modern world. Consequently, the following will reveal the Second Vatican Council and the ramifications of the agenda, history and theology evolution, significant texts, and new developments.

Despite the age of these systems, the Catholic Church continues to operate close to them, similar to when they were adopted. The misunderstanding and prejudice towards these systems cause many people to adopt anti-Catholic beliefs for contemporary issues in America. The democratic political system in America clashes with the hierarchical lineage that the Catholic Church possesses. The problem arises when anti-Catholics claim that Catholics are un-American because they follow a hierarchy, rather than the “American” system of democracy. The democratic system allows the people to vote for their leader to govern them, however, the Catholic leader, the Pope, is not chosen by the people of the Catholic Church. Un-American criticism continues with the debates and movements on Sexism and Feminism. As women’s roles are changed, the Catholic Church is keeping true to its origins by keeping the governing body, the priesthood, bishops, Cardinals, and the Pope, a completely male role. The Church is criticized by many as being sexist and by that, un-American, for not allowing ordination for women. “Many Americans / view the church’s ban on women’s ordination largely in terms of democratic principles, or ‘rights’ and representation’” (Martin). Anti-Catholics throw up these accusations of sexism without contemplating the true role of women in the Catholic Church. Pope Francis said in an interview “’Look, in the Church women are more important than men, because the church is a woman / The Church is the bride of Jesus Christ. And the Madonna is more important that popes and bishops and priests’” (Ruiz). This governing structure, as well as other beliefs of the Catholic Church, seem confusing or silly to post-enlightenment ideas. As human philosophy has developed after the Enlightenment, the Church has kept the doctrine the same. This has not caused the anti-Catholic community to criticize

During the fourteenth century, China firstly created the printing technology and introduced it to Germany, and then Germany spread it out to other European countries such as Italy, France, and so on. Besides the printing technology, the great invention of gunpowder and the compass together composed the cornerstone of capitalism. The connection with non-Europeans had great influence on both deterioration of the understanding of culture, religion, government due to the Black Death and on the rebirth of European culture and religion. The Black Death was a historic event that enabled people to challenge the authority of the Church, to realize the importance of equality, and more importantly, to contemplate the meaning of life and self identities. As for the Reformation, increased trade between Europe and the world laid the foundation for the transformation of the Church; the cultural education strengthened people’s faith in God so that they no longer relied on external acts blindly. Furthermore, the rise of capitalism contributed to the Reformation because it accelerated the development of economy prosperity in Europe. Overall, one could say that tragedies like the Black Death happen for a reason, and there are many beneficial things that can follow

In the void left by the collapse of the Roman Empire, the bishop of Rome grew even more in both power and prestige beginning in the sixth century and continuing to the reformation in the ninth century. It is the aim of this paper to explain how and why the papacy in Rome became the center of power of the medieval world, the factors contributing to this dominance over Western Europe, and the positive and negative ramifications of the position becoming so powerful. Through this paper you will discover how papacy was able to fill the vacuum of power left by the fall of an empire.

Tension grew between the Catholic Church and France during the French Revolution, leading to a schism, which deeply devastated the Church’s economy. Pope Pius VII and Napoleon Bonaparte came into power as the French Revolution was ending. For different reasons they both saw the importance of restoring Roman Catholicism’s position in France. The Catholic Church’s initial support of Napoleon greatly affected both parties (O’Dwyer 12-14, 43, 49). This statement has led me to ask the following question: To what extent did the support of Napoleon affect the Church’s role as a political and economic power in France? In this paper I will argue against the traditional view that Napoleon’s contract with the Catholic Church was solely beneficial to

In Europe, the long nineteenth century, (1789-1914) was a tumultuous era of political, economic, and social revolution which created an increasingly secular culture. Europeans of all races and classes looked outside the church to solve societal and familial issues. Gifted intellectuals proposed new philosophies on human thought and behavior, while innovative communication allowed ideas to travel quicker and easier than ever before. By the early 1800’s, Europeans began to question the role and necessity of the church and religion in their lives. Revolutionaries developed political and social