Christianity's Influence On Western Culture

While modern Western society might seem secular, with attendance at religious services in a decline throughout North America and Western Europe, it is impossible to overstate the impact that Christianity has had on Western culture, dating back to the founding of the Church but continuing to the present day. As it says in the novel we are reading, A Short History of Christianity, Stephen Tompkins says that, “Christianity infused the western world over a millennium, shaping landscape, language, music, art, family life, the law, the shape of society, the very way our minds work.” Throughout the long history of the church, it has served as a significant source of such ancillary services as medical care and education, political and religious leadership

After the Roman Empire fell, it was the Catholic scholars who kept literacy throughout Western Europe. One of the scholars that I’m referring to is Martin Luther. When Luther finally got tuned in with God, he realized that people were getting plucked out of there money for the grace of god; and he felt that he needed to share the word that all they needed was faith. Once the Dark Ages passed, it was the Church that brought Europe back together in some semblance of unity. Even today, the cathedrals that tower over many of the cities in Western Europe are a testament to the devotion that Christianity drew from every level of society back then, from the workers who had to move the large building beams into place to the architects who conceived of ways even to erect such large buildings, and to the artists who designed the early methods of stained glass work and painting religious

Many of the basic ideas that would fight such practices as slavery, human sacrifice, and polygamy would come from Christian teachings (Hastings). Some of the teachings of Jesus have been used to inspire a call for welfare and social equality. There have also been controversies when Christian teachings about marriage, sexuality and family life have run counter to many of the impulses in the more secular parts of society. The fact that these debates are even happening, though, is a testament to the influence that Christianity continues to play in