If Christianity never existed would we be more advanced?

Answer 1

It's worth noting that I've seen the notion advanced that the world is as advanced as it is BECAUSE of Christianity, and as stated in our expert answer, it's really impossible to know what might have been. It's certainly possible to point to cases in which the church has impeded progress, but it's unfair to blame the entirety of the Dark Ages on Christianity while ignoring the contributions of the monasteries to the preservation of knowledge during that same period.

Also, the question refers to Christianity and not to'The Church'. The latter certainly has had a chequered history with periods of corruption and/or shame. But the message of Christianity is love, and as a result of this, millions of Christians worldwide have been instrumental in sharing what they see as God's love for us, with other people. This has resulted in practical as well as spiritual contributions to society.

Let's not forget that schools, orphanages, hospitals, hospices, centres for aide to the poor, relief agencies and so on were all started by Christians and Christian organisations, and they continue today, often bringing education, healthcare and relief to parts of the world.

While the organised Church, with its human failings, may well have caused less materialism (is that really a bad thing?), without the love, joy, compassion, hope, understanding, selflessness and service of the rank and file Christian serving others in love for the past 2000 years, without Christianity it seems that the world would not have been a better place - far from it.

Answer 2

If Christianity never existed, one of the major reasons for the Dark Ages would never have existed. Europe would not have fallen into centuries in which education was seen as the preserve of the clergy, and then only for the advancement of the Church. Roman technological advances, some of which we are still only learning about, would not have been forgotten, and presumably would have led to ongoing material improvements.

We can not ever know what would really have happened if there had been no Christian religion, but it is likely that the material prosperity we now enjoy in the twenty-first century could have occurred as much as a thousand years earlier. If so, the current century would be even more advanced.

Of course, the advancement of civilisation depends on much more than material wealth. Whether Europe would have had similar or even greater ethical and moral standards depends on the possible evolution of the pagan cults, on whether Buddhism gained a foothold in the Mediterranean area and the outcome of Greek philosophical debate.