How did religion influence the development of western European civilization during the early middle ages?

Answer 1

During the Middle Ages,religion was so much a part of daily life that people even said a certain number of prayers to decide how long to cook an egg! Storms, disease, and famine were thought to be punishments sent by God. People hoped prayer and religious devotion would keep away such disasters. They were even more concerned about the fate of their souls after death.

What i am trying to say is, religion was important

Answer 2

It's just Catholic, not Roman Catholic. Roman is an epithet first commonly used in England after the protestant revolt to describe the Catholic Church. It is never used by the official Catholic Church.

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The vast majority of Europeans were Catholic, with a minority Jewish population in most countries; all Christians were Catholic. During the Middle Ages, before the "Enlightenment" most Christians' lives revolved around the Church as the people realized full well that God had made them for eternity and they were only here for a very short while, so they made the best of this life to earn a better place in heaven. Contrast that with today, as people have lost their faith and no longer see what they were created for, they vainly try to extend their lives. In the Middle Ages, they didn't try to cheat death so much as to prepare for a good death because if they died well, and accepted the suffering of this life in payment for their sins they could hope for a better resurrection (see 2 Maccabees 7, and Hebrews 11:35 - to which it refers).

Answer 3

Yes. Religion influenced Western Civilization greatly, whether you are talking about the Catholics, the Lutheran's, just about any religion you can think of. It played a very key role in the development of Western Civilization.

Answer:

The long, rich history of Judaism gives the Western world much of its shape today. Many of the laws, traditions, culture and values are directly attributable to Judaism.

1) The Jews' monotheistic religious tradition shaped the Western beliefs about God.

2) The 7-day week, including a day of rest for everyone.

3) The concept of morality was also the work of the Hebrews, including the dignity and value of a person (whereas idolatry had tended to go hand in hand with cruel, licentious and excessive behavior, since the caprices which were narrated concerning the idols were adopted as an excuse to imitate those types of behavior).

Women's rights also were carefully maintained in Judaism. Israelite women could own property, could initiate court cases, could have their own servants, and could own fields and businesses; and the Torah specifies marital rights for women (Exodus 21:10). Today's laws giving women equal rights under the law are a by-product of Judaism.

4) Under Israelite law, everyone had recourse to the courts. A child, widow, wife, etc., could initiate legal action against any citizen to redress perpetrated harm. Compare this to those societies in which only mature, land-owning males had any legal status.

5) What is customary to be eaten in Western society is a reflection of much of the Judaic dietary law. With the exception of the pig, Western society does not eat species not contained in kosher law. Owls, mice, insects, rats, snakes, cats and dogs are not eaten by most Westerners and it is a direct result of Jewish culture.

6) Parents are responsible for teaching children. Illiteracy among Israelites, in every generation, was rare. Universal education in the Western world is taken for granted today, yet this is a recent development. In Judaism, however, it goes back 3300 years. Judaism has always maintained that education is the highest goal of man in his pursuit of Godliness. This tradition has now been passed on to Western culture.

7) Infants are to be protected and cared for, whether or not they turned out to be the gender you were hoping for. Compare this to societies in which unhealthy babies, or females, were killed.

8) Cruelty to animals is not acceptable.

9) Government is accountable to a higher authority. In other ancient societies, the monarch was all-powerful. Among the Israelites, however, the king was under the constant scrutiny of the Divinely-informed prophets, who didn't hesitate to castigate him publicly for any misstep in the sight of God. And, other than for the crime of rebellion, the king couldn't punish any citizen by his own decision. He was obligated by the Torah-procedures like everyone else (Talmud, Sanhedrin 19a).

10) A robber repays double to his victim, or works it off. Cutting off the hands of a robber is a punishable crime. Debtors are not imprisoned or harmed. They are made to sell property and/or work to repay what they owe. Compare this to the Roman practice by which anyone could accuse a man of owing them money and the debtor could be killed.

Western jurisprudence in general is based in part upon Judaic Torah observance. A quick look at the Ten Commandments (Exodus 20) and the laws that follow (Exodus ch.21-23) gives a very good summary of most modern law.

11) It is the responsibility of the community to support the widow, the orphan, the poor, and the stranger passing through.

It is important to note that every one of the above was instituted among the Hebrews (a.k.a. the Israelites) thousands of years earlier than in other nations. Here's just one example: Aristotle, who was among the greatest of the Greeks, and Seneca, the famous Roman, both write that killing one's young babies is perfectly acceptable.

Answer 4

It influenced them because it influenced the values of each and every person. Which brings the society together as a whole.

Answer 5

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