How Did Religion Influence Western Europe

Religion was a flourishing entity among society and politics both in Colonial America and Great Britain. It gave way to righteousness for a certain cause at that time or a way to assure leadership was valid among citizens of that particular country most commonly amid the Monarch rule over Great Britain and and later Parliament. Religion had a great power of influence over the people and the way they thought about the future of their country, in particular, Colonial America and the justification of the American Revolution against England. Regarding documents from key revolutionary figures and Sermons both hailing and denouncing the Revolution, and the ideas Americans had as religion being a rationale of their pursuits, only then can religion

The Prophet Muhammad unified the Bedouin culture by 630 CE religiously, through trade and intellectually. The Bedouin culture was very separate and tribal during the Pre-Islamic period. Each tribe had its own animistic religion, mainly polytheistic and there would be a lot of violence over beliefs. By converting to the Islamic faith, it unified the bedouin culture and centralized

Military advancements throughout the Crusades helped Western Culture unite larger areas and unite all kings of Europe. The Pope and popular kings easily united the less important kings and rulers of Europe so that all of the Christian Europeans could battle together against the Muslims. Throughout the process of the Crusades, Christian theology developed as several people could more easily influence all Europeans while they were united. As the men of the Crusades fought for Jerusalem, they spread their religion and publicized European life to the Muslims and people in the Holy Land.

Source B, "Chart of Medieval European feudalism," and source c, "Map of the spread of Islam" are both connected to the power of political. After reading the details in Source B, it is clear that  there was a social pyramid to show who was on the top and bottom, the money range of all the people, and what they did. The head of the social pyramid was the king, the king had all the power, he has all the money, and makes the rules. The next person was the lords and they were military aids and they were loyal. The second to last person on the pyramid was the knights.

The Ottoman and Mughal empires both used Islam in their culture, economy, wars, and society. It influenced their art, the way they treated non-Muslims, their motivations for war. It is important to note that both empires were influenced differently by their majority religion. However, both the Ottomans and Mughals were heavily influenced as Islam was a major part of everyday life from the art to the bureaucracy.

Mansa Musa helped Islam spread by leaving to pilgrimage and introduced the empire to the Islamic World. He encouraged learning to read the Arabic language to read the Qur’an. He hired architects to build mosques as well. Another example is the Songhai empire. Songhai leaders were Muslims as well.

Two powerful Middle Eastern Islamic Empires of the 15th century included the Ottoman Empire and the Safavid Empire. Both the Ottomans and Safavid were powerful and they fought for that power and to conquer territory. Due to their geographical location, they benefited from trade between Europe and Asia. According to eCore Unit 1(n.d.), the Ottomans and the Safavid were both Muslims, though they differed in their Muslim beliefs.

The second example I will be looking at is the European view of the Orient, epitomized in the work of Edward Said. Of course, it is important to note that while the Orient idea was largely past into history, it has reminiscents even in our day The most important set of events in the Middle Ages regarding Islam is the Crusades, which gave a sense of territorial identity to an otherwise highly fragmented Europe2. In the unification against the Islamic, or more particularly the Turkish threat, Europe found its identity and that it was compulsory to be unified for survival. Pius II, talking of the Fall of Constantinople in 1453, was one of the first figures to have used the word "Europeans"3. However, the European identity was not only formed in opposition to Islam, but also conflict between medieval Europeans.

At many points in European history, the Catholic Church fought to maintain influence over the European population and monarchical power. Back in 18th century, most of the French population were loyal to their faith to the Roman Catholic Church. “In pre-French revolution times, the Catholic Church was a large influence on the government, and directed many of the rules by which the government then enforced, whether they were fair or not.” (history105.libraries.wsu.edu-the-age-of-enlightenment-and-its-global-effects-in-the-18th-century). The church was used as a weapon to fear people into following their laws.

One of the most obvious and important examples of religion influencing the processes that in the end triggered a mass migration to another land – is the colonization of America. Later on religion influenced the newly formed societies of colonists that even today historians debate how influential Christianity was in the era of the American Revolution. The issue of religious freedom has played a significant role in the history of the United States and the remainder of North America. Religion and religious divides played a huge role in the founding of the American colonies.

2. Assess the role of the Crusades in the idea of Europe. The Idea of Europe had a very extreme aim to form “a common European identity,” and their base principles were “Christianity and democracy.” In this manner, the ones having this idea were violent to other nations, religions, regimes, and states, such as Ottomans, Islam, Empire, and Communism. This discrimination emerged from thinking differently and selfishly against other beliefs, religions, and “cultural practices.”

While extremely influential, The Thirty Years War had a devastating effect on Western Europe. Approximately eight million Europeans died. Germany, where the majority of the battles occurred, suffered huge economic losses. Governments required large funds to supply their armies, so they heavily increased taxation for the working class. This resulted in revolts in many countries, particularly France.

Throughout the Middle Ages, religion was a strong, pervasive force in society. Most individuals were more concerned with God and the possibility of the afterlife than they were with current human affairs, says Encylopedia Britannica. By the time the Renaissance occurred, this social attitude was beginning to change. Religion was still practiced, but people began to be more focused on secular or humanist values, rather than spirituality, at this

Religion in Western civilization has undoubtedly played a pivotal role in shaping and developing Western society. Regardless of the form of religion, such as polytheism or monotheism, people in ancient societies believed in a God or Gods. This belief in a higher power was an important part of human progression and expansion. Religion was the backbone of Western civilization and has always been a very important foundation of culture, schooling, philosophy, art, and social interaction. Before Judaism and Christianity, philosophers such as Aristotle ponder the thought of a higher power and in his book Metaphysics wrote about eternal motion was an unmoved mover.