CH 15 BLOG

Chapter 15 of Ways of the World highlights the cultural transformations that occurred between 1450 and 1750, emphasizing the impacts of science and religion. The Protestant Reformation happened in this time. It began when a German priest scrutinized the abuses of the Roman Catholic Church in a document known as the, Ninety-five Theses. I think it is important to speak up when you disagree with something and I am glad he had the courage to do so when facing such a powerful establishment as the Roman Catholic Church in the 15th century. The Catholic church was criticized for the luxurious lives of popes and other church officials, the corruption of some clergy, and the church's selling of indulgences, which were intended to relieve people of punishment for sins. I would agree with his concerns with the church. I think it is wrong for the Church to use money selfishly and wastefully. I think they should have been using it to either help the less fortunate and in need or to promote the spread of their religion. The Catholic church was then divided into subgroups, including the Protestants who supported the German priest, Martin Luther, mentioned earlier. I never realized how relatively recent it was that the Church had split into these divided groups. I have heard of Lutheran and Calvinist peoples, but I had previously assumed these groups were around as long as Catholicism. It is reported that the spread of Christianity was successful in Spanish America, seeing as many Native  Americans credited the success of European government and military to the support of their Christian God. Women who had served as priests, shamans, or ritual specialists were stripped of their status when they converted to Christianity. This reminds me of when the same happened to the Filipino women who also lost their religious status in the last chapter. I wish Christianity had not put such an emphasis on men in the church and allowed women a grander position. Women have a lot to offer and stripping them of their impact in the church definitely made a lasting impact on their social status. It is also reported that the spread of Christianity was much less successful in China. The Chinese felt their needs were met spiritually and had government strong enough to stand up against the European Jesuits. It is interesting how these impacts seem to have lasted after hundreds of years. I notice that in the present, Christianity is not the major religion of China, but it is in the Americas. It was also interesting to learn about the Hindu and Muslim populations of the past. The Hindu practice of "bhakti" sounded very fascinating. I wonder what the dance, poetry, songs, and rituals were like back then. I think it is beautiful when people express their faith in such creative ways and I am glad the memory of such practices remain today. I also enjoyed hearing about the unifying of Hindu and Muslim religions. The Guru Nanak founded Sikhism, the movement that believed there is only one shared God between Muslims and Hindus and supported the equality of men and women and disregarded caste distinctions. This seems to be one of the most unifying religious movements we have learned about so far and it makes me happy to hear about such a progressive thought process back in such conservative times. It was also very interesting to learn about how Copernicus was the first to discover that the Earth is not the center of the universe. It seems like such a basic piece of information, but this discovery was revolutionary back when it was first published to the public. It was interesting how science and religion clashed, as some people who had assumed God would make humans and their planet the center of the universe were upset by the conflicting discoveries of science. I think even today sometimes tension can be found between science and religion. I am glad scientists of the past such as Galileo and Copernicus made such discoveries, because such advances in science allowed for the scientific advantages of today. These were some of the most intriguing pieces of information from chapter 15.