1 new of 293 responses total.
re resp:211 (who slipped in): It's fodder for another item, but if you look at the basic innovation which occurred in Dark Ages and Middle Ages monasteries, where the monks were constantly striving to free up time to exercise their devotions, the connection is there. The striving for improvement, and exploration, that originated in Western Europe was not an accident. The dominant influence in Europe from 4th through 18th centuries was the Roman Catholic church. I'm not claiming it *wanted* the change that it catalyzed, but it'd be pretty blind to deny it didn't have a lot of influence. The Catholic religion was *wildly* successful in a whole *lot* of ways.
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