Arguably, religious beliefs as well as cultural beliefs of a particular community/society are difficult and complex to elaborate, since both are intertwined with religious, environmental, and cultural variables, which are far much complex on their own. This paper seeks to succinctly deliberate on the relationship between culture and religion of the western world emanating up to the year 1688. Precisely the paper will establish the effects of religion in the way people understood the world affairs affecting them, and their culture at large.
Undeniably, primary cultural and religious values share the same characteristics, as they are both passed to societal members via parenting, education, as well as socialization (Homer, 34). Precisely, western cultural traditions display more Christian influence than any other culture existing in the world. Moreover, religion is the essential manifestation of any culture. However, culture and religion are not universal, as they are peculiar to different groups. This applies to the western world back in the years prior to the year 1688. During this mentioned era, nationalities in some western nations were put under religious oppressions, as they were forced to follow beliefs, which had cultural aspects, of state affiliated Christian churches inclusive of the Roman Catholic Church. This was also the case in England as citizens were forced to abide to the Church of England religion, as this was the state affiliated church (Ian & Christy 86). However, in the United States, there existed religious and cultural freedom for its citizens. This led to immigration of Europeans to America in a bid to escape religious and cultural oppressions in their countries. Due to civil unrest that emanated from the immigration, the American ancestors sought to develop country where the issues of the state were separated from those of the existing religions and cultures. This guaranteed freedom to practice ones religious values and beliefs without any interference by the existing laws.
Evidently, Christianity was the most practiced religion in the western world up to 1688. This is observed, as there exists more than nine hundred Christian denominations in the United States emanating from the religious and cultural practices since the years before1688. The United States was the first western state profoundly dominated by Christian Protestants, although Christian Catholics also existed. Before the Europeans came to America, the natives practiced religion through culture involving celebration of bounties perceived to be emanating from a Great Spirit. It was thought that the Great Spirit was found in inanimate objects as well as animals. Rituals were performed through dances conducted by native leaders (Mahin 23). Arguably, white colonialism led to an increase in religious practices as they came with Christian missionaries who influenced the spirituality of the western natives.
Deductively, religious beliefs in the western world prior the year 1688 had a profound effect on the way people understood the world, as well as their actions. In the previously mentioned cases of religious oppressions, which existed in some western nations, the oppressed nationalities were able to acquire knowledge that there were no religious or cultural oppressions in some parts of the western world, hence their subsequent immigration to such states as in the case of migration from Europe. Moreover, it enables people understand their world better, as they were able to identify places where they could achieve an ample political, social, and religious systems (Randal & Philip 202). Precisely, religious practices before the year 1688, helped westerners understand what was going on around the world evident by communal living arrangements established in the western states, all with common features aimed at mainstreaming culture as a component of religion.
Religious practices in the years before the year 1688 had a significant influence on people’s actions. People began to join various religious communities, formed on religious basis, as they sought personal spiritual growth, as well as self-fulfillment. The religious communities they joined provided different lifestyles that depicted appropriate attributes, which their ancestors aimed at passing it unto the community (Herodotus, 64). Undeniably, religion affects the way people think and hence how they act. Religion makes people believe in something, which you might not make them think otherwise. Western religious practices in the years preceding 1688, made people change their political ways as they could only have trust in leaders who were religious. This made a huge landmark in the western politics as it integrated it with religious dominions (Ian & Christy 254). Moreover, most religious dominions in that era were against immoral practices such as murder hence in a way such cases among various communities ceased significantly.
In the mid sixteenth century, age of environmentalism, there existed conservationist and conservation thinkers but the concept of environmentalism had not been implemented until the component of nature and religion was incorporated in the 1688’s. Varied perspectives on nature and religion resulted in the global rise of environmentalism. Western religious practices in the mid-nineteenth century believed in nature hence adored it, as religious personalities began to cease carrying out deforestation and opted for other economic activities, which conserved the environment (Randal & Philip 98). Furthermore, religious practices in the western world before the year 1688 influenced the way people solved their social problems. Religious principles were employed in sorting out issues arising amongst communal members.
Western religious practices up to the year 1688 had a significant impact on the western culture at large. Various religions emanating in the specified regime had their own beliefs, hence changed the western cultural beliefs that existed prior development of the religious beliefs. However, western cultures existing up to the year 1688 were monolithic; therefore, religious beliefs in the same period did not change the whole aspect of the western culture. Although the western world had not realized the global economy as at that time, practice of religion determined various ethical cultural practices in various fields. Both individuals and organization in the western world were put under control of religious beliefs hence previous unethical cultures such as bribery were not allowed in various sectors (Mahin 12).
In summary, religion and culture both share common beliefs but religion takes precedence as it manifests itself in various cultural aspects. Western religious beliefs in the years preceding 1688 influenced the existing cultures as it changed the way interpersonal relationships existing between various societal members (Frankforter& William, 24). Moreover, the beliefs determined the way in which man related to nature, as religious aspects practiced had various components on nature. Precisely, western religion fostered the understanding of various cultural dimensions. This played a significant role in anticipation of possible cultural conflicts thus providing timely and feasible solutions. With the incorporation of colonial missionaries, religion had a crucial impact in the way the colonial culture was implemented in the western nations.
Work cited
Frankforter, Daniel & William, Spellman. The West: A Narrative History to 1660, vol. 1. Upper
Saddle River: Pearson Education. 2009. Print.
Herodotus. The histories, translated by John Marincola and Aubrey de Selincourt. London:
Penguin books. 2003. Print.
Homer. The Iliad: Translated by Stanley Lombardo. Indianapolis. Hackett Publishing Company.
1996. Print.
Ian, Markham, & Christy Lohr. A world religious leader. New Jersey. Willey Blackwell. 2009.
Print.
Mahin, Gosine. “Toward sociology of human rights”. Human rights and media (studies in
communications). 6 (2011): 3-24. Print.
Randal, Pouwels & Philip, Adler. World civilizations: since 1500. California. Wadsworth
Publishers. 2011. Print.
