Western Civilization From 1350-1815

Western Civilization

Between the Reformation and Scientific Revolution, it is evident that the latter had greater impact in destabilizing the strong hold of the Church over 16th-17th century Western society. Prior to the emergence of the Reformation, the Church was the dominant religious and political authority in the West. The clergy assumed the roles of both political and religious leaders, influencing the way society conduct their everyday lives. The Church may have dominated society socially and politically, but there are certain mandatory practices that other people in the society may consider unjustifiable. Martin Luther was one of those people who have contended against a specific Christian practice, which is the sale of papal indulgences. His protest against this 'latent form of corruption' spurred the early beginnings of the Reformation. The Reformation as a religious revolution led to the independence of Western society politically and socially from the leaders of the Church. Although the Reformation has introduced social changes and reform, it is the Scientific Revolution which has the greater effect in changing people's notion of religious intolerance, which continued even after the Reformation. During the Scientific Revolution, empiricism and knowledge and truth through sensory experience replaced Christianity's theistic thinking. Galileo Galilei's assertion of the Copernican system and refutation of the Ptolemaic system, which argued that the earth is the center of the universe, led to the destabilization of Christian beliefs concerning theism. The Copernican system, which illustrates the sun as the center of the solar system and not the earth, is one of the evidence that proves how truth was arrived at through empirical thinking and scientific observation. "The Crime of Galileo" depicts the religious intolerance existing in 17th century Western society, and how Galileo's reiteration of the Copernican system opened people's eyes to the truth -- that is, that the Church had been wrong and Galileo's methods, right. The truth had been considered as a "crime" by the Church simply because it does not support its theistic claims. The emergence of the Scientific Revolution gave way for other ideas to develop, which optimized humanity's potential to intellectually develop freely, unrestrained by the teachings and norms of the Church.