Chapter 15: Cultural Transformations, 1450-1750

This chapter discusses the cultural changes that occurred across the world, both in a religious sense, and from a scientific sense, between 1450 and 1750.  The two major trends that developed in this time period were the spread of Christianity to Asians, Africans, and Native Americans, and the emergence of a scientific outlook that sharply challenged Western Christianity even as both acquired a global presence.

The most interesting thing about the expansion of Christianity into other continents is that fact that this occurred while Western Christianity was splintering as a result of the Protestant Reformation and the various new Protestant churches that formed as a result.  It makes sense that all this occurred at a time when literacy was increasing, so it was more likely that people would read the Bible for themselves and disagree with their priest's interpretation of a particular passage, and that people would express written concerns about the corruption within the Catholic Church at the time.  The response by the Catholic Church to reform itself from within also hints at a possible reason Christianity expanded during this time in the various missionary groups that were established following the Reformation.  Another interesting aspect of the expansion of Christianity is the ways in which it was blended with traditional religious traditions, particularly in the Americas.  However, Christianity's spread was quite limited in Asia and Africa, as Islam was also rapidly expanding during this time as well, with many similarities in terms of blending with traditional cultural beliefs elsewhere as well as movements during this time to return to traditional Muslim values, much like what was going on in the Christian world.  Because of this, it's no surprise to me that these two religions are among the most common faiths in the world to this day.

Partially in contrast to this religious expansion abroad, within Europe, others were beginning to develop an understanding of the world at least partially at odds with Christian teachings, in what became known as the Scientific Revolution.  Rather than accepting the accepted wisdom of the time, they sought to gain knowledge through their own inquiries and experiments.  One can hardly overestimate the long-term significance of the Scientific Revolution, as science has since become the chief marker of global modernity, even a universal worldview of sorts, open to all who could accept its premises and its techniques.