Editing Christianity (section)

=== Influence on Western culture ===
[[File:St-thomas-aquinasFXD.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Thomas Aquinas]], an Italian [[Dominican Order|Dominican]] [[friar]] and [[Catholic priest|priest]], the foremost [[Scholasticism|Scholastic]] thinker,<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |title=Thomas Aquinas |encyclopedia= Encyclopedia Britannica|date= |year= |last= |first= |publisher= |location= |id= |url= https://www.britannica.com/biography/Saint-Thomas-Aquinas|access-date=October 9, 2024 |quote= Thomas Aquinas... was an Italian Dominican theologian, the foremost medieval Scholastic.}}</ref> as well as one of the most influential philosophers and theologians in the Western tradition.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |year= |title=Thomas Aquinas (1224/6–1274) |encyclopedia=Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy |publisher= |location= |id= |url=https://iep.utm.edu/thomas-aquinas/ |access-date=October 10, 2024 |last= |first= |date= |quote=However, it also seems right to say—if only from the sheer influence of his work on countless philosophers and intellectuals in every century since the 13th, as well as on persons in countries as culturally diverse as Argentina, Canada, England, France, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, Poland, Spain, and the United States—that, globally, Thomas is one of the 10 most influential philosophers in the Western philosophical tradition.}}</ref>]]

[[Western culture]], throughout most of its history, has been nearly equivalent to [[Christian culture]], and a large portion of the population of the Western Hemisphere can be described as practicing or nominal Christians. The notion of "Europe" and the "Western World" has been intimately connected with the concept of "Christianity and Christendom". Many historians even attribute Christianity for being the link that created a unified [[European identity]].<ref>{{cite book|last1=Dawson|first1=Christopher|title=Crisis in Western Education|year=1961|isbn=978-0-8132-1683-6|edition=Reprint|first2=Glenn|last2=Olsen|page=108|publisher=CUA Press }}</ref>

Though Western culture contained several polytheistic religions during its early years under the [[Ancient Greece|Greek]] and [[Roman Empire]]s, as the centralized Roman power waned, the dominance of the Catholic Church was the only consistent force in Western Europe.<ref name="Koch-1994">{{cite book|last=Koch|first=Carl|title=The Catholic Church: Journey, Wisdom, and Mission|year=1994|publisher=St. Mary's Press|location=Early Middle Ages|isbn=978-0-88489-298-4|url=https://archive.org/details/catholicchurchjo00koch}}</ref> Until the [[Age of Enlightenment]],<ref name="Koch-1994" /> Christian culture guided the course of philosophy, literature, art, music and science.<ref name="Koch-1994" /><ref name="Crisis in Western Education" /> Christian disciplines of the respective arts have subsequently developed into [[Christian philosophy]], [[Christian art]], [[Christian music]], [[Christian literature]], and so on.

Christianity has had a significant impact on education, as the church created the bases of the Western system of education,<ref name="Britannica2022" /> and was the sponsor of [[Medieval university|founding universities]] in the Western world, as the university is generally regarded as an institution that has its origin in the [[History of Christianity|Medieval Christian]] setting.<ref name=verger1999 /> Historically, Christianity has often been a patron of science and medicine; many [[List of Catholic cleric-scientists|Catholic clergy]],<ref>{{citation|title=Richter's Scale: Measure of an Earthquake, Measure of a Man|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rvmDeAxEiO8C&pg=PA68 |first=Susan Elizabeth |last=Hough|author-link=Susan Hough |year=2007 |publisher=Princeton University Press |isbn=978-0-691-12807-8|page=68}}</ref> [[List of Jesuit scientists|Jesuits]] in particular,{{Sfn|Woods|2005|p=109}}<ref>{{cite book |last=Wright |first=Jonathan |year=2004 |title=God's Soldiers: Adventure, Politics, intrigue and Power: A History of the Jesuits |publisher=HarperCollins|page=200}}</ref><ref>{{cite encyclopedia |url=https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/302999/Jesuit |entry=Jesuit |date=16 May 2023 |encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Britannica |title=Jesuit &#124; History, Definition, Order, Catholic, Slavery, & Facts &#124; Britannica }}</ref> have been active in the sciences throughout history and have made significant contributions to the [[Christianity and science|development of science]].<ref>[[Rodney Stark]], ''For the Glory of God: How Monotheism Led to Reformations, Science, Witch-Hunts and the End of Slavery'', 2003, [[Princeton University Press]], {{ISBN|0691114366}}, p. 123</ref><ref>Wallace, William A. (1984). ''Prelude, Galileo and his Sources. The Heritage of the Collegio Romano in Galileo's Science''. NJ: Princeton University Press.</ref> Some scholars state that Christianity contributed to the rise of the [[Scientific Revolution]].<ref>{{Citation | last1 = Lindberg | first1 = David C. | author-link = David C. Lindberg | last2 = Numbers | first2 = Ronald L. | author2-link = Ronald L. Numbers | title = God & Nature: Historical Essays on the Encounter Between Christianity and Science | place = Berkeley and Los Angeles | publisher = University of California Press | year = 1986 | chapter = Introduction | pages = 5, 12 | isbn = 978-0-520-05538-4 }}</ref> Protestantism also has had an important influence on science. According to the [[Merton Thesis]], there was a positive correlation between the rise of English [[Puritanism]] and German [[Pietism]] on the one hand, and early experimental science on the other.<ref>{{cite book | last = Cohen | first =I. Bernard |title = Puritanism and the rise of modern science: the Merton thesis | publisher = Rutgers University Press | location = New Brunswick, NJ | year = 1990 | isbn = 978-0-8135-1530-4 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book | last = Cohen | first = H. | author-link = H. Floris Cohen | title = The scientific revolution: a historiographical inquiry | publisher = University of Chicago Press | pages = [https://archive.org/details/scientificrevolu00cohe/page/320 320–321] | year = 1994 | isbn = 978-0-226-11280-0 | url = https://archive.org/details/scientificrevolu00cohe/page/320 }} [https://books.google.com/books?id=2iieLX7nrEAC&dq=Merton+thesis&pg=PA320 Google Print, pp.&nbsp;320–321]</ref><ref>{{cite book | last = Ferngren | first = Gary B. | author-link = Gary B. Ferngren | title = Science and religion: a historical introduction | publisher = Johns Hopkins University Press | page = 125 | location = Baltimore, MD | year = 2002 | isbn = 978-0-8018-7038-5 }} [https://books.google.com/books?id=weOOCfiDhDcC&dq=Merton+thesis&pg=PA125 Google Print, p.125]</ref>
The civilizing influence of Christianity includes social welfare,<ref name="Britannica2022" /> contribution to the medical and health care,<ref>{{cite book |last=Crislip |year=2005 |first=Andrew T. |title=From Monastery to Hospital: Christian Monasticism & the Transformation of Health Care in Late Antiquity |publisher=University of Michigan Press |place=Ann Arbor |isbn=978-0-472-11474-0 |page=3 |url={{googlebooks|r90OUzO9AP8C|plainurl=y}} }}</ref> founding hospitals,<ref name="Britannica2022">{{cite encyclopedia|first = Jaroslav |last = Jan Pelikan| title=Christianity - Church, State, History &#124; Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/Christianity/The-history-of-church-and-state|entry=The Christian community and the world|date =13 August 2022 |encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Britannica}}</ref> economics (as the [[Protestant work ethic]]),<ref name="Britannica2022" /><ref>{{cite book|last=Weber|first=Max|title=The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism|year=1905}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last= Hillerbrand|first=Hans J. |title=Encyclopedia of Protestantism: 4-volume Set |year=2016 |publisher=Pickle Partners Publishing|quote= ... In the centuries succeeding the holy ''Reformation'' the teaching of Protestantism was consistent on the nature of work. Some Protestant theologians also contributed to the study of economics, especially the nineteenth-century Scottish minister Thomas Chalmers ....|isbn=978-1-78720-304-4|page=174}}</ref> architecture,<ref>{{cite book |last1=Hopkins|first1=Owen|title=Architectural Styles: A Visual Guide|year=2014|publisher=Laurence King|isbn=978-1-78067-163-5 |pages=23, 25}}</ref> literature,<ref>Buringh, Eltjo; van Zanden, Jan Luiten: "Charting the 'Rise of the West': Manuscripts and Printed Books in Europe, A Long-Term Perspective from the Sixth through Eighteenth Centuries", ''The Journal of Economic History'', Vol. 69, No. 2 (2009), pp.&nbsp;409–445 (416, table 1)</ref> [[Hygiene in Christianity|personal hygiene]] ([[Ablution in Christianity|ablution]]),<ref>Christianity has always placed a strong emphasis on hygiene:
* {{cite book |last1= Warsh |first1= Cheryl Krasnick |last2=Strong-Boag |first2=Veronica |title=Children's Health Issues in Historical Perspective |year=2006 |publisher=Wilfrid Laurier University Press |quote= ... From Fleming's perspective, the transition to Christianity required a good dose of personal and public hygiene ... |isbn=978-0-88920-912-1|page=315}}
* {{cite book |last= Warsh |first=Cheryl Krasnick |others=Veronica Strong-Boag |title=Children's Health Issues in Historical Perspective |year=2006 |publisher=Wilfrid Laurier University Press| quote= ... Thus bathing also was considered a part of good health practice. For example, Tertullian attended the baths and believed them hygienic. Clement of Alexandria, while condemning excesses, had given guidelines for Christians who wished to attend the baths ... |isbn=978-0-88920-912-1 |page=315}}
* {{cite book |last=Squatriti |first=Paolo |title=Water and Society in Early Medieval Italy, AD 400–1000, Parti 400–1000 |year=2002 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |quote= ... but baths were normally considered therapeutic until the days of Gregory the Great, who understood virtuous bathing to be bathing "on account of the needs of body" ... |isbn=978-0-521-52206-9 |page=54}}
* {{cite book|last=Eveleigh |first=Bogs |title=Baths and Basins: The Story of Domestic Sanitation |publisher=Stroud, England: Sutton|year=2002}}
Christianity's role in the development and promotion of spas:
* {{cite book |title=Water: A Spiritual History |first=Ian |last=Bradley |year=2012 |isbn=978-1-4411-6767-5 |publisher=Bloomsbury}}
Contribution of the Christian missionaries of better health care of the people through hygiene and introducing and distributing the soaps:
* {{cite book |last=Channa |first=Subhadra|title=The Forger's Tale: The Search for Odeziaku |year=2009 |publisher=Indiana University Press|quote=A major contribution of the Christian missionaries was better health care of the people through hygiene. Soap, tooth–powder and brushes came to be used increasingly in urban areas. |isbn=978-8177550504 |page=284}}
* {{cite book |last=Thomas |first=John |title=Evangelising the Nation: Religion and the Formation of Naga Political Identity|year=2015|publisher=Routledge |quote=cleanliness and hygiene became an important marker of being identified as a Christian |isbn=978-1-317-41398-1|page=284}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |first=Henry |last=Gariepy |title=Christianity in Action: The History of the International Salvation Army|url=https://archive.org/details/christianityinac0000gari|url-access=registration |year=2009 |publisher=Wm. B. Eerdmans |isbn=978-0-8028-4841-3 |page=[https://archive.org/details/christianityinac0000gari/page/16 16]}}</ref> and family life.<ref name="Britannica2022" /><ref>{{cite book|title=A Companion to Families in the Greek and Roman Worlds |first=Beryl |last=Rawson |year=2010| isbn=978-1-4443-9075-9 |page=111 |publisher=John Wiley & Sons |quote= ...Christianity placed great emphasis on the family and on all members from children to the aged...}}</ref> Historically, ''[[Extended family|extended families]]'' were the basic family unit in the [[Christian culture]] and [[Christian countries|countries]].<ref>{{cite book |title=Mental Health Social Work: Evidence-Based Practice| first=Colin |last=Pritchard |year=2006 |isbn=978-1-134-36544-9 |page=111 |publisher=Routledge}}</ref>

[[Cultural Christian]]s are secular people with a Christian heritage who may not believe in the religious claims of Christianity, but who retain an affinity for the popular culture, art, [[Christian music|music]], and so on related to the religion.<ref>James D. Mallory, Stanley C. Baldwin, ''The kink and I: a psychiatrist's guide to untwisted living'', 1973, [https://books.google.com/books?id=ahEG4X5pSXIC&q=%22cultural+Christian%22+-%22multi-cultural+Christian%22+-%22cross-cultural+Christian%22 p. 64]</ref>

''[[Postchristianity]]'' is a term for the [[decline of Christianity]], particularly in [[Christianity in Europe|Europe]], [[Religion in Canada|Canada]], [[Christianity in Australia|Australia]], and to a minor degree the [[Southern Cone]], in the 20th and 21st centuries, considered in terms of [[postmodernism]]. It refers to the loss of Christianity's monopoly on [[values]] and [[world view]] in historically Christian societies.<ref>G.C. Oosthuizen. ''Postchristianity in Africa''. C Hurst & Co Publishers Ltd (1968). {{ISBN|0903983052}}</ref>

Christian leaders and congregations have had an influence on the broader [[environmental movement]]. Christian teachings relate to ecology, and draw on teachings of the [[Bible]] to promote the moral responsibility of humans to care for God's creation. Christianity acknowledges the tension between humanity's duty to care for God's creation and the natural human inclination to resist God's will.<ref>Gottlieb, R.S., & Gottlieb, R.S. (2003). This Sacred Earth: Religion, Nature, Environment (2nd ed.). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203426982</ref> In recent decades, major Christian denominations have revisited their teachings and practices in response to the environmental crisis. There has been a rise in activity in Christian congregations to curb [[climate change]],<ref>{{cite journal | url=https://doi.org/10.1080/13549839.2018.1449822 | doi=10.1080/13549839.2018.1449822 | title=Faith-based climate action in Christian congregations: Mobilisation and spiritual resources | date=2018 | last1=Bomberg | first1=Elizabeth | last2=Hague | first2=Alice | journal=Local Environment | volume=23 | issue=5 | pages=582–596 | bibcode=2018LoEnv..23..582B }}</ref> partly inspired by the advocacy of [[Pope Francis]] following his publication of the encyclical letter [[Laudato Si']]—On Care for Our Common Home. Organizations such as Green Christian,<ref>“[http://greenchristian.org.uk/ Promoting Prayer, Hope and Action].” Green Christian. Accessed 27 Jan. 2025.</ref> [[Laudato Si' Movement]],<ref>[http://laudatosimovement.org/ “Laudato Si’ Movement, Catholics for Our Common Home].” Laudato Si’ Movement, Accessed 6 Jan. 2025.</ref> and the [[Interfaith Center for Sustainable Development]]<ref>“[http://interfaithsustain.com/christian-ecology/ Christian Ecology].” The Interfaith Center for Sustainable Development, 24 May 2024.</ref> are a few examples of groups working in the Christian and ecology movement. These initiatives reflect how Christians, alongside other people of faith, are increasingly embracing ecological concerns, recognizing that the protection of the [[Earth]] is a spiritual imperative tied to faith and justice.<ref>{{cite journal | url=https://doi.org/10.1111/jore.12376 | doi=10.1111/jore.12376 | title=Toward an Ecocentric Christian Ecology | date=2021 | last1=Waters | first1=James W. | journal=Journal of Religious Ethics | volume=49 | issue=4 | pages=768–792 }}</ref>