It amazes me how much religion has played a role int he development of culture in our modern world. Often when we talk about the culture that has developed as a result of religion, we think about the stark contrasts between a middle-eastern Islamic culture and western christian culture. But aside from the obvious cultural differences that many attribute to religion, we often forget that religion was at the center of a turning point for education in history.
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| Martin Luther's push toward social change |
Martin Luther can be argued as one of the most influential people in the history of the world not only because of what he did for the expansion of religion, but also for education. During his day, many people were limited in their ability to become educated simply because they could not read or write Latin or any of the other "priestly" languages. But thanks to Martin Luther, people began to have access to one of the principle sources for discovery and understanding; the Bible. Many influential figures arose in the wake of Martin Luther who also would play a significant role in the expansion of learning and religious freedom.
Today we still see the after effects of what Martin Luther and the reformation movement did for modern culture. Though the Renaissance and times preceding Martin Luther's life were times of great change, they were still times of closed mindedness and rejection of certain values and beliefs. Martin Luther's excommunication from the Catholic church is a prime example of this. But thanks to what he did, change was initiated. This was the spark that lit the flame of the entire reformation movement.
Today we live in a time where cultural changes are still constantly happening, but thanks to men such as Martin Luther, we don't have to fight suppression of basic human rights (in our country), but rather social ideals. This does not discount the impact that the social change of today will have on people 100 years from now! Martin is one of many figures we have to thank for our educational freedom, and culture of viewing social change as a positive thing.
Definitely true that people like him who made a stand against things they thought were wrong help us today have the strength and social support to do the same.
ReplyDeleteIt is interesting to note that religion has been the crux of many pivotal moments in the worlds history. I think that's because, for most of recorded history, religious power was equated directly with political power. When that got largely decoupled, that trend ceased almost immediately.
ReplyDeleteIt's amazing that Martin Luther cared about his cause enough to risk being excommunicated from the church that was basically the largest power at the time. It's interesting how his ideas tied in to humanism, as well. As Drogin said, he believed "each individual was his own priest."
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