| Blaming religion for ignorance, disease, squalor, and superstition is ahistorical. Even now, a lot of the world is plunged in darkness, and it is not a matter of religion, but of poverty. It was not until we had accumulated a lot of wealth that it was possible to educate the masses, or raise their standard of living. It was not until we had accumulated a lot of wealth that it was possible for the great universities to arise, which eventually became the home of research and the eventual development of technology and medicine. Yes, there was some friction with the Church over Copernicanism or the use of cadavers for anatomy lessons, but the Church was not generally hostile towards learning, but, in fact, supported it. It was necessary to have conflicts arise in order to air the issues and develop a modus vivendi, but impossible until a certain level of wealth and institutionalized learning could prevail........... |
