What is Reddit's opinion of How the Irish Saved Civilization (Hinges of History Book 1)?

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Highly recommend this book:

How the Irish Saved Civilization by Thomas Cahill

https://www.amazon.com/Irish-Saved-Civilization-Hinges-History-ebook/dp/B003I8VBF4

It's a great history of the British Isles bit focuses in the role Irish monks played. Hint: they were literate and copied manuscripts that otherwise might have been lost forever.

Many post here to argue “religion” is anti progressive. Like you they outright ignore world history and contemporary evidence that opposes that view.

> I think there are many specific examples or it being anti progressive

No one disputes that.

In the same sense it would be outright confirmation bias to ignore that throughout human history the role of Christianity has been instrumental in the society you live in today. No one refutes that the Christian church has been a major source of social services, education, literacy, philosophy and arts & culture. To ignore this is to be unreasonable.

Christianity has been highly influential for many things from law, letters and learning (and the preservation of classical learning.) Just one of may examples is from the book How the Irish Saved Civilization in which a great portion of literature from antiquity was preserved by Irish monks who copied texts (pagan and Christian) preserving them for posterity. Some of these texts are the dominant or only such texts that survived the Dark ages and Medieval ages.

You also can’t ignore that academic institutions were primarily founded, funded and developed via religion. For instance the Catholic Church founded the West's first universities, which were preceded by the schools attached to European monasteries and cathedrals, and generally staffed by monks and friars. As the Protestant Reformers wanted all members of the church to be able to read the Bible, education on all levels got a strong boost. That tradition continues today as my denomination alone (Lutheran Church Missouri-Synod) has approximately 1,000 grade schools and high schools, 1,300 early childhood centers, 10 colleges and universities. The LCMS is a machine that produces good American citizens for this country at tremendous personal cost. Just because you don’t witness it personally doesn’t mean it doesn’t affect you.

That’s not to mention Christianity’s role in developing social justice, care giving and the hospital system along (historically and today) and the role of Christianity in developing modern science, astronomy, art, literature and music.

When objectively looking at the main Abrahamic religions, any reasonable person looks at them in historical, cultural and theological contexts. One doesn’t form a conclusion on the whole based on partial samples. I mean, the scientific community progresses by gathering and reinterpreting new data – so why can’t the religious community? Why do you require the religious community to be static?

Comparing “religion’s books” with scientific understanding is a false equivalence. You assume there’s a shared trait between two subjects when equivalence is not necessarily the logical result. For instance, in Christianity the bible’s primary purpose is not science and the bible is not intended to be a science textbook. It’s extremely important to note: historically whenever the Church opposed science it wasn’t the bible that was wrong – it was a Church leader or the Church’s leadership that was at fault.

> How do you feel religion can help a society progress and advance?

Along with all the the above points, religion is a critical component in the transfer of human culture, customs, and traditions from one generation to the next.

Religion is often considered a major part of social identity and transmits moral values through a sense of community. Many people turn to religion as a meaning system and a source of coping resources and social support. With religious orientation declining, fewer young people will have these resources. Religion often focuses on concerns outside of the self, such as helping others and serving God. Potentially self-sacrificing virtues such as forgiveness, love, and gratitude are also highly valued within religious communities.

When people become deeply involved in religious faith, they may be committing to a value system that may bring some costs to the self – albeit with the hope of benefiting others. With few exceptions, American Churches, Mosques, and Synagogues across the nation actually earn their tax exemption by contributing to the public good. Poor, disadvantaged and homeless people relying on assistance from their local churches would immediately suffer if these institutions didn’t exist within their community, not to mention the congregation members who volunteer with, fund and support outside charitable institutions and organizations.

This got lengthy so I’ll stop here - but I believe it’s somewhat naïve and short sighted to argue that religion is anti progressive or that it does not help society progress.