Religious Influence on Literacy and Politics in Western Civilization Essay

Religious Influence on Literacy and Politics in Western Civilization to 1750 - Essay Example This portrayed the importance of religion and religious doctrines at the time. Besides the major influence of religion in politics and governance, religion influenced the development of literacy in the societies as well. Islam and Christianity are two major religions that influenced the political and literacy development of the western societies prior to the 1750 as the discussion below portrays. The history of the western society portrays the important role of Roman Catholic Church. The church influenced the social structure by influencing the politics of the society. As the largest single unifying factor, the Roman Catholic influenced the formation of the Roman Catholic, which extended its territories to parts of Africa, as the largest political unit at the time the structure and development of the early Roman Empire portrayed the influence of religion in the political and literacy civilization of the western countries. Subsequent developments and restructuring of the society arose from the numerous internal religious wrangles. The development and spread of Islam from the Middle East to parts of Northern Africa and Eastern Europe coupled with the rise of Protestants in central Europe weakened the Roman Empire owing to the fact that they limited the religious influence of the Roman Catholic. This portrays the influence of religion in the formation and governance of the earl y western societies. Prior to the disintegration of the Roman Empire, the Roman Catholic offered numerous services to the populace including medical services and schooling besides inspiring the development of arts, culture and philosophies. The church for example used strategic propaganda techniques to increase the influence of the church thereby providing an effective platform for unified governance. The Roman Catholic used such iconic artists as Michelangelo, Caravaggio and Da Vinci to propagate religious propaganda thereby succeeding in unifying the societies.