Firstly, I would like to concede points made by the New Atheists that Western societies (all societies for that matter) would be better off without the institutionalization of irrational thought that is typified by organized religion. It is reasonable to argue that Christianity is messing up Western Culture.

However, the question is a historical one. HAS Christianity messed up Western Culture IN THE PAST? From this perspective, the question isn’t so straight forward.

Christianity has been a major influence forming Western culture during the last millennium. Christianity has fostered education, art, literature, law and science. It is reasonable to argue that the West would not a have achieved its ascendancy without this support. The universities that emerged during the late Middle Ages were originally religious institutions. Their primary purpose was to train clergy, but while doing so they became centers for the development of literacy and intellectual enquiry. Eventually they would produce the great minds, like Luther and Galileo, who would challenge the authority of the Church, and sow the seeds of the secular intellectual tradition that we enjoy today.

These great learning institutions would not have been possible without the financial resources of the Church to support them.

In the development of Western culture, the Church didn’t always plant the seed, but it did plow the paddock.

Richard Oakes