Opus 2020-271: Whither Privilege?, part 4 of 6

Monotheism was a big step forward for civilization.  Instead of everything being caused by a disgruntled gremlin or a sexually frustrated Zeus you could count on the consistent behavior of the wind and waves.  There was room for miracles and God moving outside the rules but you could count on water always running down hill and the pot getting hot when put on the fire.  Superstition became something to mock instead of the guiding force of life.  You might still knock on wood or not step on a crack but you knew it was childish.

This intellectual wealth matured under the spread of books and the thinking that went along with it.  The first book printed with movable type was the Bible.  Now people could read it and make up their own mind.  This led to the multiple denominations of the Protestant Reformation and even forced the Catholic church to rethink a lot of policies.  If you examine a few dividing lines you see that the prosperity on one side is much higher than the other.  Draw a line between Christian Europe and the rest of the world and you see the difference.  Draw a line between the Protestant areas of Europe and the Catholic realms and you see the same difference.  

This is the religious aspect of privilege.  What you think and what you believe makes a difference.  

To be continued...

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