101
votes
Accepted
Why does this London Underground poster from 1924 have a Star of David atop a Christmas tree?
The hexagram is not an exclusively Jewish symbol. For that matter, the Star of David as a symbol of Judaism (as opposed to a symbol used by Jews) is far newer than people realize, dating only to 1897 ...
- 8,688
83
votes
Why in most German places is the church the tallest building?
Many churches in Europe (not just Germany) were built centuries ago, when the church was by far the most important and prestigious building in any city. Building them took decades, sometimes even ...
- 14k
75
votes
How did the general population of England convert so smoothly to Protestantism?
Well, it wasn't smooth.
First of all, there was already a minority of "reform" viewpoint in England before Henry VIII. It was centered in the intelligentsia and gentry.
So when Henry VIII decided ...
- 8,117
69
votes
Why do western monotheistic religions seem to be so full of conflict over dogma?
A very astute observation.
If you compare linguistic maps to sectarian maps (McEvedy's Penguin Atlas series are great for this), you'll notice something else: they have a distinct tendency to align. ...
- 121k
51
votes
Accepted
What is the pre-schism Christian church called today?
This is incredibly complicated and almost always misleading.
For example, in many countries the Catholic Church is called strictly the Roman-Catholic church. The higher up members of that community ...
- 80.7k
50
votes
Why do western monotheistic religions seem to be so full of conflict over dogma?
To expand on Kirsch's answer (see: quote in the question), a single god doesn't only remove the safety valve of multiplicity (where any doctrinal dispute about the intentions of one god can just be ...
- 1,158
46
votes
What is the difference between the Ancient Greek religion and the Ancient Roman religion?
The biggest difference that I'm aware of is that the Classical Greek religion was much more the religion of myths that we all know, while the Classical Roman religion had fewer personifications and ...
- 8,117
44
votes
Did any ancient polytheistic religion hold that theirs was the only pantheon?
The polytheists did not regard "pantheons" as schematically as we see them in mythology books.
There were some general approaches in polytheist religions when you encountered people with ...
- 2,089
43
votes
Why do western monotheistic religions seem to be so full of conflict over dogma?
I personally think that there might be something in the premise of "single god leads to wanting to have a single answer for everything, leading to sectarian violence".
Nevertheless, I'm a little ...
- 531
41
votes
How did the general population of England convert so smoothly to Protestantism?
Not only was it not totally smooth, but it also wasn't much of a change. At least not on personal human timeframes.
You have to realize that the break in England didn't happen because anybody had any ...
- 121k
38
votes
Accepted
Did Martin Luther ever say "The prosperity of a country depends ... "?
Yes, he did write that. Easily verifiable when going ad fontes, as real historians should always do.
That is: the language presented in the quote is thoroughly modernised, and thus mangled into ...
37
votes
What advantages did Catholic missionaries to the Indians have over Protestant missionaries in old Oregon Country?
Catholic missionaries possessed a number of distinct advantages over the Protestants. First, they were well-trained, ordained priests, not merely well-meaning laymen, as many Protestants were. Unlike ...
- 6,267
36
votes
Accepted
Why are the majority of Dresden inhabitants atheists or agnostics?
For the vast majority of Germans, religious and non-religious alike, religion matters little in daily life. In some families, the babies are baptised, marriages have both civil and religious ...
- 17.4k
34
votes
Why did the US Navy and Marine Corps use satanic symbolism in WW2?
Young men full of piss and vinegar trying to sound fierce and scary or just different. Christianity had absolutely nothing to do with it any more than some perceived Satanic leanings.
What about VF-...
- 5,156
30
votes
What is the pre-schism Christian church called today?
First of all, @LangLangC's answer is excellent. I intend only to expand on it.
The unified Eastern (Greek-speaking) and Western (Latin-speak) churches called themselves "orthodox" as opposed to the ...
- 8,117
30
votes
Accepted
Was climate a factor in the spread of Islam?
The question is of course kind of entirely biased, as always when you take a statistical correlation and want to apply a cause on that. However, the question should still be answered. It just means ...
- 6,794
27
votes
Accepted
Did the Romans install offensive statues in the temples of conquered territories?
There actually are a number of sculptures depicting victorious Romans dominating the national personifications of subjugated peoples. Nonetheless, the Medium post fundamentally misrepresented ...
- 97.5k
27
votes
Why are the majority of Dresden inhabitants atheists or agnostics?
80% does not seem to be way off compared with other industrial countries like
Sweden (85%),
Denmark (80%),
Norway (72%),
Czech Republic (61%),
Finland (60%)...
- 2,066
26
votes
Accepted
Why is Indonesia a Muslim country?
The Muslim religion started making its way into modern Indonesia in the 13th century. That's when various rulers in North Sumatra, then Java, started converting to that religion, as a result of ...
- 104k
25
votes
How did early Judaism and Zoroastrianism influence each other, if they were so far apart?
They weren't in fact far apart at all. Zoroastrianism was the state religion of the Achaemenid Empire, which encompassed Israel.
Its actually even closer than this map implies though. In the period ...
- 121k
23
votes
What advantages did Catholic missionaries to the Indians have over Protestant missionaries in old Oregon Country?
George A. Strieby gives an excellent answer of which I would like to expand on it a little.
Most Jesuits missionaries shared in the daily life of the Indians, travelling with them as they moved from ...
- 1,886
23
votes
Accepted
What is the name of the Phoenician religion?
Ancient religions don't generally have technical names, at least not at the civilizational level. Think "Ancient Greek religion", "Ancient Egyptian religion", etc.
Here is a technical article ...
- 22k
21
votes
Why are the majority of Dresden inhabitants atheists or agnostics?
German here. You see here a chart of the predominant confessions in Germany:
Wikimedia Commons, Martin Sander, CC BY-SA 3.0, 2013-06-23
As you see, approximately one third is Roman-Catholic (yellow),...
- 5,116
19
votes
Accepted
How frequently did monasteries attack other monasteries in Early Medieval Western Europe?
As far as I'm aware, this was something particular to the early Celtic church in Ireland.
Before I attempt to explain further I'd like to add an important caveat in regard to terminology:
These days,...
- 77.2k
18
votes
Accepted
Did Akhenaten's religion influence early Judaism?
In general, I would be very wary of claims that Akhenaten's religion was a significant influence on early Judaism. There is, however, one very famous link that is often claimed between Akhenaten and ...
- 77.2k
18
votes
Did the Ottoman government rationalize the Armenian Genocide and other instances of ethnic cleansing as a response to Russian expansion?
This question can be very much opinable, but I want to address some points:
Did the architects of the Armenian Genocide during World War I plan their actions in part as a reciprocal population ...
- 12.7k
18
votes
How does a runic alphabet work?
A runic alphabet works like other alphabets: one rune corresponds to one or more specific sounds. Runes only really have one significant difference: they are designed to be carved in wood, which means ...
- 5,623
18
votes
How did Christianity replace Roman Paganism and other ancient religions?
A major underlying factor to keep in mind is that Christianity is monotheistic. Christianity flatly admits no god besides its own; Pagans were accustomed to a great multitude of (often local) deities ...
- 97.5k
17
votes
What was the last religion to become 'extinct'?
That's impossible to answer. Religions come and go even today. Several indigenous tribes in remote jungles will disappear within a couple of years. With them, their religion. Other religions or newer ...
- 22.5k
17
votes
Why in most German places is the church the tallest building?
The maximum building hights are determined by each city (or as in Berlin possible each City District).
In Berlin the first Bebauungsplan (Building Plan) of 1862 regulated standard street widths of ...
- 9,686
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