does westernized constitute western civilization?
There is a big difference between being a western nation and being 'westernized'. The adoption of western architecture and technologies - or food or clothes - does not make a nation part of western civilization.
Japan, for instance, is highly westernized, yet remains uniquely Japanese.
Christianity as opposed to Paganism was one of the distinctive founding bases of western civilization in 675AD, but this distinction has progressively eroded over the years to the point where it is more a force in Africa and Asia than it is in Europe.
The Orthodox Christian populations of Turkey and Russia split from Europe centuries ago to form their own distinctive civilizations, so being Turkish or Russian or European was far more distinctive than being Christian - and as far as Western civilization was concerned, being white was far more important than anything else.
To qualify as being part of western civilization up to 1918, and largely up to 1945, was - in order of importance - to be ethnically white, geographically European and culturally Christian.
The differences between the pre 1918 and the post 1945 western nations are so obviously different - like chalk and cheese in some nations - that 'western' civilization is no longer an appropriate umbrella term.
Many nations these days are 'westernized', but it is still commonly understood that Western civilization resides primarily in Europe.
Japan, for instance, is highly westernized, yet remains uniquely Japanese.
Christianity as opposed to Paganism was one of the distinctive founding bases of western civilization in 675AD, but this distinction has progressively eroded over the years to the point where it is more a force in Africa and Asia than it is in Europe.
The Orthodox Christian populations of Turkey and Russia split from Europe centuries ago to form their own distinctive civilizations, so being Turkish or Russian or European was far more distinctive than being Christian - and as far as Western civilization was concerned, being white was far more important than anything else.
To qualify as being part of western civilization up to 1918, and largely up to 1945, was - in order of importance - to be ethnically white, geographically European and culturally Christian.
The differences between the pre 1918 and the post 1945 western nations are so obviously different - like chalk and cheese in some nations - that 'western' civilization is no longer an appropriate umbrella term.
Many nations these days are 'westernized', but it is still commonly understood that Western civilization resides primarily in Europe.
Labels: christianity, europe, japan, western civilization, westernized, white
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