[KraskiNetu]

Well around 70 million people are oriental orthodox. Yeah I'm sure ignorant people won't care.

There's nothing more ignorant than belief in god.

[Imampaictjg]

Max Waber, a sociologist said that Protestant-Christianity was conducive to growth of capitalism in Europe, specially it's Calvinist Sect. He gave the reason that Calvinism is outworldly-asceticism and they believe that hell or heaven are pre-destined and nothing can be altered about hell and heaven. So Calvinist used to engage in economic opportunities and they though success is sign of fortune in real world. Their attitude was not consumerist, they used to save and then invest in business. Max Waber said that most of successful businessmen/capitalism belonged to this particular sect.
I don't know how far his claims are true.

[cucceevevaind]

Riemann, Gauss and Euler were all lutherans, weird.

[Cofeeman]

I think Magavariko said it best. When you compare two areas within the same cultural region, denomination doesn't seem to have any effect at all. Bavaria and Austria are actually significantly wealthier than the rest of Germany, and there is no real difference between Flanders/the Southern Netherlands and the Northern Netherlands. Most significantly of all, the impact of Catholic France on Western civilization is enormous.
By the way, does England even count as Protestant? Anglicanism is basically Catholicism minus the pope.

However, I think it's undeniable that Protestantism has had a significant historical impact, and has influenced cultural characteristics such as thrift, efficiency, the tendency towards delayed gratification, the emphasis on social capital/collective responsibility and a certain work ethic. Max Weber famously hypothesized that this led to the rise of modern capitalism. The thing is, throughout the centuries its impact has filtered throughout Northwestern Europe in its entirety and to a lesser extent Europe in general, to the point that it has lost almost all of its explanatory power when you hold other factors, such as general cultural zone, constant.

In summary, the success of Western Europe probably does have a lot to do with Protestant influence, but over time this influence has become mostly detached from specific religious convictions themselves to morph into more general cultural traits that characterize Protestants and Catholics alike.

[dalnecymync]

Interestingly Euler and Riemann wouldn't have been born if their fathers had been catholics, since catholic priests aren't allowed to marry.

Considering how many famous northern european scientists that have priests in their family history, it wouldn't surprise me if catholicism have had a retarding effect on catholic europe. Since some of the smartest (priests) never passed on their genes.

Riemann was born in Breselenz, a village near Dannenberg in the Kingdom of Hanover in what is the Federal Republic of Germany today. His father, Friedrich Bernhard Riemann, was a poor Lutheran pastor in Breselenz who fought in the Napoleonic Wars. His mother, Charlotte Ebell, died before her children had reached adulthood. Riemann was the second of six children, shy, and suffered from numerous nervous breakdowns. Riemann exhibited exceptional mathematical skills, such as fantastic calculation abilities, from an early age but suffered from timidity and a fear of speaking in public. Euler's father belonged to the "reformed church" whatever that means, I thought he was lutheran, guess I was wrong.

Euler was born on April 15, 1707, in Basel to Paul Euler, a pastor of the Reformed Church. His mother was Marguerite Brucker, a pastor's daughter.

[turbutbamethyg]

I think that protestantism isn't the cause but the consequence for the most part. The "protestant work ethic" existed long before Martin Luther. I think this work ethic has evolved in Northern Europe because of the harsh climate and the need to work efficiently as a group.

Sorry, but have you read the Icelandic Sagas? It's people murdering, plundering and raping the shit out of each other for no reason, running away to escape justice, etc. They were savages with no sense of bodily or emotional control, pure and simple.

I don't think you quite realize how path-dependent culture is and how slowly it changes. The potential has always been there, but the Reformation was definitely one of the most important cultural triggers in shaping modern-day Nordic attitudes.

[robstamps]

Much better map:




I dont think it has much to do with religion as such, Various regions have their golden age at various stages in time, due to conditions that has little to do with religion, but has everything to do with climate, population movements, natural resources, ect ect....the northern most countries have been stable for a long period, while those found further south have not been so stable these last centuries, this is likely a good reason for their current condition.....

[Joircarm]

Interestingly Euler and Riemann wouldn't have been born if their fathers had been catholics, since catholic priests aren't allowed to marry.

Considering how many famous northern european scientists that have priests in their family history, it wouldn't surprise me if catholicism have had a retarding effect on catholic europe. Since some of the smartest (priests) never passed on their genes.



Euler's father belonged to the "reformed church" whatever that means, I thought he was lutheran, guess I was wrong.

We say in Spain:

"Nunca digas de este agua no beberé, y este cura no es mi padre"

TR: "Never say: I won't drink this dirty water and this priest isn't my father"

[hoarrimilsora]

The map is wrong. We are not Orthodox Christians, but rather Oriental Orthodox.

Actually the map is for both Oriental Orthodoxy and Eastern Orthodoxy (ours), which are both Orthodox of course

[ExpodoDop]

The map is wrong. We are not Orthodox Christians, but rather Oriental Orthodox.

Nor are you in Europe for a start.

[CatLuvkaLover]

Why? How big should a population be then? There are about 25 million people in the Nordic countries combined.

The Nordic countries are tiny. More people speak Dutch than all North Germanic languages put together, and Dutch itself is a minor language. The Nordic countries are doing well, but their population is much too low to have any real impact.

[Pwy9egVW]

The Nordic countries are tiny. More people speak Dutch than all North Germanic languages put together, and Dutch itself is a minor language. The Nordic countries are doing well, but their population is much too low to have any real impact.

The Nordic countries have had a major impact, especially in the hard sciences, so what exactly do you mean with "real impact"?

[adesseridopaw]

Nor are you in Europe for a start.

Can you stop trolling my every post? Nevertheless I've been reporting you, so you should be banned in no time

[pIp83Uns]

Can you stop trolling my every post? Nevertheless I've been reporting you, so you should be banned in no time

Clearly you don't know much about free speech.
He can't be banned for stating his opinion any more than you or I.

Also, you are not in Europe.

[SkeniaInhilla]

Clearly you don't know much about free speech.
He can't be banned for stating his opinion any more than you or I.

Also, you are not in Europe.

He quotes my every post and says "you are not in Europe" even when my post clearly had nothing to do with that topic. That is called trolling and you can get banned for it in this forum.

I never said Armenia is in Europe - get that into your head. Even with Armenia part of Council of Europe and EU stating both Armenia and Georgia are European countries, I still don't consider Armenia a European country for geographic, historical, and cultural reasons.

[Cnbaapuy]

He quotes my every post and says "you are not in Europe" even when my post clearly had nothing to do with that topic. That is called trolling and you can get banned for it in this forum.

I never said Armenia is in Europe - get that into your head. Even with Armenia part of Council of Europe and EU stating both Armenia and Georgia are European countries, I still don't consider Armenia a European country for geographic, historical, and cultural reasons.

Oh right. Just tell him to eat a bag of dicks. Or even better, ignore him.

[Pypeassesty]

Oh right. Just tell him to eat a bag of dicks. Or even better, ignore him.

No problem. That's what he should do, he would be spending his time more productively

[frkksptn]

However, I think it's undeniable that Protestantism has had a significant historical impact, and has influenced cultural characteristics such as thrift, efficiency, the tendency towards delayed gratification, the emphasis on social capital/collective responsibility and a certain work ethic.

At the same time, the society of consumption which is a byproduct of capitalism, favors and encourages instant gratification among the consumers.

It is clear that delayed/instant gratification is primordial as far as economical success is concerned, as proven by many studies.

[ENGINESSQ]

No problem. That's what he should do, he would be spending his time more productively

http://www.forumbiodiversity.com/pro...?do=ignorelist

If you want to ignore him, just type his name into there and click okay. I assume that will block all his posts.

[neerewed]

A bit off topic, Greece won the friendly match for Euro 2012 against Armenia