How Christianity Remade the World

Dominion: The Making of the Western Mind (published as Dominion: How the Christian Revolution Remade the World in the United States) is a 2019 non-fiction history book by British historian Tom Holland.

The book is a broad history of the influence of Christianity on the world, focusing on its impact on morality – from its beginnings to the modern day.[1] According to the author, the book "isn’t a history of Christianity" but "a history of what's been revolutionary and transformative about Christianity: about how Christianity has transformed not just the West, but the entire world."[2]

Holland contends that Western morality, values and social norms ultimately are products of Christianity,[1][3][4] stating "in a West that is often doubtful of religion's claims, so many of its instincts remain — for good and ill — thoroughly Christian".[5] Holland further argues that concepts now usually considered non-religious or universal, such as secularism, liberalism, science, socialism and Marxism, revolution, feminism, and even homosexuality, "are deeply rooted in a Christian seedbed",[6][7][8] and that the influence of Christianity on Western civilization has been so complete "that it has come to be hidden from view".[1][7]

Others disagree. The Wikipedia article refers to mixed reviews.

This is an important topic. Religion is declining. I am going to collect some more views on this.

From a debate on Tom Holland vs AC Grayling • History: Did Christianity give us our human values?

[Grayling] I would ask Tom this and this 1:16:50 is a surprising question maybe to nominate for me one thing just one thing 1:16:56 that Christianity has introduced that doesn't have some source some parallel some analogy in in 1:17:05 previous and in other civilizations one novelty one innovation in thinking about 1:17:11 anything ethical metaphysical or anything you like and I must have racked my brains over this often enough and I cannot 1:17:19 think of one would love to hear if there is once

[Host]you accept that challenge?

[Holland] absolutely I think the the the ideal of 1:17:25 lifelong matrimony I think that's a very distinctive Christian concept I think 1:17:30 the the category of what by the 19th century is coming to be categorized as a 1:17:35 homosexuality and heterosexuality. I think they have no precedence. I think the notion of secularism the idea of 1:17:42 there being religions. I think all these are entirely exclusive to Christian civilization. I think the concept of 1:17:49 science as it emerges in the 19th century. I think is entirely exclusive to Christian civilization. I think the idea 1:17:57 that human beings are created in the image of God if that is obviously something that Christians should share 1:18:03 with with Jews but that is a it gives a degree of dignity to human beings that 1:18:09 no other cultural tradition that I'm aware of even remotely approximates to.

so I think that all of those that are 1:18:15 essentially what I'm talking in giving that is I am talking about what makes Western civilization distinctive and one 1:18:23 of the things that absolutely makes Western civilization distinctive and it's an inheritance of its Christian 1:18:28 past is its assumption that its values are universal. this has been fundamental 1:18:34 to the way that Christians have understood their faith that that it is for all of humanity