Would humans be colonizing space right now if not for the Roman Catholic Church?
Someone posed the theory to me that The Roman Catholic Church managed to hold on to the only power left over from the collapse of the Roman empire. And that they used that power to effectively squash societies growth citing Copernicus, Galileo, The Inquisition, Dark Ages, etc . And while obviously impossible to definitively prove, is it reasonable to speculate if not for the interference of the Catholic Church on scientific research would humans be living in significant numbers outside of earth?
Dances with Unicorns2009-09-22T20:29:17Z
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Probably. But it was only a delay, not a death sentence. Start pushing your legislators to fund such things, and you'll help it happen sooner.
Think a little more closely about the specifics of the question.
For one, the Church opposed Galileo because he was teaching against Copernicus, and it was the Copernican geocentrism that was the official teaching until the 18th century.
And where would Galileo have studied if not for the Catholic University system? I assure you, the local warlords and barbarians who were the only secular powers after the fall of Rome would not have bothered to erect such citadels or learning, nor would the de Medici's unless the Church had asked them for financing.
For another, Galileo was born mid-16th century. Who did we (Catholics) suppress before then who would have moved society forward?
Moreover, Galileo's heliocentric design, while revolutionary, would not have helped colonize space without Newton's calculus, Goddard's rocketry, or Intel's semiconductors.
I think your someone claims a bit much. You can't blame the "Dark Ages" on the Catholic Church, which was for a long time the only light in the world, Richard Dawkins notwithstanding.
I haven't the slightest clue, but your understanding of history is a bit askew.
Galileo, Kepler, Copernicus, and all the other scientific revolutionaries occurred at the beginning of or during the Renaissance. The Church for the most part allowed, and even encouraged scientific advancement. Unfortunately Galileo was such a blowhard and Pope Urban VIII was so childish that the whole ordeal got so incredibly blown out of proportion; indeed more than it needed to.
The little bit of Greek and Roman culture (including what small bits of their science that was salvaged) was guarded by the Catholic Church. If it weren't for the Church (and the Arabs too) we'd actually be scientifically stunted. The Catholic Church didn't cause the Dark Ages, the collapse of the Roman Empire did.
I admit that the Church is slow to modernize, but science is *usually* (not always) the main exception to this trend. The Catholic Church was one of the first churches to allow its members to accept biological evolution and the Big Bang (the theory itself was formally articulated by a Belgian Catholic Priest!). I don't think the actions of the Church had much of an impact on our current scientific progression.
Never entertain this "someone" again, especially when it has to do with ANYTHING theological. . .
The reason why humanity has not begun colonizing other planets is because it is not economically feasible. Once it becomes economically feasible, there has to be a reason why such a thing is a NECESSITY. Colonizing other planets is NOT a matter of necessity.
Wrong, Due to people like Copernicus and Galieleo, and the RCC's attempt to crush them the division between science/secular stuff and religon actually got bigger.