--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Not material or economic conditions in…" description: "\"Not material or economic conditions in the ordinary sense, but perverse religious ideas explain the suspension of civilization in Europe from the 5th t..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f47/joseph-mccabe-26676_century_not-material-or-economic-conditions-in-t_1129199.png" --- # Not material or economic conditions in the ordinary sense… ![“Not material or economic conditions in the ordinary sense, but perverse religious ideas explain the suspension of civilization in Europe from the 5th to the 12th century, and in the Mohammedan world after the 15th century.” quote by Joseph McCabe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f47/joseph-mccabe-26676_century_not-material-or-economic-conditions-in-t_1129199.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f47/joseph-mccabe-26676_century_not-material-or-economic-conditions-in-t_1129199.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f47/joseph-mccabe-26676_century_not-material-or-economic-conditions-in-t_1129199.png) > “Not material or economic conditions in the ordinary sense, but perverse religious ideas explain the suspension of civilization in Europe from the 5th to the 12th century, and in the Mohammedan world after the 15th century.” [Joseph McCabe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-mccabe/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The author argues that religious ideas, not material conditions, primarily caused Europe's medieval stagnation and later Islamic world decline. **In simple terms:** Religious ideas hindered societal progress more than economics. Key Takeaway Question dominant narratives about historical causes. Themes history religion civilization intellectual stagnation Mood critical thoughtful Type historical analytical When to use this quote - academic debates - curriculum design - public policy discussions Key Concepts sociology philosophy cultural studies Questions to Reflect On - What evidence supports economic factors? - How do religious ideas both hinder and inspire? A Different Perspective Religious influence is complex and can also inspire progress. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Civilization](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/civilization/) [Europe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/europe/) [Ideas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ideas/) [Religion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religion/) [Religious](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religious/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) ## Related quotes > [“ONE OF the most irrational of all the conventions of modern society is the one to the effect that religious opinions should be respected.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-l-mencken-2/one-of-the-most-irrational-of-all-the-conventions-of-modern-society/) [H.L. Mencken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-l-mencken-2/) > [In order to teach a course in the history of Western religious thought, I had to do a great deal of research in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacob-needleman/in-order-to-teach-a-course-in-the-history-of-western-religious/) [Jacob Needleman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacob-needleman/) > [There is no religious or any kind of a gender that should separate you from any religious ideas.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-simmons/there-is-no-religious-or-any-kind-of-a-gender-that-should-separate/) [Russell Simmons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-simmons/) > [Religious ideas such as the idea of God have functioned as regulative ideals for us to aspire after: we too could become unified and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-cupitt/religious-ideas-such-as-the-idea-of-god-have-functioned-as-regulative/) [Don Cupitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-cupitt/) > [“I had a head for religious ideas. They were the first ideas I ever encountered. They made other ideas seem mean…I had miles of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-dillard/i-had-a-head-for-religious-ideas-they-were-the-first-ideas-i-ever/) [Annie Dillard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-dillard/) > [Creationists who want religious ideas taught as scientific fact in public schools continue to adapt to courtroom defeats by hiding their true aims under…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eugenie-scott/creationists-who-want-religious-ideas-taught-as-scientific-fact-in/) [Eugenie Scott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eugenie-scott/) > [“An idea is a very powerful thing, and political ideas or religious ideas or economic ideas have always affected and often controlled the courses…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-c-wylie/an-idea-is-a-very-powerful-thing-and-political-ideas-or-religious/) [J.C. Wylie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-c-wylie/) > [I've got a lot of different religious ideas circling through my family, but the positive thing is that I was raised with a lot…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kali-hawk/i-ve-got-a-lot-of-different-religious-ideas-circling-through-my/) [Kali Hawk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kali-hawk/) > [I have never seen the slightest scientific proof of the religious ideas of heaven and hell, of future life for individuals, or of a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-a-edison/i-have-never-seen-the-slightest-scientific-proof-of-the-religious-2/) [Thomas A. Edison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-a-edison/) > [ These \[religious ideas\] are given out as teachings, are not precipitates of experience or end-results of thinking: they are illusions, fullfilments of the oldest,… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sigmund-freud/these-religious-ideas-are-given-out-as-teachings-are-not-precipitates/) [Sigmund Freud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sigmund-freud/) > [“Religious ideas, supposedly private matters between man and god, are in practice always political ideas.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/religious-ideas-supposedly-private-matters-between-man-and-god-are-in/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [“Look, doctor, China, the country without religion. The Chinese have no religious ideas, only a kind of philosophy. In the Middle Kingdom no grain…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-perutz/look-doctor-china-the-country-without-religion-the-chinese-have-no/) [Leo Perutz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-perutz/) > [Even though their arguments did not invoke religion, I think we all know what's behind these arguments. They're trying to protect religious beliefs from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-weinberg/even-though-their-arguments-did-not-invoke-religion-i-think-we-all/) [Steven Weinberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-weinberg/) > [Religious ideas have sprung from the same need as all the other achievements of culture: from the necessity for defending itself against the crushing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sigmund-freud/religious-ideas-have-sprung-from-the-same-need-as-all-the-other/) [Sigmund Freud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sigmund-freud/) > [Religious ideas about good and evil tend to focus on how to achieve well-being in the next life, and this makes them terrible guides…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-harris/religious-ideas-about-good-and-evil-tend-to-focus-on-how-to-achieve/) [Sam Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-harris/) ## More by Joseph McCabe > [An idea or institution may arise for one reason and be maintained for quite a different reason.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-mccabe/an-idea-or-institution-may-arise-for-one-reason-and-be-maintained-for/) [Joseph McCabe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-mccabe/) > [“In his numerous historical and Scriptural works Bauer rejects all supernatural religion, and represents Christianity as a natural product of the mingling of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-mccabe/in-his-numerous-historical-and-scriptural-works-bauer-rejects-all/) [Joseph McCabe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-mccabe/) > [Evolution throws a wonderful light on all the struggles, eccentricities, tortuous developments of the human conscience in the past. It is the only theory…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-mccabe/evolution-throws-a-wonderful-light-on-all-the-struggles/) [Joseph McCabe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-mccabe/) > [The Papacy was corrupt for whole centuries: especially from about 880 to 1050 and (with a short decent pontificate at rare intervals) 1290 to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-mccabe/the-papacy-was-corrupt-for-whole-centuries-especially-from-about-880/) [Joseph McCabe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-mccabe/) > [If, it was natural to reason, God punishes men with eternal torment, it is surely lawful for men to use doses of it in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-mccabe/if-it-was-natural-to-reason-god-punishes-men-with-eternal-torment-it/) [Joseph McCabe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-mccabe/) > [Today we know not only that there is a terrible amount of disorder in the heavens - great catastrophes or conflagrations occur frequently -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-mccabe/today-we-know-not-only-that-there-is-a-terrible-amount-of-disorder-in/) [Joseph McCabe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-mccabe/) > [I took a sheet of paper, divided it into debt and credit columns on the arguments for and against God and immortality. 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