Religious based "Meji"/Pro-Westernization religious philosophy

[fortyseven]

While thinking about my Earlier Baha'i timeline, I realized that a Baha'i (or analogue) state would have minimal difficulty integrating Western technology, democracy, laws, etc. Of course, they could also integrate non-Western ideas, e.g bureaucracy from China or the vilayet system from the Ottomans with minimal difficulty as well.

Thoughts?

 

[Doug M.]

Nationalism serves much the same function, and without worries about heresy and the like. That's why so many development success stories, from Meiji Japan to Ataturk, have involved the deliberate cultivation of fierce nationalist feeling.

No one's ever done this with religion as such. There's Max Weber's claim that Protestantism was essential to the Industrial Revolution, but I don't find that compelling. You could make a case that Confucianism-in-the-broad-sense was very helpful to the development of the Asian Tigers, but at that point you're looking at a set of cultural tropes more than a religion per se.

Interesting idea, though.

Oh, and: http://www.pcez.com/~artemis/SLAmcandrews.htm


Doug M.

 

[Solomaxwell6]

This sounds like a pretty cool idea!

It actually depends on the state itself. Religion is not the local culture as a whole. However, I definitely agree they have a much better chance of westernization than, say, China. Their universalist views would be a lot better than the Chinese ethnocentrism. I'm not really sure how much you want than that... Different nations, despite having identical religions, can have completely different cultures. Some cultures are going to be more inclusive of foreign ideas than others. So while Bahai'i would definitely be a good religion for that idea of inclusion, it's by no means guaranteed.

 

[fortyseven]

To the responses above, majority religions are/were the base/core of cultures or at least they dominate/d cultures while integrating aspects of minor religions or other ideas and customs (harem, Christmas trees, burqa, Halloween).

Nationalism is sufficient though it is a recent development.

 

[Solomaxwell6]

To the responses above, majority religions are/were the base/core of cultures or at least they dominate/d cultures while integrating aspects of minor religions or other ideas and customs (harem, Christmas trees, burqa, Halloween).

Nationalism is sufficient though it is a recent development.

Religion can be interpreted differently. See Islam in Iran vs Islam in the UAE. I'm not saying it's not a huge factor, it's just something that you need to toy around with. There's a little bit of give depending not just on the religion, but how the people apply the religion.

 

[fortyseven]

Religion can be interpreted differently. See Islam in Iran vs Islam in the UAE. I'm not saying it's not a huge factor, it's just something that you need to toy around with. There's a little bit of give depending not just on the religion, but how the people apply the religion.

Yeah, you're right. Is anyone interested in my Earlier Baha'i timeline?