Neither should it surprise that
religion appropriated literacy as one of its programs once the
scale of human activity that made literacy necessary was
reached. In the context of nation-states that adopted religion as
one of their identifiers, the entire history of the relation
between society and religion can be seen in a different light.
As we know from history, the quest for power frequently brought
state and religion into conflict, although one needed and relied
on the other. In the unifying pragmatic framework of industrial
society, their alliance was sealed in literacy programs. These
were simultaneously programs for higher efficiency and for the
maintenance of values rooted in religious belief, as long as
these did not adversely affect the outcome of work or of market
transactions.
Parallel to the initially dominant religious view of life,
change, origins, and future, alternative views were expressed as
the result of self-observation and observation of the outside
world. Philosophy, influenced by religion and by religious
explanations of the world, of men, of society and its change, is
one example. Sciences would diverge from philosophy, multiplying
alternate models and explanatory contexts. These were usually
carefully construed so as not to collide with the religious
viewpoint, unless they bluntly rejected it, regardless of the
consequences of such an attitude. There were also heresies based
on an individual's notions, or holdovers from past religions.
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