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David Roman's avatar

Great stuff. I'm really intrigued about whether this is comparable to the similar shift of intellectual people towards the clergy in Islamic countries in the early 1st millennium, with even more dire consequences.

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javiero's avatar

I'm currently reading Eric Chaney' paper "Religion and the Rise and Fall of Islamic Science", which I think tackles precisely that question:

"This paper documents a decline in scientific output in the medieval Islamic world and empirically links the decline to the political empowerment of religious leaders. A contraction in secular bureaucratic structures strengthened conservative religious elites who altered institutions to discourage the study of topics that undermined their societal control."

PS: I assume you meant 2nd millennium?

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David Roman's avatar

Yes! Looking forward to your views on that one

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