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Religion

This is an issue that has led astray many a student of civilisations, including Spengler himself. Confessional proximity does not necessarily imply civilisational closeness.

Of the existing civilisations two are decidedly sacral in nature, the Jewish and the Brahmin. The Arabic is semi-sacral. Koneczny was not sure about the Tibetan civilisation, because he had not enough knowledge about it to consider whether it is sacral semi- sacral or something else. The other existing ones are not sacral because in them religion does not determine all categories of reality (truth, goodness, prosperity, health, beauty).

Buddhism changes with the civilisation in which it functions. Catholicism attempts to modify the civilisation it enters. Is patient in this effort, working over many generations. It will try to sanctify whatever in the local culture is amenable to Christianity (inculturation) but will never yield on the essentials. Islam has very little theology and the authority of the Koran limits the freedom of some Islamic rulers while others will take it upon themselves to be the interpreters of the Koran.

 
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