Religion



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Questions: with **Steven Engler** 1. During the Italian Renaissance we saw how the Catholic Church lost a significant amount of power. At this power loss, they also lost followers. In Calgary today, have there been any incidents that have caused the people to question and loose faith in the church? Is it important for Calgary to become a renaissance city? **in the catholic church it lost some, it didn't affect most people more of an itellegtual level, they just chose church's and changed church, went with the rulers view. in specific views, we see a overall decent of attendance, (cristaniean) religion in general becoming more individualistic, want to decided for themselves, continuation, same continuation that we see during the renaissance, (say that individual was invented in renaissance , last week, through out history) No because renaissance cities were ruled by oligarchy few. the richest guy in town ran the town, he and the family, was more decromistic and if that is what renaissance was (which it was) is not the way to go, unless we re define renaissance, we are way past that now. we look all around the world for inspiration, not just greece and rome** 2. After the power loss of the church, new sciences were emerging, and people were pushing themselves out of their comfort zones to discover the world around them. Do we see individuals today advancing in sciences? Specifically, do we see people challenging themselves to make greater discoveries in science?, or is it advancing more in groups of citizens? **some people say though its debated that some ideas come out, observation of this world, instead of the next world, and scientific method, both taken so granted now, that these new theories began back then, there isn't gonna be another one. Impact of science, should it be regulated (dangerous? Money? ethical controls?) in that sense, really interesting stuff, one place in the world, in canada (calgary) bio technology, citizen participation, great role of should the public (not just sciences, ) have a role in how we should use the sciences. Zino (growing pigs in to human) New model of citizen participation in science model (discussion) not done in the renaissance rulers decided.** 3. During the Italian Renaissance, people started creating their own personal, and became individuals. In Calgary now days, do we still see our citizens striving to be different? Or are there trends that people tend to follow (like a fad)? **Both. in the renaissance, we reduced the dramatic decreases in option, that people could choose. options. behind that is a shift that you are good by virtue of birth, or what you do. Rich men have powers. good by accomplishment, its not what family you are born into, how you study, connections, mark, we live in the legacy in the renaissance , some people that point to another dramatic change, are you different? no we are individual. Individual is our new religion, we do need a new voice, and we tend to do what we want, not what we should. If planet is being threatened, how do we pull together a group oof individualists.** 4. The Catholic Church, during the Renaissance, was one of the only religions people had to choose from. Because of Martin Luther and the reformation of the church, more options and choices were available for people to express their faith and beliefs. Is there individual choice in Calgary for people to choose to show their faith? Specifically, are there different faith communities Calgarian’s belong to? **Lots. There are many types of christianity, but in general the numbers are going down. the immigrants of faith are growing. (indisimn) the bottom line in canada is we get to choose, we see more in the third choice, they stick with religion, see it as a personal choice. that view that is it an individual choice, reinforced in charts of rights and freedom, cant leave individualism behind, cant. could sue. Great irony, having a choice, is not a choice, religion is a matter of choice, and you wont be backed up on that.

political, wouldn't want that. no we are way past models individualism, we are already there, we cant go back celebrate? yaa thats good. still valid.**

Julia Harrison: In response to whether Calgary possesses the need and importance of becoming a renaissance city, Steven Engler believes that we do not have the desire to become a Renaissance city unless we redefine the word renaissance. He believes that if we were to become a Renaissance City, meaning to follow in the footsteps of the Italian Renaissance Era, that we would have to be ruled by the richest guy in town, and only seek idea’s from Greece and Rome. Especially further in this sense, that would wouldn’t have as much cultural insight as we do now. He believes that we are way past the term renaissance, and we can only //become// a “Renaissance City” if we synthesize the ideas and outcomes of this time period, with our own. That way we would have their culture and our own, mixed together. He states, “… Unless we re-define Renaissance, we are way past that now. We look all around the world for inspiration, not just Greece and Rome.” By this, he means, that we share our ideas and knowledge with other countries and cities that surround us. We take insight, and technology, food, and inspiration, from all over our nation, creating culture. If we were to go back to when they only took inspiration from Greece and Rome, we would lose a lot of understanding and culture that we have today. We would also loose a lot of respect that we have for other nations, and people around us without knowing about their lifestyle and knowledge. Overall, Engler was very opinionated on this subject and it gave us a great idea and second opinion on this question, that we may now use as a connection to real life.

Bogdan Fanea: In response to whether Calgary possesses the independence from religious roles to make it a Renaissance city, Mr. Engler, professor of Mount Royal religion, believes that Calgarians are independent from the catholic church based on the fact that we can speak and think freely without consequences from the church. In this sense, he believes that it wouldn’t be a good thing for Calgary to become a Renaissance city because we can’t really benefit from doing as the Greeks and Romans did. He states, //“There are many types of christianity, but in general the numbers are going down. The immigrants of faith are growing.”// By this he means that we no longer believe in Catholicism as one sole group, but rather as a diverse belief group. Finally, Mr. Engler believes that Calgary can not become a renaissance city..