Dynamics of World History

In scope and in vision Christopher Dawson's historiography ranks with the work of men like Spengler, Northrop, and Toynbee. Several major themes run through Dawson's work, but perhaps his most unique contribution was his insistence on the importance of religion in shaping and sustaining civilizations.
Religion, Dawson believed, is the great creative force in any culture, and the loss of a society's historic religion therefore portends a process of social dissolution. For this reason, Dawso...