Christianity in particular, the Holy Roman Catholic Church, has been involved in the world throughout time. Since Christianity, when it first became a major religion in society, the involvement of the Roman Catholic Church has touched many areas of history. The Roman Catholic Church has affected the world historically, as demonstrated by its impact on historical figures like Hypatia, Joan of Arc, and Jan Hus, historical events such as the Salem Witch Trials, and many other eras and events. The Roman Catholic Church slowed scientific progress during the Middle Ages, when it had the greatest control over society, due to its personal beliefs. Finally, the Roman Catholic Church for a time changed the world ethically in favor of women and homosexuals, even if it was not inclusive. Without the extreme control exercised by the Roman Catholic Church, the world would be a completely different place to live in. To prove this, topics such as the effect the Roman Catholic Church has had throughout history, how science has been affected by the Roman Catholic Church. , and how the Roman Catholic Church has affected society ethically to a limited and temporary extent. In the 4th century, in Alexandria, Egypt, there was a woman named Hypatia of Alexandria. Hypatia taught the philosophy of Neoplatonism – which was the philosophy expounded by Plato in the 3rd century – mathematics and astronomy, and was one of the few women to be considered a true scholar. She taught students and political figures and is said to have written the theory of the original geocentric model of the Earth, as well as other commentaries which have been lost. Because of Hypatia's scholarly status in the city of Alexandria, and because she went out into town and...... middle of paper ....... Walker, Jim. Scientific advancement. January 20, 2010. Graphic, digital file. http://www.nobeliefs.com/comments10.htmThe graphic shows how science was held back during the Dark Ages, that is, during the time of the power of the Roman Catholic Church. It also shows the time when science took off again, around the Renaissance, when the Church was losing power. The information was useful because it wasn't necessarily biased with the article it was written with and it was simple and accurate about what happened. The chart was also very easy to read and it wasn't hard to see how one thing affected another. The site it came from is credible because of its use of citations at the bottom of the page and the way they mark the citations throughout the document. The chart is also an interesting touch, as it gives a nice perspective of how science and the Roman Catholic Church operated when the two were at odds..