Broken and Disorienting: An Exploration of Religious Views under Toynbee's Concept of Civilization

Abstract

Toynbee, a famous British historical philosopher, emphasized the importance of the religious view in historical development in A Study of History and attempted to solve the contradictions facing the development of modern Western society through the concept of religious redemption. However, Toynbee's concept of religious redemption is not a perfect solution. The concept of religious redemption is the ideological product of modern Western society in the process of industrialization and modernization. Its religious background is closely related to Western history, aiming to free human beings from the shackles of egocentrism and cultivate universal love so as to enter the world of great harmony. Toynbee's idealized pursuit of the spiritual level also made him ignore the diversity of “love” generated by different freedom ideals, and he was caught in a dilemma of advancing human civilization towards self-determination through universal love. Human beings must achieve the realm of fraternity by promoting the comprehensive development of individuals and then uniting all mankind. Through an in-depth analysis of Toynbee's religious concept, this paper reveals the significance and limitations of the concept of religious redemption in the development of human civilization and discusses its enlightenment to the development of modern social civilization.