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Specialty Definition: Catholicism

(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)

Catholicism, from the Greek katholikos (καθολικος), meaning "general" or "universal", is a religious name applied to two strands of Christianity. In its general sense it is used by mainstream Christians who believe that they can claim to be part of the Apostolic Succession, in other words that they can claim a direct continuing link back to the early church of the Apostles.

In its narrower sense, it is used to refer to the Holy Roman Catholic and Apostolic Church, the largest of the Christian denominations, or group of denominations, whose distinguishing characteristic is their acceptance of the authority of, and communion with, the Pope, the Bishop of Rome, and who accept his authority on matters of faith and morals, and his assertion of "full, supreme, and universal power over the whole Church." [1] This denomination is often referred to as the Roman Catholic Church. Most people, both in and outside the Church, simply use the "Catholic Church" to refer to the Roman Catholic Church, even though there are other "Catholic" churches.

Meaning of "Catholicism"

The Creeds & Catholicism

The word Catholic appears in the main Christian creeds (prayer-like definitions of belief), notably the Apostles' Creed or the Nicene Creed. Christians of most denominations, including most Protestants, affirm their faith in "one holy catholic and apostolic Church." This belief refers to their belief in the ultimate unity of all churches under one God and one Saviour. However in this context the word Catholic is used by such believers in a definitionary sense (i.e. universal), not as the name of a religious body. In this usage it is usually written with a lower-case c, while upper-case C refers to the sense discussed in this article.

Catholicism

The majority of Christian faiths do not describe themselves as "Catholic". In Western Christianity the principal faiths who regard themselves as "Catholic", beside the Roman Catholic Church, are the Old Catholic Church, the Chinese Patriotic Catholic Association, and some elements of Anglicanism ("High Church Anglicans" or "Anglo-Catholics"). These groups hold beliefs and practice religious rituals similar to Roman Catholicism, but differ substantially from Roman Catholicism on the issue of the Bishop of Rome's status, power and influence.

The several churches of Eastern Orthodoxy and Oriental Orthodoxy consider themselves to be the catholic church, in the general, universal sense of the word. The Orthodox churches generally see the Latin "Catholics" as being heretical schismatics who left the "true catholic and apostolic church" (See, Great Schism). The patriarchs of Eastern Orthodoxy are autocephalous bishops, which roughly means that each of them is independent of the direct oversight of another bishop; or, put another way, these Christians are not in communion with the Pope and do not recognise his claim to be the head of the universal Church as an earthly institution. There are also Eastern Rite Catholics whose liturgy is similar to that of the Orthodox, and also allow married men to be ordained as priests, but who recognize the Roman Pope as the head of their church.

Some groups call themselves Catholic but are questionably so: for instance the Liberal Catholic Church, which originated as a breakaway group from the Old Catholic Church, but incorporated so much theosophy that it had little doctrinally in common with Catholicism anymore.

Roman Catholicism

The main and largest Catholic denomination is the "Holy Roman Catholic and Apostolic Church", more commonly known as the "Roman Catholic Church". It is so named because its adherents are all in communion with the Pope and Bishop of Rome, and most parishes follow the Roman or Latin Rite in worship, although there are other rites.

In casual usage, when people speak of "Catholics" or "Catholicism," they usually but not always mean Roman Catholicism.

Anglo-Catholicism

The Anglican Communion, though one church, is in practice divided into two wings, "High Church Anglicans" also called the Anglo-Catholics and "Low Church Anglicans" also known as the Evangelical wing. Though all elements within the Anglican Communion recite the same creeds, Low Church Anglicans treat the word Catholic in the creed as a mere older word for universal, High Church Anglicans treat it as a name of Christ's church to which they, the Roman Catholic Church and others in the Apostolic Succession all belong.

Anglo-Catholicism holds beliefs and practice religious rituals similar to Roman Catholicism. The similar elements include a belief in seven sacraments, Transubstantiation as opposed to Consubstantiation, devotion to the Virgin Mary and saints, the description of their ordained clergy as "priests" - addressed as "Father" - the wearing of vestments in church liturgy, sometimes even the description of their Eucharistic celebrations as Mass. Their main source of difference with Roman Catholicism on the issue of the Bishop of Rome's status, power and influence. The development of the Anglo-Catholic wing of Anglicanism occurred largely in the nineteenth century and is strongly associated with the Oxford Movement. Two of its leading lights, John Henry Newman and Henry Edward Manning, both ordained Anglican clergymen, ended up joining the Roman Catholic Church, becoming cardinalss.

Though Catholicism as a term is generally taken to mean Roman Catholic, many Anglo-Catholics use the term to refer to them also, as part of the general (and not just Roman) Catholic Church. Indeed some Anglican churches, for example, St. Patrick's Cathedral in Dublin, the "National Cathedral" of the Anglican Church of Ireland, refers to itself as part of the "Catholic Communion" and as a "Catholic Church" in notices in and around it.

History and Influence

The early Christian church became organized under five patriarchs, the bishops of Jerusalem, Antioch, Alexandria, Constantinople and Rome. The Bishop of Rome was recognized by the Patriarchs as "the first among equals," though his status and influence increased when Rome was the capital of the empire, with doctrinal or procedural disputes often referred to Rome for an opinion. But when the capital moved to Constantinople, his influence dwindled. While Rome claimed an authority descending from St. Peter (who died in Rome and was regarded as the first pope¹) and St. Paul, Constantinople had become the residence of the Emperor and the Senate. A series of complex difficulties (the fact that the bishop of Rome did not accept the emperor's claim of supremacy in ecclesiastical matters, doctrinal disputes, disputed Councils, and the evolution of the separate rites) led to the split in 1054 which divided the Church into the Roman Catholic Church in the West and the Eastern Orthodox Church in the East (Greece, Russia and much of the Slavic lands, Anatolia, Syria, Egypt, etc.); this is called the Great Schism. (Conversely, most Eastern Orthodox believe the split arose because the other patriarchs failed to recognize the supremacy of the Bishop of Rome in ecclesiastical matters, particularly regarding the addition of the filioque clause to the Nicene Creed.)

The next major split of the Catholic Church occurred in the 16th century with the Protestant Reformation, during which many of the Protestant (protesting) denominations were formed.

Structure and Practice of the Roman Catholic Church

Organization by Office

Structurally Roman Catholicism is one of the world's most centralised religious faiths. Its head, the Pope, a quasi-absolute monarch, rules for life from Vatican City, an independent state in the centre of Rome known also in international diplomacy as the Holy See. He is selected by an elite group of Princes of the Church called Cardinals. The Pope alone selects and appoints all clergymen in the Church above the rank of priest. All members of the hierarchy are answerable to the Pope and to his papal court, called the Curia. Popes exercise what is called Papal Infallibility, that is the right to define definitive statements of Roman Catholic teaching on matters of faith and morals. In reality, since its declaration in the First Vatican Council in 1870, papal infallibility has only definitively been used once, by Pope Pius XII in the 1950s.

The Pope's authority comes from the belief that he is the lineal successor of St. Peter, and as such the Vicar of Christ on earth. The church has a hierarchical structure of offices or titles, in descending order:

• Pope, which is the bishop of Rome and also Patriarch of the West. Those who assist and advise him in leading the whole church are the Cardinals;
• Patriarchs are the heads of Catholic Churches other than the Latin Church. Some senior Roman Catholic archbishops are also called Patriarchs; among those possessing the title are the Archbishop of Lisbon and the Archbishop of Venice.
• Bishop (Archbishop and Suffragan Bishop): are the successors of the twelve apostles. They have received the fullness of sacramental orders;
• Priest (Monsignor is an honorary title for a priest, giving no extra sacramental powers); Initially there were no Priests per se. This position evolved from the suburban Bishops who were charged with distributing the sacraments but without full jurisdiction over the faithful.
• Deacon

There are also several more minor offices: Lector, Acolytes (since the Second Vatican Council, the office of Sub-deacon no longer exists). Religious orders have their own hierarchy and titles. These offices taken together constitute the clergy, and in the Western rite can only normally be occupied by unmarried men. However, in the Eastern rite married men are admitted as diocesan priests, but not as bishops or monastic priests; and on rare occasions married priests converting from other Christian groups have been permitted to be ordained in the Western rite. In the Western rite, married men may be ordained as permanent deacons but they may not remarry if their spouse dies or if the marriage is annulled.

The Pope is elected by the College of Cardinals from their ranks (the process of election, held in Sistine Chapel, is called a Conclave). Each Pope continues in office until death or until he resigns (which has happened only twice, and never since the Middle Ages).

Sacraments

The practice of the Catholic Church consists of seven sacraments (see also Catholic sacraments):

• Baptism,
• Confession,
• Eucharist,
• Confirmation,
• Holy Matrimony,
• Holy Orders, and
• Anointing of the Sick.

Within the Catholic faith, sacraments are gestures and words of Christ that impart sanctifying grace on the receiver. Baptism is given to infants and to adult converts who have not previously been validly baptised (the baptism of most Christian denominations is accepted as valid by the Catholic Church since the effect is thought to come straight from God regardless of the personal faith, but not intention, of the minister). Confession or reconciliation involves admitting sins to a priest and receiving penance (a task to complete in order to achieve absolution or forgiveness from God). The Eucharist (Communion), is the sacrifice of Christ, marked by partaking in the Body of Christ and the Blood of Christ which are believed to replace in everything but appearance the bread and wine used in the ceremony. The Roman Catholic belief that bread and wine are turned into the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ is called transubstantiation. In the sacrament of Confirmation, the gift of the Holy Spirit conferred in baptism is "strengthened and deepened" (see Catechism of the Catholic Church para. 1303) by the laying on of hands and anointing with oil. In the majority Latin Rite church, this sacrament is presided over by a bishop, and takes place in early adulthood. In the Eastern Catholic Churches (see below) the sacrament is called chrismation, and is ordinarily performed immediately after baptism by a priest. Holy Orders is the entering into the priesthood and involves a vow of chastity; the sacrament of Holy Orders is given in three degrees: that of the deacon (since Vatican II a permanent deacon may be married before becoming a deacon), that of the priest, and that of the bishop. Anointing of the Sick used to be known as "extreme unction" or the "last rites"; it involves the anointing of a sick person with a holy oil blessed specifically for that purpose and is no longer limited to the seriously ill or dying.

Rites

The Catholic Church is actually a federation of 24 self-governing (sui juris) Churches in communion with each other under the leadership of the Pope. By far the largest Church is the Latin Church, popularly called the Roman Catholic Church. The other 23 Churches are in the collective called Eastern Catholic Churches. Each Eastern Catholic Church is led by a Patriarch, Major Archbishop, or Metropolitan (a chief Archbishop who does not hold the rank of Major Archbishop or Patriarch). The 24 Catholic Churches use among them six rites. The Roman rite is used only by the Latin (Roman Catholic) Church, and is used by the vast majority of Catholics (98%). There are also several Eastern Rites, which are used in parts of the Middle East and Eastern Europe, and by Catholic communities in other parts of the world that originate from there. There are also two other small Western rites, other than the Latin rite, the Ambrosian rite and the Mozarabic rite, which are used in a few places in Europe. In the Middle Ages there were many other Western rites, but almost all of them were replaced by the Latin rite by the Council of Trent. The Eastern rites originated with groups that left Eastern and Oriental Orthodox churches to join the Roman Catholic church, but retained their own rites and traditions.

A listing of rites, with the Churches that use it, follows:

Roman

• Latin
• Ambrosian

Byzantine

• Albanian
• Belarussian
• Bulgarian
• Croatian
• Georgian
• Greek
• Hungarian
• Melkite
• Romanian
• Russian

• Ruthenian
• Slovak
• Serbian
• Ukrainian

Antiochene

• Maronite
• Malankarese
• Syriac

Chaldean

• Chaldean
• Syro-Malabarese

Armenian

• Armenian

Alexandrian

• Coptic
• Ge'ez

Historically, the church service in the Latin rite was conducted entirely in Latin, but local languages came into use with the Second Vatican Council (also called Vatican II), which occurred in 1962-5. Eastern rite Catholicism uses various languages, depending on the particular rite involved: Greek, Slavonic, Arabic, Romanian or Georgian in the Byzantine rite; Syriac in the Antiochene and Chaldean rites; Armenian in the Armenian rite; and Coptic or Ge'ez in the Alexandrian rite.

Organization by Region

The fundamental geographical and organizational unit of the Catholic Church is the diocese (in the Eastern Catholic Churches, the equivalent unit is called an eparchy). This is generally a defined geographical area, centered on a principal city, headed by a bishop. The primary church of a diocese is known as a cathedral from the cathedra or chair of the bishop that is one of the main symbols of his office. Within a diocese, a bishop exercises what is known as ordinary, or primary administrative authority. (Houses of some religious orders are semi-independent of the dioceses they are in; the religious superior of that order exercises ordinary jurisdiction over them.) While the Pope appoints bishops and reviews their performance, and a variety of other institutions govern or supervise certain activities, a bishop has a great deal of independence in administering a diocese. Certain dioceses, generally centered around large and important cities, are called archdioceses and are headed by an archbishop. In large dioceses and archdioceses, the bishop is often assisted by auxiliary bishops, full bishops and members of the College of Bishops who do not head a diocese of their own. Archbishops, suffragan bishops (usually shortened to just "bishops"), and auxiliary bishops are equally bishops; the different titles indicate what type (if any) of ecclesiastical unit they head. Many countries have vicariates that support their militaries (see military ordinariate).

Almost all dioceses were organized into groups known as provinces, each of which is headed by an archbishop. While provinces still exist, their role has largely been replaced by conferences of bishops, generally made up of all the dioceses of a particular country or countries. These groups handle a wide array of common functions, including supervision of liturgical texts and practices for the specific cultural and linguistic groups and relations with the governments in their area. The authority of these conferences to bind the actions of individual bishops is limited (traditional theologians consider this authority ultimately non-binding), however. Bishop's conferences started to appear early in the 20th century, and were officially recognized in the Second Vatican Council document Christus Dominus.

The College of Cardinals is the collection of Roman Catholic bishops who are special advisors to the Pope. Any priest can be appointed Cardinal, provided he "excelled in believe, moral and piety". If a cardinal is elected Pope who has not yet been ordained bishop he subsequently has to receive episcopal ordination. (C.f. Apostolic Constitution Universi Dominici Gregis[1]) All cardinals under the age of 80 have the right to elect a new pope upon the a pope's death; the cardinals who may elect are almost always members of the clergy; however, the Pope has sometimes in the past awarded outstanding members of the Catholic laity (e.g., theologians) with membership in the College after they have passed electing age. Each cardinal is given some church or chapel (thus, cardinal bishop, cardinal priest, and cardinal deacon) in Rome to make him a member of the clergy of Rome. Many cardinals serve in the curia, which assists the Pope in Church administration. All cardinals who are not resident in Rome are diocesan bishops.

Dioceses are divided into local districts called parishes. All Catholics are expected to attend and support their local parish church. While the Catholic Church has developed an elaborate system of global governance, day to day Catholicism is lived in the local community, tied together in worship in the local parish. Local parishes are largely self supporting; a church, often in a growing or poor community, that is being supported by a diocese is known as a mission.

The Roman Catholic Church supports many orders (groups) of monks and nuns who are mainly non-priests living lives specially devoted to serving God. These are people who have grouped together under a certain system for the purpose of the perfection of virtue. This sometimes involves separation from the world for meditation and sometimes exceptional participation in the world, often in medical or educational work. Almost universally the Monks and Nuns take vows of poverty (no or limited personal ownership of property and money), chastity (no use of the sexual mechanisms), and obedience (to the superiors).

Distinctive doctrines

Catholics believe in the Trinity of God as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, the divinity of Jesus, and the salvation through faith in Jesus Christ and through loving God above all things. Catholic views differ from Orthodox on several points, including the nature of the Petrine Ministry (the papacy), the nature of the Trinity and how that should be expressed in the Nicene Creed, and a juridical versus relational understanding of salvation and repentance. Catholics differ from Protestants in several points, including the necessity of penance, the meaning of communion, the composition of the canon of scripture, purgatory, and the means of salvation: Protestants believe that salvation is by faith alone (sola fide), while Catholics believe that faith is exhibited in good works. Stereotypically, this has led to a conflict over the doctrine of justification (the Reformation taught that "we are justified by faith alone"). Modern ecumenical dialogue has led to a number of consensus statements on the doctrine of justification between Roman Catholics and Lutherans, Anglicans, and others.

Liturgy and worship

The most important act of worship in the Roman Catholic Church is the Eucharistic liturgy, usually called the Mass. Mass is celebrated every Sunday morning in most Roman Catholic parishes; Catholics can however fulfill their Sunday devotion by attending a Mass on Saturday night. Catholics must also attend Mass on ten additional days every year, known as the Holy Day of Obligation. Additional Masses can be celebrated on any day of the liturgical year except for Good Friday. Most churches have daily Mass. The contemporary Mass is composed of two major parts: the Liturgy of the Word and the Liturgy of the Eucharist. In the Liturgy of the Word, readings from the Bible are done; and a homily (like the Protestant sermon) is spoken. At Masses on Sundays and feast days, the Nicene Creed, which states the orthodox beliefs of Catholicism, is professed by all Catholics present. The Liturgy of the Eucharist includes the presentation of the gifts of bread and wine, the Eucharistic Prayer, during which the bread and wine become the Body and Blood of Christ, and the communion procession.

The liturgical reform movement has been responsible over the past forty years for a significant convergence of Latin Rite worship practices with that of Protestant churches. One feature of the new liturgical views has been a "return to the sources" (ressourcement), claimed as resulting from the rediscovery of ancient liturgical texts and practices, along with many new practices. The post-conciliar (post-Vatican II) reforms of the liturgy included the use of the vernacular (local) language, a greater emphasis on the Liturgy of the Word, and the clarification of symbolism. The most visible feature of the reforms is the posture of the priest. In the past, the priest faced the altar, with his back to the congregation. The reforms have turned the priest to face the people, with the altar between. This symbolises the desire for the Mass to become more people centered. Critics however have complained about the nature of the post-Vatican II Mass (known sometimes as the Novus Ordo Missae). In 2003, it was revealed that the pre-Vatican II Tridentine Mass was again being celebrated in St. Peter's Basilica (though not on the main altar) and that Pope John Paul II had begun celebrating Tridentine Masses in his private chapel in the Apostolic Palace in the Vatican.

Contemporary Catholicism

The Catholic Church, like most Christian faiths, has experienced a steep decline in its worldwide influence in western society in the late 20th century; its exclusively male leadership structure and rigid doctrinal beliefs on matters to do with human sexuality have less appeal to a more secular western world where diversity in sexual practices and gender equality are the norm. In places where it once played a primary role, such as Quebec, Ireland, and Spain, it holds only a fraction of its former influence. At the same time, however, Roman Catholicism is experiencing a dramatic rise in membership in Africa and parts of Asia. While western missionaries once served as priests in African churches, by the late 20th century a growing number of western nations began to recruit African priests to balance their dwindling numbers of local clergy.

Pressure on traditional mores and practices

• birth control & pre-marital chastity
• homosexuality
• celibacy of the ordained

Ordination of women

As a result of feminism and other social and political movements that have removed barriers to the entry of women into professions that were traditionally male strongholds, in latter quarter of the twentieth century many women sought ordination into the Roman Catholic priesthood.

The traditionalist Roman Catholic position is that women cannot be priests or bishops, on account of the doctrine of apostolic succession. Priests and bishops are successors to the Apostles, and because Jesus Christ chose only men to be the twelve apostles, only men can become priests and bishops. On May 22, 1994, Pope John Paul II issued an apostolic letter, Ordinatio Sacerdotalis (Priestly Ordination) which reaffirmed the traditionalist position, and concluded:

Although the teaching that priestly ordination is to be reserved to men alone has been preserved by the constant and universal Tradition of the Church and firmly taught by the Magisterium in its more recent documents, at the present time in some places it is nonetheless considered still open to debate, or the Church's judgment that women are not to be admitted to ordination is considered to have a merely disciplinary force.

Wherefore, in order that all doubt may be removed regarding a matter of great importance, a matter which pertains to the Church's divine constitution itself, in virtue of my ministry of confirming the brethren (cf. Luke 22:32) I declare that the Church has no authority whatsoever to confer priestly ordination on women and that this judgment is to be definitively held by all the Church's faithful.

Within Roman Catholicism itself, debate on the subject now focuses on whether this statement is meant to invoke papal infallibility and raise the rule that women cannot be Roman Catholic priests to the level of an irreformable dogma of the Roman Catholic Church. That disagreement as to the status reached to the heart of the Church. While some elements around Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger implied strongly that the statement had invoked infallibility, many other elements, notably the Vatican's own press office, explicitly stated it was not, and should not be seen as, an infallible statement. (Disagreements between Ratzinger and official Vatican policy are a regular occurance. His Dominus Iesus statement, for example, disagreed in tone and content with Pope John Paul II's own encyclical on ecumanism. While it was stated that the Pope agreed with and approved Ratzinger's document, a dissenting senior Vatican official discovered on meeting the Pope that John Paul II had not fully read Ratzinger's document.)²

Critics accused some of those attached to Ratzinger's Congregation of trying to make the document sound infallible to try to kill off the debate, in effect spinning a fallible document as infallible. Such an accusation has been made in the pact, notably Pope Paul's encyclical, Humanæ Vitæ about which one conservative curial cardinal stated "the Holy Father has spoken. The issue is forever closed." However the refusal of Pope John Paul's own press spokesman, himself a conservative, to describe the statement as "infallible" has led to a general though not universal presumption that the document is not so. In addition, the Vatican itself formally states that since 1870, only one infallible teaching has been issued by a pope, namely Pope Pius XII's 1950 statement about the bodily assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary into heaven. By implication, neither Humanæ Vitæ nor Ordinatio Sacerdotalis are infallible.

What is missed in the debate is that "what has always been taught" is as infallible as a solemn definition that springs from the Pope's Infallible Magisterium. That which has always been taught by the Church is a part of its Universal Magisterium, which is as infallible as such solemn definitions as that used to define the Assumption of Mary.

Sexual abuse of children

Particular damage has been done to the institution and to its members' trust in it by acts of child sexual abuse by a small but persistent group of clergy. Allegations of abuse have been made against clergy in many parts of the world, with notorious cases hitting the headlines in Spain, Ireland, Canada and the United States. For the Church, the crisis has been two-fold. First, many Roman Catholics had an almost automatic sense of trust in the clergy. The revelation that this trust had been violated repeatedly fundamentally reshaped public attitudes towards the clergy. But secondly, the institution was damaged by the revelation that the Church's leadership seriously mishandled cases of abusers, using Canon Law and diocesan boundaries³ to help clergy avoid popular anger and even criminal sanction. For a full discussion, see Roman Catholic Church sex abuse allegations.

References

Notes

¹ Early lists of popes stated that the first pope was St. Linus. Eamon Duffy, Saints and Sinners: A History of the Popes (Yale Nota Bene, 2002) Appendix A.

² ibid.

³ Technically each diocese operates separately of its neighbours, while religious orders in each diocese are not answerable to or under the control of the local bishop. As a result suspicions about the behaviour of secular priests (priests belonging to the diocese) were not always reported to other dioceses or to religious order-run schools or hospitals, while abuse by religious priests (priests belonging to a religious order) was not always relayed by his order to the diocese and its schools. The most notorious example involved Fr. Brendan Smyth, a Norbertine Order priest in Ireland, whose activities (known about since 1945) were not reported to diocesian clergy let alone the police. In 1994, Brendan Smyth pleaded guilty to a sample set of 17 charges of sexual abuse of children in Belfast from a far longer list. A number of dioceses, the Cardinal Archbishop of Armagh and Smyth's own order publicly blamed each other and accepted no responsibility themselves for the failure to stop Smyth over 47 years.

See also

• Altar rails
• Beatification
• Christianity
• Crusade
• Ecumenical council
• History of Christianity
• Index Librorum Prohibitorum
• Inquisition
• Knights of Columbus
• List of religious topics
• Liturgical Year
• Mass
• Military Ordinariate
• Novus Ordo Missae
• Opus Dei
• Roman Catholicism's links with democracy and dictatorships
• Saint
• Santeria
• Society of Saint Vincent de Paul
• Traditional Catholicism
• Tridentine Mass
• Vatican City
• Witchhunt

Additional Reading

• Catechism of the Catholic Church - English translation (Libreria Editrice Vaticana, 2000). ISBN 1574551108 [1]
• H. W. Crocker III, Triumph - The Power and the Glory of the Catholic Church: A 2,000-Year History (Prima Publishing, 2001). ISBN 0761529241
• Eamon Duffy, Saints and Sinners: A History of the Popes (Yale Nota Bene, 2002). ISBN 0300091656

External links

• The Holy See - The Vatican's Official Website
• Catechism of the Catholic Church
• Topical search engine for the Catechism
• New Advent
• Summa Theologica
• The Catholic Encyclopedia
• Catholic Answers (catholic.com)
• Apologia

  Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "Catholicism."

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List of Roman Emperors

(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)

This is a list of Roman Emperors with the dates they controlled the Roman Empire.

(Note that, contrary to popular belief, Julius Caesar was never Emperor (princeps), although he was named dictator for life in 45 BC (but was not the first Roman to hold that title) and was regarded as such by Roman historians.)

For the worship of the Roman Emperor as a god, see imperial cult.

The Principate

• Augustus (27 BC - AD 14)
• Tiberius (14 - 37)
• Gaius Caligula (37 - 41)
• Claudius (41 - 54)
• Nero (54 - 68)
• Galba (68 - 69)
• Otho (69)
• Vitellius (69)

Flavian Dynasty

• Vespasian (69 - 79)
• Titus Flavius (79 - 81)
• Domitian (81 - 96)

Nervan-Antonian Dynasty

• Nerva (96 - 98)
• Trajan (98 - 117)
• Hadrian (117 - 138)
• Antoninus Pius (138 - 161)
• Marcus Aurelius (161 - 180) (co-emperor Lucius Verus 161 - 169)
• Commodus (180 - 193)

Severan Dynasty

• Pertinax (193) (recognized as emperor by Septimius Severus)
• Septimius Severus (193 - 211) (throne was also claimed by Didius Julianus 193, Pescennius Niger 193 - 194, and Clodius Albinus 193 - 197)
• Caracalla (211 - 217)
• Macrinus (217 - 218)
• Heliogabalus (218 - 222)
• Alexander Severus (222 - 235)

Rulers during the Crisis of the Third Century

• Maximinus Thrax (235 - 238)
• Gordian I and Gordian II (238)
• Pupienus and Balbinus (238)
• Gordian III (238-244)
• Philip the Arab (244-249) (throne claimed by Pacantius 248, Iotapianus 248, and Silbannacus)
• Decius (249-251)
• Herennius Etruscus (251)
• Hostilian (251)
• Trebonianus Gallus (251-253)
• Aemilianus (253)
• Valerian I (253-260)
• Gallienus (260-268) (throne claimed by Aureolus 265)
• Claudius II Gothicus (268-270)
• Quintillus (270)
• Aurelian (270-275)
• Tacitus (275-276)
• Florianus (276)
• Probus (276-282) (throne claimed by Saturninus 280, Proculus 280, and Bonosus 280)
• Carus (282-283)
• Carinus (283-284) (co-emperor Numerian; throne claimed by M. Aurelius Julianus 283)

Tetrarchy

• Diocletian (284 - 305) (co-emperor Maximian 286 - 305)
• Constantius Chlorus (305-306) (co-emperor Galerius 305 - 311)
• Constantine I, the Great (306 - 337) (co-emperors Galerius, Licinius 308 - 324, and Maximinus Daia 308 - 313; throne claimed by Maxentius 306 - 312, and Domitius Alexander 308 - 309)

House of Constantine

• Constantius II (337 - 361) (together with Constantine II 337 - 340, and Constans 337 - 350; throne claimed by Magnentius 350 - 353)
• Julian (361 - 363). Also known as 'the Apostate'
• Jovian (363 - 364)

Valentinian Dynasty

• Valentinian I (364 - 375) (co-emperor Valens 364 - 378; throne claimed by Procopius 364 - 365)
• Gratianus (375 - 383) (co-emperor Valentinian II, 375-392; throne claimed by Magnus Maximus, 383 - 388)

House of Theodosius

• Theodosius I (379 - 395) (throne claimed by Eugenius 392 - 394)

Western Empire

• Honorius (395 - 423) (co-emperor Constantius III 421; throne claimed by Priscus Attalus 409 - 410 and again in 414 - 415, Constantine III 409 - 411, and Jovinus, 411 - 412)
• Valentinian III (423 - 455) (throne also claimed by Joannes 423 - 425)
• Petronius Maximus (455)
• Avitus (456 - 457)
• Majorian (457 - 461)
• Libius Severus (461) - 465)
• Anthemius (467 - 472)
• Olybrius (472)
• Glycerius (473 - 474)
• Julius Nepos - (474 - 475/480)
• Romulus Augustus (a.k.a. Romulus Augustulus) 'last' western emperor (475 - 476)

continuation: see list of Barbarian kings of Rome

Eastern Empire

• Arcadius (395 - 408)
• Theodosius II (408 - 450)
• Marcian (450 - 457)
• Leo I (457 - 474)
• Leo II (474)
• Zeno (474 - 491)
• Basiliscus (475 - 476)
• Zeno (restored) (476 - 491)

continuation: see list of Byzantine Emperors

see also Julio-Claudian family tree; Severan dynasty family tree; Gallic Empire; Roman usurper

External link

There are good biographies of most Roman Emperors in De Imperatoribus Romanis.

Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "List of Roman Emperors."

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Longitude

(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)

Longitude, denoted λ, describes the location of a place on Earth east or west of a north-south line called the prime meridian. Longitude is given in an angular measurement ranging from 0° at the Prime Meridian to plus or minus 180°. Unlike latitude which has the equator as a natural starting position, there is no natural starting position for longitude. Therefore a reference meridian had to be chosen. While British cartographers had long used the Greenwich meridian in London, England, other references were used elsewhere, among others Rome, Copenhagen, Jerusalem, Saint Petersburg, Pisa, Paris and Philadelphia. In 1884, the International Meridian Conference adopted the Greenwich meridian as the universal prime meridian.

Longitude may be determined by calcuating the time difference between the location a person is in and Coordinated Universal Time (UTC). Since there are 24 hours in a day and 360 degrees in a circle, the sun moves 15 degrees per hour (360°/24 hours = 15° per hour). So if the time zone a person is in is three hours ahead of UTC then that person is at 45° longitude (3 hours × 15° per hour = 45°). In order to perform this calculation, however, a person needs to have a chronometer (watch) set to UTC and needs to determine local time by solar observation or astronomical observation. The details are more complex than described here: see the article on Universal Time for more details.

A line of constant longitude is a meridian, and half of a great circle.

This measurement is important to navigation; the discovery of how to measure it accurately was one of the more important discoveries of the 1700s. See Dava Sobel's book: The True Story of a Lone Genius Who Solved the Greatest Scientific Problem of His Time for a good historical overview. This genius was John Harrison who eventually received the Longitude Prize.

See also:

• latitude
• navigation
• sextant
• dead reckoning
• time zone
• Celestial navigation

  Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "Longitude."

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Middle East

(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)

The Middle East, as a geographic entity, comprises the lands around the southern and eastern parts of the Mediterranean Sea, a territory that extends from the eastern Mediterranean Sea to the Persian Gulf. Also called southwestern Asia.

The Middle East includes Turkey, Cyprus, Syria, Lebanon, Iraq, Iran, Israel, Jordan, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Yemen, Oman, Bahrain, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, the West Bank, and the Gaza Strip.

"Middle East" is still not a completely settled term and in some documents this area can also be referred to as the Near East. In some references, "Near East" also includes northeastern Africa. Moreover, the list of countries discussed in the context of Middle East is occasionally extended due to strong cultural, economic and political relationships to include such countries as Morocco, Sudan, Libya, Tunisia, Algeria, Afghanistan, Pakistan and even Greece.

The region is well known for its huge stock of crude oil and for being the birthplace and spritual centre of Judaism, Christianity and Islam.

The Middle East is a subregion of Africa-Eurasia.

See also Levant, History of Levant, Mesopotamia, Orientalism

History

The Middle East is the earliest area in the world to see the development of civilization in Mesopotamia around 2400 BC. The Sumerians, Babylonians, Assyrians and others built important states. Not lon afterwards an even more advanced civilization developed in Egypt.

The first Empire to dominate the region was the Persian Empire, until it was defeated by Alexander the Great who swept through most of the Middle East. The Roman Empire also gained a large presence in the eastern areas, and it was replaced by the Byzantine Empire. While in the east the Sasanian Empire replaced that of the Persians.

The rise of Islam beginning in the year 610 was one of the most important turning points in the history of the Middle East. The Arabs came to dominate almost the entire region, supplanting many of the original cultures. The great Umayyad and Abbasid Caliphates ruled almost all the Middle East.

After Arabian rule centred in Baghdad was ended by a combination if internal decline and external invasion by the Mongols in 1258. The Mongols did not last long in the region and by the 16th century the area was under control of the Ottoman Empire and the Safavid Empire in Persia. The empires lasted for many centuries.

The rise of the economies of western Europe began to transform the region in the 19th century and the region began to fall prey to European colonialism. Egypt was seized by the British in 1882. When the Ottoman Empire finally collapsed after the First World War the Middle East was divided between Britain and France. After the Second World War most of the Middle East was regranted independence.

Since that time the Middle East has fallen behind the rest of the world economically, and has also been plagued with an ongoing conflict between Arabs and Israel. In 1979 the Safavid Empire finally fell to an Islamic revolution in Iran

Transportation

Transportation in the Middle East throughout history was cheaper than in most other areas of the world. While the region lacks rivers, the rivers that did exist, such as the Nile and the Tigris and Euphrates, linked large sections of the population. More importantly, however, was the camel. This hardy and efficient pack animal gave the Middle East a comparative advantage in trade for many centuries.

In part because of this, but mostly because of the impoverished nature of the regional governments railways came very late to the Middle East. In 1883 there were still no railways anywhere outside of Egypt. In those areas that were under European control, such as Egypt after 1882, there was no question of European construction and control of the railways. In areas still under the control of the Ottoman Empire Europeans were also selected to build railways. The area lacked skilled engineers and indigenous efforts were often plagued with technical problems. The most egregious example of this is the Mudanya to Bursa line that was built at too steep a grade for it to be usable by locomotives, and the whole project became a complete waste of resources. Perhaps even more important was a lack of investment capital in the empire, and money for the railway projects was thus raised on the financial markets in Paris, London, and Berlin.

The standard pattern of Middle Eastern railway building was to have the government grant a European company a monopoly over a certain route for a certain period of time. Often added to these concessions were financial guarantees promising that the government would make up a certain portion of any financial loses, if the railways succeeded in carrying a certain annual tonnage. The European companies would raise the large amounts of capital needed to fund the railways on the financial markets in the Western European capitals. There were of course many variations to this pattern. Some railways were built almost entirely by Middle Eastern capital. There is also the Hijaz line that was funded by Muslims from around the world. All these lines still relied upon European engineers, however. In Egypt, while the railways were constructed by European groups, they were managed by a central government organization, but Europeans played an important role there as well.

Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "Middle East."

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Portugal

(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)

Portugal is a country in the extreme southwest of Europe, on the Iberian peninsula, bordering the Atlantic Ocean to the west and south, and Spain to the north and east. It also includes two groups of islands in the Atlantic: the Azores (Açores) and the Madeira.

República Portuguesa

(In Detail)
National motto: None
Official language	Portuguese (Mirandese is officially recognised in a small town.)
Capital	Lisbon
President	Jorge Sampaio
Prime Minister	José Manuel Durão Barroso
Area  - Total  - % water	Ranked 109th 92,391 km² 0.5%
Population  - Total (2001)  - Density	Ranked 79th 10,356,117 112/km²
Independence  - Declared    - Recognised	From Kingdom of Leon 1128, independent county 1139, as a kingdom 1143, by the king of Leon 1179, by the Pope
Currency	Euro¹, Portug. euro coins
Time zones	UTC -1 to 0
National anthem	A Portuguesa
Internet TLD	.PT
Calling Code	351
(1) Prior to 1999: Portuguese escudo

History

Main article: History of Portugal

Emerging from the Reconquista as an independent country in 1143, and with almost always the same main territory border line since the 13th century, Portugal has always been turned to the sea. Since early, fishing and overseas commerce have been main economical activities. Henry the Navigator's interest in exploration together with some technological developments in navigation brought together, gave way to the Portuguese expansion and to great geographical knowledge advancements.

Following its heyday as a world power during the 15th and 16th centuries, Portugal lost much of its wealth and status with the destruction of Lisbon in a 1755 earthquake, occupation during the Napoleonic Wars, and the loss of its Brazilian colony in 1822. A 1910 revolution deposed the Portuguese monarchy starting a period of chaotic republicanism (First Republic); in 1926 a nationalist military coup d'etat began a period of more than five decades of repressive fascist governments.

In 1974, a effectively bloodless left-wing military coup (the Carnation Revolution) installed a government that instituted broad democratic reforms. The following year Portugal granted independence to its colonies in Africa: Mozambique, Angola, Guinea-Bissau, Cape Verde and São Tomé and Príncipe) and lost its colony of East Timor in Asia to an Indonesian invasion. Portugal itself entered the European Union in 1986, whilst another Asian dependency, Macau, reverted to Chinese sovereignty in December 1999.

See also: List of Portuguese monarchs - Kings of Portugal family tree - Timeline of Portuguese history

Politics

Main article: Politics of Portugal

In the years following the 1974 coup Portugal has progressively done away with undemocratic institutions and established itself as a constitutional democracy. The four main organs of Portuguese politics are the presidency, the prime minister and Council of Ministers (the cabinet), the Assembly of the Republic (the parliament), and the Judicial branch.

The president, elected to a 5-year term by direct, universal suffrage, also is commander in chief of the armed forces. Presidential powers include appointing the prime minister and Council of Ministers, in which the president must be guided by the assembly election results. The Council of State, a presidential advisory body, is composed of six senior civilian officers, any former presidents elected since 1976, five members chosen by the Assembly, and five selected by the president.

The government is headed by the prime minister, who names the Council of Ministers. A new government is required to define the broad outline of its policy in a program and present it to the assembly for a mandatory period of debate. Failure of the assembly to reject the program by a majority of deputies confirms the government in office.

The Assembly of the Republic (Assembleia da República) is a unicameral body composed of up to 230 deputies. Elected by universal suffrage according to a system of proportional representation, deputies serve terms of office of 4 years, unless the president dissolves the assembly and calls for new elections.

The national Supreme Court is the court of last appeal. Military, administrative, and fiscal courts are designated as separate court categories. A nine-member Constitutional Tribunal reviews the constitutionality of legislation.

Districts and regions

Main article: Districts of Portugal

Mainland Portugal consists of 18 districts (distritos, singular - distrito):

• Aveiro
• Beja
• Braga
• Bragança
• Castelo Branco
• Coimbra
• Évora
• Faro
• Guarda
• Leiria
• Lisbon (Lisboa)
• Portalegre
• Oporto (Porto)
• Santarém
• Setúbal
• Viana do Castelo
• Vila Real
• Viseu

Beyond these there are two autonomous regions (regiões autónomas): the Azores (Açores) and Madeira. Each district is further subdivided into the Municipalities of Portugal.

Geography

Main article: Geography of Portugal

Continental Portugal is split in two by its main river, the Tagus (Tejo). To the north the landscape is mountainous, though Portugal's highest point is Mount Pico in the Azores at 2,351 m. The south down to the Algarve features mostly rolling plains and the climate here is somewhat warmer and drier than the cooler and rainier north. Other major rivers include the Douro, the Minho and the Guadiana, similar to the Tagus in that all originate in Spain.

Economy

Main article: Economy of Portugal

Portugal has become a diversified and increasingly service-based economy since joining the European Union in 1986. Over the past decade, successive governments have privatised many state-controlled firms and liberalised key areas of the economy, including the financial and telecommunications sectors. The country qualified for the European Monetary Union (EMU) in 1998 and began circulating its new currency, the euro, on January 1, 2002 along with 11 other EU member economies.

Economic growth has been above the EU average for much of the past decade, but GDP per capita stands at just 75% of that of the leading EU economies. The government has failed to reign in a widening deficit and to advance structural reforms needed to boost Portugal's economic competitiveness. A poor educational system, in particular, has been an obstacle to greater productivity and growth. Portugal has been increasingly overshadowed by lower-cost producers in Central Europe and Asia as a target for foreign direct investment.

Demographics

Main article: Demographics of Portugal

Portugal is a fairly homogenous country linguistically, ethnically and religiously; Portuguese is spoken throughout the country, with only the town of Miranda de Douro's Leonese dialect recognised as a locally co-official language as Mirandese, Asturian in Spain is another Leonese dialect but not officially recognized by Spain. Minorities, such as those of African immigrants from the former colonies, number less than 100,000. The majority of the Portuguese population are members of the Roman Catholic Church.

Disputes International

Portugal has periodically reasserted claims to territories around the town of Olivenza, Spain

Culture

Main article: Culture of Portugal

• List of Portuguese people
• Music of Portugal

Miscellaneous topics

• Communications in Portugal
• Transportation in Portugal
• Military of Portugal
• Foreign relations of Portugal

External links

• Portugal.gov.pt - Main governmental portal
• Presidência da República - Official presidential site
• Assembleia da República - Official parliamentary site
• Contemporary Portuguese Political History Research Centre - History and politics

• world-wide press freedom index Rank 7 out of 139 countries (3 way tie)

---

European Union:
Austria  |  Belgium  |  Denmark  |  Finland  |  France  |  Germany  |  Greece  |  Ireland
Italy  |  Luxembourg  |  Netherlands  |  Portugal  |  Spain  |  Sweden  |  United Kingdom

Countries acceding to membership on May 1, 2004:
Cyprus  |  Czech Republic  |  Estonia  |  Hungary  |  Latvia  |  Lithuania  |  Malta  |  Poland  |  Slovakia  |  Slovenia

---

Community of Portuguese Language Countries |  Countries of the world  |  Europe  |  Council of Europe

Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "Portugal."

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The West (U.S.)

(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)

Orange-red states are in the West region.

The U.S. West region refers to what are now the westernmost states of the United States.

The following states are considered part of the West:

• Colorado
• California
• Idaho
• Montana
• Nevada
• Oregon
• Utah
• Washington
• Wyoming

Alaska and Hawaii, being detached from the other western states, have few similarities with them, but are usually also classified as part of the West.

Geography

Natural geography

The West is the most geographically diverse region of the country, with several geographical regions running north to south. Along the Pacific Ocean coast lie the Coast Ranges, which are usually not very tall. They collect a large part of the airborne moisture moving in from the ocean. Even in relatively arid central California, the Coast Ranges squeeze enough water out of the clouds to support the growth of coast redwoods.

East of the Coast Ranges lie several intensively cultivated fertile valleys, notably the San Joaquin Valley of California and the Willamette Valley of Oregon.

Beyond the valleys lie the Sierra Nevada in the south and the Cascade Range in the north. These mountains are some of the highest in the United States. Mount Whitney, at 14,491 feet (4,418 meters) the tallest peak in the contiguous 48 states, is in the Sierra Nevada. The Cascades are also volcanic. Mount Rainier, a volcano in Washington, is also well over 14,000 feet. These mountain ranges are quite wet, capturing most of the moisture that remains after the Coast Ranges, and creating a rain shadow.

East of these great mountain ranges is a vast arid land, encompassing much of Nevada, Utah and Arizona. The Mojave Desert and Sonora Desert are two of the many deserts found here.

Beyond the deserts lie the Rocky Mountains. In the north, they run immediately east of the Cascade Range, so that the desert region does not reach all the way to the Canadian border. The Rockies are hundreds of miles wide, and run uninterrupted from New Mexico to Alaska. The tallest peaks of the Rockies, some of which are over 14,000 feet, are found in central Colorado.

East of the Rocky Mountains begin the Great Plains, a vast grassyy plateau sloping gradually down to the forests near the Mississippi River.

Human geography

Most of these states are growing rapidly. The coastal strip includes several major cities, but the areas between the Rocky Mountains in the east and the Sierra Nevada are still thinly populated. In 2000, Wyoming was the least populous state, with population of 493,782 while California was the most populous, with 33,871,648.

Because the tide of development had not yet reached most of the West when conservation became a national issue, agencies of the federal government own and manage vast areas of land. (The most important among these are the National Park Service and the Bureau of Land Management within the Interior Department, and the U. S. Forest Service within the Agriculture Department.) National parks are reserved for recreational activities such as fishing, camping, hiking, and boating, but other government lands also allow commercial activities like ranching, lumbering and mining. In recent years some local residents who earn their livelihoods on federal land have come into conflict with the land's managers, who are required to keep land use within environmentally acceptable limits.

Culture

Alaska, the northernmost state in the Union, is a vast land of few, but hardy, people, many of them native, and great stretches of wilderness, protected in national parks and wildlife refuges. Hawaii is the only state in the union in which Asian Americans outnumber residents of European stock. Some members of its substantial Native Hawaiian population are resentful of American sovereignty over the island chain. Beginning in the 1980s large numbers of Asians have also settled in California, mainly around Los Angeles.

Los Angeles -- and Southern California as a whole -- bears the stamp of its large Mexican-American population. Now the second largest city in the nation, Los Angeles is best known as the home of the Hollywood film industry. Fueled by the growth of Los Angeles, as well as the San Francisco Bay Area, including "Silicon Valley", California has become the most populous of all the states.

Western cities' reputation for diversity and tolerance has been marred as of recent years by increasing profiling and segregation, police brutality towards minorities, and racially based riots. Nevetheless, perhaps because so many westerners have moved there from other regions to make a new start, as a rule interpersonal relations are marked by an individual and let live attitude. The western economy is varied. California, for example, is both an agricultural state and a high-technology manufacturing state.

Politically, the West is split between the Pacific Coast states and the interior states. The Pacific Coast leans towards the Democratic Party, due to its large number of urban dwellers and Mexican-American farm laborers. The rural interior states are heavily Republican.

Parts of the Mainland West has been exaggerated as the Wild West.

Related topics

• California cuisine
• The Southwest
• The Midwest
• Mid-Atlantic States
• New England
• The South
• Pacific Northwest

  Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "The West (U.S.)."

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West

(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)

West is most commonly a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating direction or geography.

West is the direction towards which the sun sets at the equinox. It is one of the four cardinal points of the compass, upon which it is considered the opposite of East, and at right angles to North and South.

"The West" also often refers to Western countries. When used in this sense, it could mean anything from NATO, Europe and North America with or without Japan to whole Judeo-Christian civilisation. This meaning of the word merges with the concept of Western society.

"West" can also refer to the American West, especially during the end of the 19th century. It is also called the "Old West". Compare The Frontier.

See also: Western movie

Quotes

WEST, n. Part of world which lies to the west (or to the east) of East - Ambrose Bierce

Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "West."

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West Africa

(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)

West Africa is an area with a great span of geography, bioregions, and cultures. The continent of Africa is principally oriented on a north-south axis, with a bulge to the west, and it is this bulge which may be considered West Africa. However, the term is usually restricted to the sub-Saharan areas of this western bulge.

The coast of this area of Africa is on the south Atlantic Ocean, much of it trending east-west. Portions of this coast were once known as the Grain Coast, the Gold Coast, and the Ivory Coast.

The coast is largely tropical, and a belt of tropical forest once followed the coast through most of this area. North and inland from this area, the land opens into savanna, then the Sahel.

Nations in this area (with the former colonial powers that controlled them), bordering the Atlantic, from northwest to southeast are:

• Senegal (France)
• The Gambia; along the Gambia River, enclosed in Senegal (United Kingdom)
• Guinea-Bissau (Portugal)
• Guinea (France)
• Sierra Leone (United Kingdom)
• Liberia
• Côte d'Ivoire (Ivory Coast) (France)
• Ghana (United Kingdom)
• Togo (Germany, France)
• Benin, formerly Dahomey (France)
• Nigeria (United Kingdom)
• Cameroon, also spelled Cameroun (France, United Kingdom)

Interior countries include:

• Mali (France)
• Burkina Faso (France)
• Niger (France)

Colonial boundaries as reflected in the modern boundaries between contemporary West African nations, cut across ethnic and cultural lines, often dividing single ethnic groups between two or more countries.

Historically, the area was home to several major African empires, including:

• the Mali Empire
• the Songhai Empire
• the Ghana Empire.

  Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "West Africa."

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West Coast of the United States

(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)

In general, the term "West Coast" is a nickname for the coastal states of the Western United States, viz. California, Oregon and Washington. The West Coast is a subset of the West.

It has also come to be called "The Coast", especially by New Yorkers, or the "Left Coast," a pun based on its lefthand position on a map of the US as well as its reputation for being more socially liberal -- or left wing -- than the East Coast or Midwest.

The term has been taken by rap music performers when used to refer to a particular school of artists. The East Coast/West Coast dichotomy has led to violence and much rhetoric.

See also: Geography of the Western United States

Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "West Coast of the United States."

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West Coast rap

(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)

In the 1980s, hip hop music began to break into the mainstream of the United States. A series of artists like Grandmaster Flash and Slick Rick brought the sound to new listeners; all of these early recording artists were based out of New York City. On the other side of the country, Los Angeles-based rappers like N.W.A, Ice-T Egyptian Lover and others were developing their own sound, which came to be known as West Coast rap.

During the early 1980s, hip hop established itself in Los Angeles. Early hardcore performers included King Tee, Toddy Lee and Ice-T, while World Class Wreckin' Cru, Egyptian Lover and the Arabian Prince innovated a style called electro hop (or simply electro). Electro hop was dance music, and many East Coast critics and rap purists detested it, and electro hop never achieved much mainstream success.

Hardcore gangsta rap from LA achieved little success until the end of the 80s, though Toddy Lee's "Batter" (1985, 1985 in music) and Ice-T's "6'n da Mornin'" (1986, 1986 in music) did have some national exposure. Ice-T's 1987 (1987 in music) Rhyme Pays was the first West Coast LP to achieve critical acclaim, and it also sold surprisingly well for a hip hop album, especially a West Coast hip hop album. N.W.A.'s N.W.A. and the Posse came out shortly thereafter and similarly made waves among hip hop listeners nationwide, and also helped jumpstart the demise of electro hop on the West Coast.

In 1989 (1989 in music), N.W.A. released the blockbuster Straight Outta Compton and put the West Coast on the hip hop map. The sound was influenced by hardcore, metal-tinged performers like Ice-T, Latino sounds like Cypress Hill, the popular success of MC Hammer and the P Funk samples and humor of Digital Underground. Straight Outta Compton united these sounds with minimalistic beats and hard-hitting social commentary.

In the early 1990s, rap was split by a rivalry between the two coasts. N.W.A. splintered apart, with all three members acrimoniously beginning solo careers. The minimalistic rage and furor of N.W.A. continued on the Public Enemy-influenced recordings of Ice Cube, though Dr. Dre's G funk came to dominate the West Coast. G funk relied on P funk samples to create a stoned, hazy beat that was defined by Death Row Records' stable of artists. Most importantly was The Chronic (1992), Dr. Dre's solo debut that launched the careers of future G funk stars Warren G and Snoop Doggy Dogg.

The inter-coast rivalry culminated in the murders of Tupac Shakur and Notorious B.I.G. After this, hip hop splintered again. Though West Coast rap remained popular among white audiences, hip hop critics and fans were listening to a new breed of East Coast rappers like Nas and Wu-Tang Clan, with their sparse and menacing beats, reacting against the East Coast's king of pop-rap, Puff Daddy and Bad Boy Records. In comparison, the humor of Snoop, Coolio and other West Coast rappers was seen as juvenile and immature. The late 1990s also saw a diversification of hip hop, with Atlanta, St. Louis, Chicago and New Orleans emerging with distinctive sounds.

By the turn of the millennium, West Coast rap's primacy had ended and East Coast superstars like Jay-Z had taken over. Eminem's emergence from the Detroit hip hop scene and his loyalty to Dr. Dre has revitalized the industry, but his swift, catchy and angry humor bears little resemblance to G funk.

• Above the Law
• Ant Banks
• Compton's Most Wanted
• Coolio
• Cypress Hill
• Da Brat
• Defari
• Del Tha Funkee Homosapien
• Digital Underground
• DJ Quik
• The D.O.C
• Dr. Dre
• Dru Down
• E-40
• Eazy-E
• Flesh-N-Bone
• Ice Cube
• Ice-T
• Kid Frost
• Kurupt
• Mack 10
• MC Hammer
• Nate Dogg
• N.W.A
• Pharcyde
• Rappin' 4-Tay
• Snoop Doggy Dogg
• Souls of Mischief
• Tha Doggpound
• Tone Loc
• Too $hort
• Tupac Shakur
• Warren G
• Xzibit
• Young MC

  Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "West Coast rap."

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West Germanic language

(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)

Language classification
Indo-European languages Germanic languages West Germanic languages

West Germanic is the largest branch of the Germanic family of languages, inlcuding such languages as English, Dutch, and German.

The other families of Germanic are North Germanic and Gothic.

Family tree

Note that divisions between subfamilies of Germanic are rarely precisely defined; most form continuous clines, with adjacent dialects being mutually intelligible and more separated ones not.

• English (descending from Anglo-Saxon)
  • Modern English (with a significant influx of French vocabulary)
  • Lowland Scots
  • Cayman Islands English (not a creole)
  • Angloromani (with a significant influx of Romani vocabulary)
• Frisian
• Low German (descending from Old Saxon / Old Low Franconian)
  • Low Franconian
    • Dutch
    • West Flemish
    • Afrikaans (with a significant influx of vocabulary from Malay and native African languages)
  • Low Saxon
    • Several dialects in northern Germany and the Netherlands
    • Plautdietsch (Mennonite Low German)
• High German
  • German
    • Middle German
      • East Middle German
        • Standard German
        • Lower Silesian
        • Upper Saxon
      • Luxembourgeois
      • West Middle German
        • Several dialects in western Germany
        • Pennsylvania German
    • Upper German
      • Alemannic
        • Swiss German
        • Swabian
        • Alemán Coloneiro (spoken in Venezuela)
      • Walser
      • Austro-Bavarian
        • Bavarian
        • Cimbrian (with a heavy influx of Italian vocabulary)
        • Mócheno
        • Hutterite German (spoken by Hutterites)
    • Fränkisch (extinct in the 1800s)
  • Yiddish (with a significant influx of vocabulary from Hebrew and written in the Hebrew alphabet)

    Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "West Germanic language."

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West Germany

(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)

West Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany or FRG (German language: Bundesrepublik Deutschland or BRD), was proclaimed May 23, 1949 and included the post-World War II UK, US, and French occupation zones. West Germany joined NATO on May 9, 1955 and thus became a focus of the Cold War with its juxtaposition to Warsaw Pact member East Germany (the former capital, Berlin, was also divided but was completely within East Germany).

After the fall of the Berlin Wall on November 9, 1989, the unification of West Germany and East Germany took place October 3, 1990; all four powers formally relinquished rights March 15, 1991.

The territories of the former West Germany and East Germany now forms the territory of Germany.

Related articles

• History of Germany since 1945
• Politics of Germany
• Flag of West Germany

  Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "West Germany."

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West, Mississippi

(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)

West is a town located in Holmes County, Mississippi. As of the 2000 census, the town had a total population of 220.

Geography

West is located at 33°11'50" North, 89°46'45" West (33.197266, -89.779288)¹. According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 1.5 km² (0.6 mi²). 1.5 km² (0.6 mi²) of it is land and none of it is covered by water.

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there are 220 people, 94 households, and 64 families residing in the town. The population density is 151.7/km² (394.6/mi²). There are 113 housing units at an average density of 77.9/km² (202.7/mi²). The racial makeup of the town is 56.36% White, 42.73% African American, 0.00% Native American, 0.45% Asian, 0.00% Pacific Islander, 0.00% from other races, and 0.45% from two or more races. 2.27% of the population are Hispanic or Latino of any race. There are 94 households out of which 26.6% have children under the age of 18 living with them, 54.3% are married couples living together, 13.8% have a female householder with no husband present, and 30.9% are non-families. 29.8% of all households are made up of individuals and 20.2% have someone living alone who is 65 years of age or older. The average household size is 2.34 and the average family size is 2.88. In the town the population is spread out with 22.7% under the age of 18, 7.7% from 18 to 24, 25.9% from 25 to 44, 18.6% from 45 to 64, and 25.0% who are 65 years of age or older. The median age is 40 years. For every 100 females there are 91.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there are 88.9 males. The median income for a household in the town is $25,625, and the median income for a family is $45,625. Males have a median income of $22,083 versus $12,396 for females. The per capita income for the town is $18,398. 20.9% of the population and 14.9% of families are below the poverty line. Out of the total people living in poverty, 20.9% are under the age of 18 and 31.2% are 65 or older.

Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "West, Mississippi."

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West, Texas

(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)

West is a city located in McLennan County, Texas. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 2,692.

Geography

West is located at 31°48'12" North, 97°5'35" West (31.803369, -97.093106)¹. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 4.0 km² (1.6 mi²). 4.0 km² (1.6 mi²) of it is land and none of the area is covered with water.

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there are 2,692 people, 1,045 households, and 698 families residing in the city. The population density is 666.3/km² (1,731.1/mi²). There are 1,143 housing units at an average density of 282.9/km² (735.0/mi²). The racial makeup of the city is 92.09% White, 4.20% African American, 0.56% Native American, 0.07% Asian, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 1.78% from other races, and 1.26% from two or more races. 8.14% of the population are Hispanic or Latino of any race. There are 1,045 households out of which 33.0% have children under the age of 18 living with them, 50.7% are married couples living together, 11.8% have a female householder with no husband present, and 33.2% are non-families. 29.6% of all households are made up of individuals and 18.1% have someone living alone who is 65 years of age or older. The average household size is 2.43 and the average family size is 3.03. In the city the population is spread out with 25.3% under the age of 18, 6.8% from 18 to 24, 25.9% from 25 to 44, 17.0% from 45 to 64, and 25.0% who are 65 years of age or older. The median age is 39 years. For every 100 females there are 85.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there are 76.6 males. The median income for a household in the city is $32,580, and the median income for a family is $43,090. Males have a median income of $30,292 versus $22,825 for females. The per capita income for the city is $15,421. 15.9% of the population and 13.7% of families are below the poverty line. Out of the total people living in poverty, 19.5% are under the age of 18 and 17.6% are 65 or older.

Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "West, Texas."

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Western countries

(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)

The term Western countries (sometimes the West or the Occident) is somewhat imprecisely defined - derived from the old dualism of East (Asia) and West (Europe) - now used to refer to wealthy and industrialised countries, as the inheritants of European societies, and their colonial legacies. The term is sometimes used as a synonym for the Western societies.

Depending on context, the Western countries may be restricted to the founding members of NATO in addition to Germany, Spain, and the non-aligned Austria, Finland, Sweden and Switzerland. A broader definition might extend to Australia, New Zealand, Japan, South Korea, the Republic of China (Taiwan), Israel and some of the more prosperous Warsaw Pact states.

Latin America is sometimes considered part of the West and sometimes not. Mainland China, the remainder of the Middle East, India, and Russia are generally not considered part of the West.

Western countries have in common a high (relative) standard of living for most citizens - compared to the rest of the world. They may also have democratic, (mostly secular) governments, and developed bodies of laws that have some expression of rights (for its own citizens) in law. Also, high levels of education, and a similar, "modern" popular culture may reflect the Western or Westernized society. Militarily and diplomatically, these "Western" societies have generally been allied with each other to one degree or another since World War Two. In fact, some would argue that this is the definition of the West and explains why Japan is usually considered Western while Ecuador is not.

More typically, the term "The West" contains a pejorative meaning - simply to describe and deliniate the wealthy and dominant societies from the poorer societies - those who are subjugated economically, miltarily, and otherwise, by deliberate restraints placed on them by the wealthier ones. "The West" then becomes simply a term to mean: "Wealthy, Colonial (slave-holding), Europe-descended (or allied) societies." The derived meaning of the above, in current use, tends to translate as: "Those who control the world" or "Those who seek to continue in domination of others and their lands."

Oftentimes use of the term "The West" was motivated by racist attitudes towards Slavic Europeans, in that the term was not encompassing of them whereas "Europe" is.

The term The North has in many contexts replaced earlier usage of the term "the west", particularly in this critical sense. It is a little more coherent, because there is some absolute geographical definition of "northern countries", and this distinction statistically happens to capture most wealthy countries (and many wealthy regions within countries).

Evolution

The concept of The West, of course, has changed over time. Japan in 1955, (immediately after its occupation by the US) would be considered by most to be part of the West - while Japan in 1750 would not. Similarly, North America in 1850 would be considered part of the West while it would not be in 1450, or 1500, even - before substantial colonization had occurred.

There are ideals that some associate with the West, and there are many who consider Western values to be universally superior. The author Francis Fukuyama argues that Western values are destined to triumph over the entire world.

However, there are many who question the meaning of the notion of Western values and point out that societies such as Japan and the United States are very different. Furthermore, they point out that advocates of Western values are selective in what they include as Western; usually including for example the concepts of freedom, democracy, and free trade, but not Communism and Nazism, both of which began in the West, or slavery, which reached massive levels in the West, and whose history in the West goes back millennia. Therefore by selecting what values are part of Western values one can tautologically show that they are superior, since any inferior values by definition are not Western.

A different attack on the concept of Western values is advocated by those who advocate Islamic values or Asian values. In this view, there are a coherent set of traits that define the West, but those traits are inferior and are usually associated with moral decline, greed, and decadence.

Historically, one of the interesting questions is how did the societies associated with "the West" come to dominate the world between 1750 and 1950.

See also: OECD, Group of Eight, Eastern bloc, Third World, Pacific Rim

The West also refers to the Western United States, especially during the period of settlement, see The Western Frontier

Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "Western countries."

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Western society

(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)

The term Western society frequently refers to the societies of Europe and their genealogical, colonial, and philosophical descendants. It is in contrast to Eastern societies; those of Asian origin, and their descendant cultures. The term is often used simply as a synonym of the Western countries.

Western society may follow a chain beginning with the philosophers of Athens such as Solon and Socrates. It continued through the Roman Empire and, with the addition of Christianity (which had its origins in the East), spread throughout Europe. During the colonial era, it became implanted in the Americas and in Australasia.

One should distinguish "Western society" from the socio-economic term "first world" in that, for example, South America is sometimes mentioned as a Western society, but much of it is poor. Japan is wealthy and part of the "first world" but is not Western from a cultural standpoint. Compare the North.

Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "Western society."

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Abbreviations & Acronyms: West

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Synonyms within Context: West

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Modern Usage: West

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Commercial Usage: West