Ominously vibrating topiary
While I was asked for and gave citations for my claim that the Church(es) did not "stifle scientific advancement", I note that there have been no attempts to justify that stance. Consider:
The great universities were established by and for the church. E.g. Oxford, Cambridge, Paris, etc.
France did not secularise its universities until 1905, England followed in 1914. Note that London University was established as the first secular university in England in 1826, but that can hardly be claimed to be the earliest example of a university teaching science*.
Presumably, the science conducted by for example Robert Hooke and Robert Boyle at Oxford and at Cambridge by Isaac Newton, either never took place, or was ruthlessly suppressed in your alternate universe.
* Science used here in its modern sense. Prior to 1867 it was called Natural Philosophy.
Biting the hand that feeds IT
