Dehellenization

Dehellenization refers to a disillusionment with forms of Greek philosophy that emerged in the Hellenistic Period, and in particular to a rejection of the use of reason. The term was first used in 2006 by Pope Benedict XVI in a speech “Faith, Reason, and the University: Memories and Reflections,” to refer to attempts to separate Christianity from Greek philosophical thought. Subsequently, the term figured prominently in Robert R. Reilly’s book The Closing of the Muslim Mind: How Intellectual Suicide Created the Modern Islamist Crisis, to refer to what Reilly characterized as "the religion of Islam’s divorce from reason and rationality." The extent and significance of dehellenization in both the Christian and Islamic religious traditions continues to be widely disputed.

The Hellenistic Period begins with the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BC and ends with the emergence of the Roman Empire. For the purpose of defining dehellenization, the Hellenistic Period is known for the emergence of a number of philosophical theories, including Neoplatonism, Epicureanism, Skepticism, Cynicism, Stoicism, among others. An underlying element common to all of these schools of thought is an emphasis on human rationality and the ability to reason.

Pope Benedict XVI argues that several keys ideas in Christian thought reveal the hellenization of Christianity:

Although Jesus’s followers were reluctant to succumb to the Hellenistic rulers' attempts to force them into Greek "idolatry" and customs, the Pope argues that they were nevertheless able to extract the most enriching element of Hellenistic thought, namely that man has not only the ability but also the obligation to think rationally.

The conquest of Persia and parts of Central Asia by Alexander the Great beginning in 330 BC was accompanied by an extensive dissemination of Greek culture and thought beyond the Mediterranean area. Although Persia was eventually reclaimed by the Persians, Hellenistic influence continued in the area.

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