Where is "the West"?

Aofen:

The Geographical West

The term the “Western Hemisphere” is usually used to refer to the half of the world west of the Prime Meridian and east of the 180° Meridian. In a narrower sense, the term is sometimes used to refer to just the Americas, excluding the parts of Africa and Eurasia that are included in the first definition.

The Cultural West

“The West" is often used in a cultural sense to refer to Europe and places heavily influenced by them. In more narrow definitions, the term excludes Eastern Europe, while in a more broad sense nearby areas in Asia are sometimes also included. The distinction dates to antiquity, with the ancient Greeks drawing a distinction between themselves and the Persians to the East, and the later Roman Empire having a cultural division between a more Greek influenced eastern half and Latin influenced western half.

The Geopolitical West

The modern Geopolitical use of East and West dates to the Cold War, when Europe was divided geographically between a communist Soviet-aligned Eastern Bloc and a capitalist Western Bloc aligned with the United States. In modern times “the West" is still often used in a geopolitical sense to refer to NATO and the other wealthy liberal democracies that are aligned with them. More broader definitions can include all liberal democracies, or in a very broad definition all countries that are allied or friendly to them.

The Religious West

One of the oldest and most enduring uses of the term is for the division between Western and Eastern Christianity, a distinction deriving from various cultural and theological differences which culminated in a series of schisms between religious leaders in different parts of the Christian world. Western Christianity generally includes Roman Catholicism and most Protestant denominations, while Eastern Christianity includes Eastern and Oriental Orthodoxy, Eastern Rite Catholics, and other related churches. “Western Religion” is sometimes also used a different broader sense to refer to all Abrahamic religions in contrast to “Eastern” religions such as Buddhism, Hinduism, or Daoism.

Collection: placenames - Tags: west, placenames - Source: reddit.com