Let's Give The Muslims A Day Off

[Pyrrho]

Didn't different European Christian groups spend a lot of time killing one another in the name of religion?

That's true.
I'm not sure what I'm suggesting.  
Why did the industrial revolution, the enlightenment, etc. happen in Western Europe? Why not Eastern Europe or China or the Ottoman Empire?

Separation of church and state was a novel idea. Gobekli Tepe suggests that religion was the impetus for agriculture and urbanization - not the reverse as people used to assume. Religion was the reason for the existence of early cities like Uruk. The population viewed themselves as slaves working on a plantation owned by their city's god. Originally these cities had no kings, but, even when kings did appear, they were viewed as caretakers in service of the city's god.

In Eastern Orthodox, the head of the church is usually tightly-coupled to the head of the state. In Roman Catholicism, there was more tension between religion and state. I'm not sure if this was a significant factor - just wondering.

The answer to your question is not fully known, nor is what is known universally agreed upon.  However, here is an attempt at answering it; I will give the Wikipedia article first to give you the rough idea, but you might want to watch the show or read the book if you are very interested in the question:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guns,_Germs,_and_Steel

http://www.pbs.org/gunsgermssteel/

Even if one disagrees with Jared Diamond, it is something one should read and deal with, if one is serious about the subject.  It is certainly a more serious and intellectual reply to the question than what you would get from the typical member of the KKK or Neo-Nazi.


Your question reminds me of the question of why the ancient Greeks advanced civilization so much.  It, too, is a matter that is debated and is not fully understood.  Here is an introduction to the idea:

http://atheistforums.org/thread-31981.html