Religion from the Renaissance to the beginning of the Enlightenment
The Renaissance period brought about changes in the cultural and social arrangements of the people living during this era. The Catholic Church was still the major religion during this era. One of the major strengths of the Catholic Church during the beginning of the Renaissance was its ability to hold the norms and traditions of the society. During the Renaissance period, the church was an integral part of the society. It defined what rules and regulations people were to follow and how they lived their lives. The Catholic Church provided an avenue for people to hold onto the cultural and social beliefs they had developed over time (Wolffe 89). In the midst of all the changes that were taking place at the time, it was important to find a way to retain the traditions that the people had followed for so long. Even with the growing opposition to the Catholic Church, people still held onto some of the teachings that had become part of them as taught by the church. In fact, even when people moved away from the Catholic Church, they still carried some of the traditions as defined by the Catholic Church. In addition the Catholic Church also provided a well defined hierarchy in the church. There lineage of the church was well developed and people had become familiar with it. This was a positive aspect since people were familiar with the structure of the Catholic Church.
The Protestant Revolt presented some different views which were the source for change during the Renaissance, moving forward to the Enlightenment. First, the Protestant Revolt presented an avenue where people could relate directly with God as opposed to going through priests. One of the problems that the...
... middle of paper ...
...involve people from different social and political backgrounds (Smith). However, the Thirty Years War brought about negative consequences to both Catholicism and Protestantism. First and most important, this way claimed millions of people who were affiliated to both sides. This meant that the membership of both sides reduced significantly. Both sides sent out troops most of who died during the war. Civilians were also affected largely by the war with women and children living deplorably as a result of the war. Both Catholics and Protestants experienced the deplorable living conditions during the war (Smith). Food was not enough as agricultural activities were reduced as more people joined the war. In addition, the spread of disease was accelerated by the war leading to many deaths. In general, the Thirty Years War was a setback to both Protestantism and Catholicism.
In de-emphasizing the role of the Church, it’s rituals, and offices, and supplanting them with a more direct and personal approach to God and spirituality; the Protestant Reformation, through the works of Martin...
The Enlightenment of the 18th century evolved due to the many changes brought about by the Scientific Revolution. With all of the new scientific discoveries, new thought processes were developed. The scientists of the Scientific Revolution brought about revolutionary change. These scientists inspired the philosophes of the Enlightenment to challenge the ways of the "Old Regime" and question the ideas of the church. Philosophers such as Francois Voltaire, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, and John Locke published their controversial ideas and these ideas along with some important political action, helped to mold a new type of society. The new society was one that tolerated different religious beliefs. "The minds of men, abandoning the old disciplines and contentions of theology, turned to what they called "natural philosophy," namely, the faith in individual reason rather than in divine revelation; they welcomed the excitement offered by the ever widening opportunities for discovery and commerce and by the prospect of immeasurable progress owing to the inventions of science and technology and the spread of education."1 Religious toleration during the Age of Enlightenment was ultimately affected by changes in the Roman Catholic Church, the politics of the 18th century, and the philosophy movement.
Theological Context." Reformation & Renaissance Review: Journal of The Society For Reformation Studies 7, no. 2/3: 337-346. Academic Search Premier, EBSCOhost (accessed March 24, 2014).
Proving to be the paramount of the conflict between faith and reason, the European Enlightenment of the eighteenth century challenged each of the traditional values of that age. Europeans were changing, but Europe’s institutions were not keeping pace with that change.1 Throughout that time period, the most influential and conservative institution of Europe, the Roman Catholic Church, was forced into direct confrontation with these changing ideals. The Church continued to insist that it was the only source of truth and that all who lived beyond its bounds were damned; it was painfully apparent to any reasonably educated person, however, that the majority of the world’s population were not Christians.2 In the wake of witch hunts, imperial conquest, and an intellectual revolution, the Roman Catholic Church found itself threatened by change on all fronts.3 The significant role that the Church played during the Enlightenment was ultimately challenged by the populace’s refusal to abide by religious intolerance, the power of the aristocracy and Absolutism, and the rising popularity of champions of reform and print culture, the philosophes, who shared a general opposition to the Roman Catholic Church.
Roper, H. R.. The crisis of the seventeenth century; religion, the Reformation, and social change. [1st U.S. ed. New York: Harper & Row, 19681967. Print.
The periods during the Reformation, Industrial Revolution, and the World at War all experienced religious and church conflicts. During the Renaissance and Reformation (1330 – 1650), the fundamental practices of the church came under fire. The church at this time was the largest and most political body. The pope, himself, was the most recognizable political figure. It was due to this authority that the church and its pope were more interested in political issues and less with the spiritual needs of the people (McGraw-Hill, p. 76). Many of the Roman Catholic Church’s high priests had bought their way into position and had very little religious experience. Often the only members of the community that were literate were the clergy thus adding to their control of the common people.
Throughout the time of the Middle Ages the Roman Catholic Church served as one of the most influential institutions in all of Medieval Europe, the Church served as a significant force in the arts, crafts and culture of Europe. The Church had a ranking structure (hierarchy) that was in many ways almost identical to the Feudal System, this showed that the Church had much power in those times then they do today and showed the influence that the Church had in those times. The power and the influence of the Church in those times were mainly roo...
(Christianity) The christian church effected the renaissance by influencing who have the same rights and are equally the same people. G. K. Chesterton said "The renaissance was a resurrection of old things discovered by dead things". In christian light the renaissance scholars tried to discard their christian eyes, and look at thing as purely pagan. A purely secular buisness culture and buisnessmen discarded their christianity when they were in the office, for the first time in christian europe. Martin Luther King Jr, Calvin, and Henry the 8th looked at there futures and what they wanted more than what
Giotto’s Arena Chapel, Duccio’s Maestà, and Masaccio’s Trinity are only a few examples of the Church’s overarching influence on Renaissance art. Without the Church, there would have been no art. It was the increasing popularity of the Church with new orders of monks in the 1200s that created a greater need for religious images, and with more production of art, the style began to change. Religion was such an integral part of Renaissance culture that it makes sense that it would be the focus of its creativity.
At the start of the sixteenth century, the Reformation had put an ungracious end to the dependent unification that had prevailed under the Roman Catholic Church. In response to the growing sense of corruption in the church, the reformation began. Many people began opposing views of how Christian practices were expressed, which led to the formation and spread of Protestantism. While the Pope is head of the Catholic Church, Protestantism is a general term that refers to Christianity that is not subject to papal authority. (1.)
The renaissance and the reformation were two of the most significant changes in history that has shaped our world today. Both of these great time periods are strikingly similar in some ways and totally different in others. This is because the renaissance was a change from religion to humanism whether it is in art or literature; it is where the individual began to matter. However, the reformation was,” in a nutshell,” a way to reform the church and even more so to form the way our society is today. The first half of this paper will view the drop in faith, the economic powers, and the artistic and literary changes during the renaissance, while the second half will view the progresses and changes the church makes during the reformation.
The Middle Ages was a long period of time. It started in about the 500 A.D. and ended in about 1500 A.D. Not many things can last for this long period of time, but at least one thing did, and that was the Catholic Church. The Catholic Church consists of Popes, Bishops, Clergy, and Monks, and Nuns were also part of the Church. Also during the Middle Ages, it also produced many great philosophers (Funk & Wagnall’s, 275). From the Middle Ages to the 13th century, the church played important role as authority, influence. The Catholic Church held up due to the power of the Pope, Pope Gregory’s policies, and the Church was a part of the citizen’s daily lives.
The radical Enlightenment understanding of religion is the belief that religion in general is harmful for society and that it shouldn’t exist. This belief is shared by people who think that religion should be substituted with a rationale belief system, one that can be reasoned with (Kant, Spinoza, Hume, and Reimarus). Hume, Kant, Spinoza, and Reimarus viewed religion negatively in general and especially disagreed with Christianity. Reimarus believed that the system of religion was actually made and based off of lies and dishonesty. Similarly, Kant thought that religion was just a superstition and held no interest in it. They also believed in complete equality in the sense that everything should be completely fair rather than decided upon at
Secularism is a term used to describe a greater focus on reason and science rather than religious matters. Those who practiced the idea of secularism studied the world more incisively through physical experience, and substantial concepts. Secularists thought about ideas more objectively than religiously, which didn’t necessarily conflict with their Christian faith. The Church really did nothing to stop the growth of Secularism, and many Church officials often supported it. Secularism forced the people of the Renaissance to think about why things happen. Before the breakthrough of the idea of Secularism, people just believed what the Church told them without even thinking about why. The Renaissance was a birth of intellectual change and prosperity.
The Roman Catholic Church had complete influence over the lives of everyone in medieval society including their beliefs and values. The Church’s fame in power and wealth had provided them with the ability to make their own laws and follow their own social hierarchy. With strong political strength in hand, the Church could even determine holidays and festivals. It gained significant force in the arts, education, religion, politics as well as their capability to alter the feudal structure through their wealth and power.