Secularism In The Renaissance

The issue of religion is presumably the most questionable point of the Renaissance period. With the Catholic Church tangled up in discussion over force, corruption, nepotism and the Pope's fathering of illegitimate kids, numerous followers moved in the opposite direction of the Church and embraced another improved rendition of their beliefs. The increase of education additionally influenced the Catholic Church, as professors adapted more they understood that the Church was lecturing just what they supported to the followers. Possibly the most significant religious occasion during the Renaissance history, was the Protestant Reformation, which was established by Martin Luther in Germany. During the Renaissance the Catholic Church built up a profound

The Renaissance, or the reawakening, was the burst of sudden interest in Greek and Roman culture. Artists like Michelangelo, and writers like Shakespeare, were popularised. The Renaissance’s base lied on humanism, or the idea that individuals should pursue their own interests. However, humanism was not exclusive to the Renaissance. Humanism impacted the Renaissance, Scientific Revolution, and Protestant Reformation by encouraging individual thought, causing people to learn from each other, and pressing people to criticise traditions, and authority.

Arguably the greatest and longest impacting movement brought about by the forward thinkers of the Renaissance was humanism. Humanism was a cultural and intellectual movement that emphasized the human potential to attain excellence through direct study of the literature, art, and civilization of the classical Greek and Roman societies (Merriam-Webster). The scholars and believers in humanism sought to change the course of society away from the narrow pedantry of medieval scholasticism and utilitarianism. Humanism was a basic desire for every citizen to be able to speak with eloquence and read and write with clarity, so that common citizens were capable of engaging in the civic life of their communities (Gray). The movement also emphasized the value of a human being as well as the importance of rational thought rather than blind faith in spiritualism or superstition. It also pushed people to explore human desires and pleasures while also enriching their minds. The influential nature of humanism was far reaching and most notable for its effects on Renaissance art, literature, and philosophy.

Finally, another big difference between the Reformation and Renaissance was their beliefs on the means of acquiring salvation. Most of the people in the Renaissance did not understand salvation. The Renaissance Man cared little for religious salvation, and mostly tried to reach his highest end, living for experience and earthly knowledge. The Protestant Reformers tried to follow what they found in the Bible, which required justification by Grace through Faith alone.

The Renaissance challenged the status quo of the Middle Ages. During the Middle Ages, the Church had authority over most people. These people also had limited rights. All of this changed during the Renaissance. This period of time focused on the philosophy of humanism, which embodied the idea that humans were a significant part of the world. The Renaissance changed man’s view of man through the institutions of literature, astronomy, anatomy, and art.

Contrary to the Middle Ages, when the afterlife and glorifying God was the primary focus, the Renaissance concentrated increasingly on the present day, demonstrating a more secular philosophy. Humanism developed, making human beings, and not God, the center of attention. People not longer considered their lives solely as a preparation for the afterlife, but instead gave them actual value. The church's authority fused with that of the state, resulting in a monopolized power greatly influenced by religion. The rejection of the secular spirit of the Italian Renaissance can be seen in the varying art themes of the Reformation. The Reformation rejected the secular spirit that had developed during the Italian Renaissance and replaced it with a

The political stability and prosperity of the Renaissance Period created an atmosphere where people’s interests returned to the ancient teachings of Rome and Greece. This resulted in an increased interest in art, especially art that highlighted an individual’s experience. During this time there was little turmoil and the economy was flourishing, so people could live more extravagantly. The art of the Renaissance Period reflected this extravagance as well as the time period’s return to an interest in humanism. Humanism arose out of classical thinking in Rome and Greece and was based on the importance of the overall human experience.

Individualism and Secularism were ideas that were introduced in the Renaissance and became fairly popular with the citizens who had experienced this time period. Secularism and Individualism though separate terms have a lot in common. They both have to do with separation of church from daily life. Secularism separating the government, and individualism pushing people to look less at what the Bible said and more at what was relative to their day to day lives. The emphasis on these two ideas during the Renaissance affected the way people wrote, drew, and created architecture, by pushing them away from religion and focusing more on day to day life and the people involved with it. So, the ideas of secularism and individualism had affected the

The shift between the Middle Ages and the Renaissance was characterized by great socio-economic, political, and religious changes. Politically, the feudal system of the Middle Ages was exchanged for a more stable centralized republic/monarchy system that gave the people more freedom and input. Religiously, secularism became more important as stability gave people a chance to concern themselves with the “here and now” rather than simply the “hereafter.” Socially, there was a shift from dogma and unshakeable belief to humanism and the ability to interpret things for oneself. The Middle Ages began around 400 CE and lasted until 1400 CE while the Renaissance began around 1200 and continued until 1600. The 200 years that overlap between

During the Renaissance, ideas and beliefs were dramatically changed. Life went from circling around religion to the philosophical concept of humanism becoming the center of society. Humanist beliefs stress the potential value and goodness of human beings rather than supernatural and divine matters. The ignorant beliefs of the Middle Ages began fading away and the Church began declining in power because they were losing followers due to humanism becoming more prevalent. People began thinking for themselves and believing in their own ideas rather than blindly listening to the Church because they were told to.

Rhiana Bishop CHY4U Mrs.Ritsma September 15th, 2017 Humanism and the Italian Renaissance Many people today do not know what humanism is. Even if they don't what it is, many people in this world are humanist. Humanism is the idea behind humanism is the life on earth can be filled with the value not just items, but abilities and individual worth, as well as that humans, can achieve great things. The humanist movement started with a man named Martin Luther. Luther was a German monk who posted what is now known as the 95 Theses on the door of Wittenberg’s Castle (Newman 50). These theses are what started the Reformation and the Renaissance. In the Renaissance was very influenced by the Martin Luther and humanism. The art the writer and the architecture were all majorly influenced by humanism. This is because that it is more acceptable to have beautiful paintings, awe-inspiring novels, and amazing buildings created not just for religious use but for enjoyment. Leonardo DA Vinci (1452-1519), Michelangelo Buonarroti (1475-1564), Donato Donatello (1386-1466), Sofonisba Anguissola (c.1532-1625) these are some of the prodigious artist known all over the world. Every one of these artists started in the Renaissance era of art. Each one of these artists created art that still inspires artist today. Before the reformation and humanism came into the picture almost all became famous for the works that they did in the Renaissance. The reason these artists became more famous is the art that is much more lifelike and that captures more detail than the art that came before the Renaissance. Some of the art done in the Renaissance that is still based on belief.in many paintings, in the Medieval era, there were paintings of Mother Mary and baby Jesus they were portrayed as gods. But as they were painted in the Renaissance era, they were painted as average people from that time. Every artist famous or not became very popular with the growing support of humanism. Niccolò Machiavelli, Edmund Spenser, Desiderius Erasmus and Thomas More. theses are a few of the famous writers in the Renaissance. The most well known are Thomas More was a well-known humanist at the time. More was trained as a lawyer and he dedicated to the classic learning

The Renaissance began in the 1300’s in Europe and lasted to the 1500’s, the renaissance was a major rebirth of many ways of doing to thinking. In the Renaissance, Europe changed dramatically from multiple aspects ranging from; technology, fashion, and geography to name a few. However, one aspect that stands out more than others is that of religion. Many religions were founded in the renaissance while others changed and molded to new beliefs, criticism, leadership and various other reasons to become what they are today in the modern world. Not only religions changed, but many historical figures came about between 1300 and 1500AD.

Religion in the Middle Ages and the Renaissance When the Renaissance, the “rebirth” of sciences and arts, began, and the Middle Ages ended, many things changed. As the world of science and art grew more and more advanced, new discoveries were made and the secular world became more prominent, one thing that was greatly affected was religion. In both time periods, everyone was still Christian, the content of the Bible is the same, and there were prominent religious leaders. In the middle ages, the main focus in life was to get into heaven, so the church was very important, but in the Renaissance, peoples views on the world changed as they started to learn more about it. In particular, some things that were affected were the types of Christianity, the literacy, and the perspectives of the people.

The Renaissance began in Florence, Italy around the 1500’s to about the 1700’s. Florence, Italy was the mecca of this rebirth because at the time Florence was extremely wealthy and the people of the city had political freedom and those new ideals of the Renaissance were not being condemned in Florence as they were other cities. This was a time where the arts and the logic of one’s own mind was valued rather than criticized, the antiquated medieval ideals no longer matched the needs of those who were living during the early Renaissance. Eventually, a term for this way of thinking arose and was called Humanism, and what humanism is, is an ideology where humans can lead themselves to create a prosperous life and instead of leaning on supernatural forces for answers. Humanists believe that humans have enough logic to create conclusions themselves. This brand-new way of thinking caused a lot of controversy because it did question God’s ability and the church’s power, but the ideas behind it are still heavily used today, even in the 21st century. Humanism in the early Renaissance is important because it called for thinking with reason, it allowed an appreciation for human body and mind, inspired authors and caused a shift in power.

During the shift from the middle ages into the Renaissance period new conceptions of the individual and the human mind quickly came to light. Although art in the Middle Ages was centered predominantly on religion and faith, the incoming art of the Renaissance underwent a drastic change. A vast amount of these changes mainly focused on individualism, secularism, and humanism. Following the collapse of the feudal system, thoughts of individualism quickly rose when people realized that they didn’t have to adhere to a specific group.Throughout the beginning of the Renaissance, religious figures and the Catholic Church began to lose authority which conducted in new ideas of secularism. Comparably, humanistic art and notions became preeminent when individuals focused on glorifying the human body, learning more about it and inclined more towards realistic art.