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The Enlightenment Was A Time Of Rapid Changes That Took

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The Enlightenment was a time of rapid changes that took place during the eighteenth century, for the most part. This period was marked by new ideas of politics and monarchs, religion, and social ideas. During this era of vast changes, literature was also influenced. Many writers were either for the new philosophies or against them. Molière and Voltaire were writers that were against the changes of the Enlightenment. They showcased this in their works Tartuffe and Candide. These works focused on the Enlightenment changes in society by religion and politics.
The Enlightenment began in the seventeenth century according to Norton Anthology (3). The Norton Anthology to World Literature claims that the Enlightenment occurred due to the conflict …show more content…

Another societal issue that was greatly challenged was the order in which things were kept. There had always been a code to follow or order to keep. During this period, these ideas were challenged because of the new ideas breaking through (Norton Anthology 3).
The Enlightenment also had broad effects on religion. The first effect that the Enlightenment had on religion was the idea that people should consider the ideas that he/she was following and then decide is it was true or not. It would no longer require asking the priest for advice, one could make his/her own judgements and decisions using reason. There was no divine intervention (Norton Anthology 5-6). This idea of using reason to make decisions that were once based on religion changed many things. According to the Norton Anthology guide of World Literature, this concept of reason would lead back to the idea of eternal destiny. It was also during this time that the divine right was no longer regarded as truth. The divine right was the idea that God placed the king or queen into power that He wanted. This new way of thinking disregarded this (4-7). The other major religious group during this time were the deists. The deists, unlike other groups who turned to reason, validated the wicked events taking place. The deists said that God created everything but simply watched what was taking place. He did not have any say in what took place. It was this religious philosophy that separated ethics and religion

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