From the late 1500’s to the late 1700’s, the Enlightenment period occurred. Thinkers and philosophers across Europe created ideas that changed the way people thought. For example, John Locke thought of the idea that everyone had natural rights. These rights consisted of the right to life, liberty, and property. Voltaire had the idea that the power lies in the hands of the people and their elected government. Benjamin Franklin, who had a great influence on the new government in the Americas as he told the ideas of government structure that he thought was better. Without these three people and their thoughts, the world wouldn't be the way it is today.
The scientific revolution made a vast impact on everyday lives, it caused computers, phones, and other items to be invented. This revolution has caused many conflicts, and with these conflicts it had changed the way people lived and made many people question life. The revolution had made many benefits for people and there were also some people that were harmed during this time. The scientific revolution had many different actions that caused wonderful objects to be invented and allowed people to know more about the world. Different actions were done to create the scientific revolution similar to when the societies developed conflicts, such as when Copernicus made the solar system, how the conflicts changed the societies by the church going against people, the people who experience harmed such as Galileo, and the people who benefitted from the change such as other boys.
Document A is an excerpt of a letter to Duchess Christina of Tuscany written by Galilei, counter-arguing the heresy claims. In the letter, Galileo wrote, “Can an opinion be heretical and yet have no concern with the salvation of souls?” Although he did not believe in the astronomical theory of the Church, he believed that his scientific thoughts should not interfere with his religious beliefs. According to Document D, Pope John Paul II said
During the time that Galileo wrote the letter to Grand-Duchess Christina, there was much debate about the orientation of the universe. There were two different theories of thought at this time. One was the Heliocentric Universe, which believed the sun was the center of the universe and the Earth orbits it. The second was the Ptolemaic or Earth-centered Universe, were the sun orbits the Earth. Galileo faced much opposition from the Catholic Church, and was repeatedly harassed and condemned by his contemporaries.
During the early sixteenth century the Church began to experience loss of respect and many challenges due to the corruption within the church. Many began to think the church was dying. This would cause the reformation. Throughout the age of reformation, the political and social spheres of Europe were also significantly affected, as well as the religious movement, through Martin Luther, the printing press, and the opinions of the people.
Powerful spiritual renewal and heresy arose from the chaotic scene of bloodshed, the fierce intellectual controversies played an important role in religious freedom. The Reformation had brought individual thinkers to develop the principle that no one should be persecuted for his or her religion. Sebastian Castellio was one of the very first humanists who stood on this principle and describes that the world is entangled in the questions of religion. As indicated on Document 8, he does not agree with doctrine punishment for those who denied faith to Christianity. He believed that a person’s conscience should not be subject to power and suppressed by the civil authorities. On the other hand, Michel de Montaigne also developed his ideas toward the religion wars. He expressed his opinions by stating that instead of leaning into cruelty and wealth, religion should destroy vices and lead toward goodness (Document 11). John Milton, who was an English poet that lived through the Puritan Revolution, had also revealed his beliefs toward the freedom of individuals. However, as the last sentence implied that people should rejoice at, instead of arguing and grieving. We can draw the conclusion that religion tolerance was still rare during his time (Document 12). The results of Protestant Reformation had came out to be the developments of individual values toward religion tolerance. As the heretics endured prosecution, more people yearned for an acknowledgement for religious freedom and
To begin with, the era of Enlightenment was characterized by numerous scientific discoveries in Europe. Advances were made in various scientific fields such as astronomy, physics, and mathematics. They caused large controversies which had a deep impact on people’s thinking about God and religion. People believed that the progress made in science was an assault on Church and Christianity. Until the movement of Enlightenment, the Bible, the belief in God, and Christianity as well as the institution Church were seen as sacred and unquestionable. However, with the advent of science religious beliefs and the unique position of Church were
According to the world history book from Bob Jones University, Galileo was a heretic, when it states “When Galileo published his findings, however, he also came into conflict with the Roman Catholic Church, which tried him for heresy.” I think the textbook was accurate in its belief that Galileo was a heretic because the definition of heresy is a “belief or opinion contrary to orthodox religious doctrine.” Galileo was an iconoclast because his theory that stated the earth revolved around the sun disagreed with the Roman Catholic Church’s belief of a geocentric galaxy. Galileo was opposed by cardinals, the Roman Catholic Church, philosophers, scholars, and, according to the holy Fathers, the Bible itself.
In William Manchester’s account of the Middle Ages, A World Lit Only by Fire, he describes many traits that are essential to the medieval mind. Between the decline of classical pagan culture in Western Europe and the rebirth of culture during the Renaissance, the minds of Europeans underwent many changes as they began to stray from Catholicism and divert their attentions to secular affairs under the notions of humanism. Medieval philosophy was heavily influenced by ideas from the classical works of the Greek and Roman worlds. The Middle Ages were a turning point in history that brought major changes to Europe.
The word "Inquisition" refers to the tribunal court system used by the Catholic Church to suppress and punish the heretics. All people who were considered against catholic teachings were called heretics.
During the 16th and 17th century areas that were forbidden before began to change. These were areas were humans were only entitled to know what God wanted to reveal, otherwise they were inaccessible or forbidden. The limits on the knowledge humans were able to possess became more accessible during the 16th and 17th centuries. The Reformation shows the decline of the Catholic Church and the rise of questioning authority leading to the Scientific Revolution. The Scientific Revolution showed that observations and conclusions became an acceptable source of knowledge and truth, where it had been less so in earlier times.
The Scientific Revolution occurred roughly between 1550 and 1700. Some people also refer to the time period to be between the lives of Nicholas Copernicus and Issac Newton, to state who the revolution started with and who it ended with (Hatch). It doesn't mean there aren't changes to our scientific processes today, this was just a time period in our history that has recorded information of large changes happening often. The changes were very large and many people were against the views of the men who made the changes/discoveries. Since people put their religion first, the sudden views that made God nonexistent were immediately ignored by citizens and courts ordered many scientists to stay in their homes at all times. "In the Middle Ages, many
“God, who has given the world to men in common, has also given them reason to make use of it to the best advantage of life and convenience” (Locke, 35). The Scientific Revolution concentrated on understanding the physical world through astronomical and mathematical calculations, or testable knowledge. The Enlightenment focused more on “Spreading of faith in reason and in universal rights and laws” (Worlds Together, Worlds Apart, 535). While the Scientific Revolution preceded the Enlightenment, both time periods sought to limit and challenge the power of the Church, through the spread of science, reason and intellect, and political philosophies.
The Protestant Reformation took place in the 16th century in Europe. This reformation was led by reformers such as Martin Luther and John Calvin. Martin Luther and John Calvin disputed the Church’s views and what they defined Christianity as. Not only did this reformation lead to changes in religious and spiritual life but it also led to consequences for politics and society. The Protestant Reformation caused outbreak in war, which showed the demand for reform to take place.
There are many reasons why the Reformation occurred and what the main causes were. Many priests were illiterate and did not teach the same values to people that were contained in the Bible. Indulgences were widely disputed because some religious figures deemed them arbitrary and to others it seemed ridiculous that you could pay money and be absolved of sin. Additionally, many people became more skeptical of the church after several popes turned out to be incorrect on matters of faith. Unquestionably, the most prevalent causes of the Reformation were indulgences, the changing values of the Renaissance, and, above all, corruption within the church.