How Did The Enlightenment Help Shape America Today

The results of the Enlightenment and the Great Awakening within the colonies would help transform them in many ways, and as a result it would help shape America today. Originally, the Enlightenment movement began in Europe and would spill over into the American colonies. Prior to the Enlightenment movement, people would accept everything as is, especially since it was based on God. The basic principle that Enlightenment was giving to the people of the colonies was to look at human reasoning as an important part of life and you cannot just accept things as to what others think it should be (Shultz, 2013). Instead, it would teach people to challenge the role of religion and its divine right, as well as, the king to be the sole authority in ruling the people, especially if it is
Since the colonist were always taught that they must adhere to the ruling from the British crown, and they were not able to make any social change on their own, the movement of the Enlightenment would cause people to reevaluate these beliefs. Therefore, the colonist would take hold of the movement and start to make changes in some of there religious beliefs and outlook on why they are here. Such as, did God create this world to see what man could do with it. Additionally, it would lead to restructure of their educationally process by building more colleges, expanding in the study of science and maintaining a more balanced of ideas with secular and religion. Finally, it would change in the way the American colonies would expand on individual liberties. These factors contribute to the people seeking freedom in speech, religion and liberties