Humanism and Christianity

Humanism and Christianity

The Renaissance was a time period which originated in the city-states of Italy that marked the starting point of the modern era. The Renaissance was characterized by a rebirth of interest in the humanistic culture and outlook of classical Greece and Rome. During this time period, a secular attitude was achieved, thus causing Western Civilization to deviate from the strict religious atmosphere of the Middle Ages. Although religion was not forgotten, it was no longer the sole influence of scholasticism and the like. This secular attitude eventually paved the way for things such as the Scientific Revolution. Despite this secular humanism, Christianity still influenced the humanists of the Renaissance, including the "father of humanism" – Petrarch. Humanists believed that a refined person must know the literature of Greece and Rome. They strove to imitate the styles of the ancients, to speak and write as eloquently as the Greeks and Romans. Toward these ends, they "sought to read, print, and restore to circulation every scrap of ancient literature that could still be found." (Perry 18) This literary humanism was central to the early Renaissance. The trend, which originated in northern Italy during the fourteenth century, represented a shift in focus from other worldly concerns and people as religious beings, which was typical of the Middle Ages, to the problems of people and nature in this world. In a 1362 letter to Boccaccio, Petrarch wrote: "Neither exhortations to virtue nor the argument of approaching death should divert us from literature; for in a good mind it excites the love of virtue, and dissipates, or at least diminishes, the fear of death." Humanists strongly believed that only good could come of the wisdom they acquired through the manuscripts of the ancients, and they were keen to share it with the rest of the world. "Christianity during the Renaissance presents a contradiction: although the institution of the Roman Catholic Church was in decay, there was extraordinary religious fervor in every part of Europe." (Colton 56) Preachers, such as the highly popular Girolamo Savonarola of Florence, called on sinners to repent and enjoyed great success in Italy. A mystical religious movement that drew, in part, from the teachings of German mystic Meister Eckhart flourished in the portion of western Germany known as the Rhineland. Its members sought direct revelations from God without the church as an intermediary. In the Low Countries of Belgium, Luxembourg, and the Netherlands a movement known as the devotio moderna emphasized individual and practical faith, a contrast with the more communal and metaphysical faith of the Catholic Church. These teachings spread through schools and gained public attention through The Imitation of Christ (1424), a highly influential work usually attributed to Thomas à Kempis, a German monk and writer. Eager laymen built churches and chapels, and new devotional exercises—such as the Stations of the Cross and prayers using the rosary—became popular. With the introduction of the printing press in Europe during the 15th century, religious books were produced by the millions, and they found a ready market. The increase in popular devotion posed a threat to traditional religion, especially when the prestige of church officials was low and they seemed incapable of, or uninterested in, close supervision of the faithful. This resulted in popular heretical movements which emerged and challenged papal authority. Due to the emergence of secular humanism in the Renaissance, these heretical movements often, if not always, consisted of humanists. "Humanism began as a rather pious, timid, and conservative drift away from medieval Christianity and ended in bold independence of medieval tradition." (Colton 57) Desiderius Erasmus, one of the greatest humanists, occupied a position midway between extreme piety and frank secularism. Francesco represented conservative Italian humanism. Robust secularism and intellectual independence reached its height in Niccolo Machiavelli and Francesco Guicciardini. In England, John Colet and Sir Thomas More were early or conservative humanists, while Francis Bacon represented later or agnostic and skeptical humanism. In France, pious classicists like Lefèvre d 'Étaples were succeeded by frank, urbane, and devout skeptics like Michel Montaigne and bold anti-clerical satirists like François Rabelais. While Mystics preferred to deepen the religious life of individuals, many humanists hoped to reform Christian society by relying on education rather than on religious faith as evidenced specifically in literary humanism. Though most humanists deviated from the strict law of the Roman Catholic Church, a few conservative humanists such as Petrarch held his faith in great esteem. Like many other humanists, Petrarch remained devoted to Christianity: "When it comes to thinking or speaking of religion, that is, of the highest truth, of true happiness and eternal salvation, I certainly am not a Ciceronian or a Platonist but a Christian." Therefore, the Renaissance Humanism did not have a strictly secular following. During the Renaissance, some humanists, such as Petrarch, took conservative roles which preserved the Christian faith. Also, preachers such as Girolamo Savonarola of Florence and Meister Eckhart of Germany were successful in preserving Christianity in a time of decay in the Roman Catholic Church.

Works Cited

Colton, Joel and R. R. Palmer. A History of the Modern World. New York: McGraw Hill, Inc., 1995.
Perry, Marvin, et all. Sources of the Western Tradition Volume II: From the Renaissance to the Present. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1995.
Sherman, Dennis. Western Civilization: Images and Interpretation Volume I. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1983.

Cited: Colton, Joel and R. R. Palmer. A History of the Modern World. New York: McGraw Hill, Inc., 1995. Perry, Marvin, et all. Sources of the Western Tradition Volume II: From the Renaissance to the Present. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1995. Sherman, Dennis. Western Civilization: Images and Interpretation Volume I. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1983.