January 25, 2018
(1450-1750)
During this time many cultural transformations took place, specifically in religion as well as science. The religion that was most popular during this time, was Christianity and many people started to become followers of Christianity. Scientific ideas and developments also became very popular during this time. I think that it is ironic that this time period has so much to do with both science and religion because their relationship often challenges one another with differences of beliefs. I think that these cultural transformations will help grow communities and societies but also cause arguments between both.
Here is a timeline from our textbook on page 645 that shows when exactly these cultural transformations and developments took place:
Religion In Early Modern Societies:
Like I mentioned before, Christianity was a very popular religion in the start of the modern era. Followers of Christianity were mostly in Europe but later on expanded all around the world. There are multiple forms of Christianity including, Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, etc. In 1517 there was a Protestant reformation led by Martin Luther who was a priest. He was very critical of the Catholic religion and opened up the discussion of comparing Protestants and Catholics. The differences between religions led to tension and division. The Protestant Reformation changed European society and culture and people became very competitive with religion. To me religion is a very personal thing and I find it very disappointing that they let differences in religion effect so much of their society. Everyone has their own beliefs and reasons for believing those ideas and I think that it is unfair to judge one’s religion and that is what many people were doing at this time. Judgement causes division and division causes failure. If they wanted to be a successful community they should’ve put their differences aside and focused on more important issues and developments, however, I do understand that religion was much bigger than then it is now.
Here is a helpful table from our textbook (page 647) that shows the differences between Catholics and Protestants:
Also, here is a map from our textbook (page 648) that shows the territories of religions:
The Scientific Revolution:
The beginning of the modern era sparked many ideas and new ways of thinking. Science became an impactful subject for the Europeans. The thinkers of this time wanted to focus on ideas that had scientific evidence to prove their thoughts, instead of blindly following religious beliefs that had no reasoning behind the ideas. The men that created this scientific revolution were veering away from the old ways and transformed we think today. Many of the beliefs that these thinkers came up with, directly challenged the church's teachings. Before this cultural revolution took place, most people believed what past philosophers taught, or what their religion told them. But this was the first time that these ideas were being challenged or even disagreed with. Things like the telescope were invented at this time, this helped make observations of space and draw conclusions like that the earth isn’t still. This was also the time Isaac Newton came along with his ideas of motion and gravity. His main focus was on the laws of gravity and the physical universe. Reading about Isaac Newton immediately caught my attention because in high school I remember learning about him in my physics class. It is crazy to think that some of the first ideas in the scientific revolution are still being taught in classrooms today. These scientists had a huge impact on the world today and made revolutionary statements.
The Enlightenment:
The enlightenment era ties in with the scientific revolution, but the enlightenment focused more on economics, government, and philosophy. I like to call this era the period of questioning because I believe that is exactly what these philosophers were doing. Instead of following beliefs that are traditional, they challenged ideas and drew conclusions that actually were legitimate. The enlightenment thinkers wanted to see progress within their society and believed that their ideas could help that happen. They wanted change and improvement in premodern social thinking. Just like the scientific revolution, the enlightenment era also challenged religious ideas with their social thinking. These ideas spread and people became believers of these philosophers ideas.
This is a picture from our textbook (page 672) of famous enlightenment philosophers sitting around a table discussing ideas:
No comments:
Post a Comment