Humanism

Humanism

[|Humanism] is the thought that humans can solve their own problems and don’t have to turn to God for answers. Humanists believe in having evidence and reasoning behind their thoughts and ideas instead of doing what the Church says without thought. When people started believing in themselves and began achieving goals without the help of God, the ideas of Humanism were born. This emphasis on human achievement was key in creating the modern world we live in today. Humanistic thoughts and ideas during the early Renaissance led to a renewed interest in the classical writings of the Greeks and Romans that we call “The Classics.” The Classics are comprised of the humanities these, include Art, music, grammar, history, philosophy, and poetry. They are the things that Humanists believed in and studied. This leads to the idea of the Power of the People.

Renaissance Humanism:

Humanism originated during the renaissance in Florence, Italy in the 1300s. Over time it spread throughout all of Europe. Renaissance Humanists believed in the Humanities and that they should fight for what they believed in, even against church’s rules and regulations. The creation of humanism was really based of of The Classics, which are the Greek and Roman writings that I mentioned in the paragraph above. This outlook of society had not been expressed since the fall of Greece and Rome. They recreated the ancient style of architecture, writing, and philosophy. The belief in dignity and value of individuals instead of religion was very strong and still sets the basis for us today.

Middle Ages Humanism:

In the Middle Ages, thinkers in Europe devoted themselves only to religious study and not their own beliefs. The Middle Ages, are also known as the Dark Ages, was when the ideas of humanism were at a minimum. People of this time period, believe good things happened to them if God was happy with you, but if bad things happened then God was angry at you. People only believed in their religion and respective deity or god. Hardly anyone had any respect towards themselves. Catholicism, which dominated Europe causing the church to have control over everything was the reason that more people didn’t believe in Humanism. They were afraid of disobeying God and the Church, especially because the Church said that if you disobeyed them you would burn in hell forever.

1 "Humanism - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia." 2003. 4 Jun. 2014 <[]>

2 "Classics - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia." 2003. 5 Jun. 2014 <[]>


 * Updated and Edited By: Noah S.**