Impact of Humanism on Christian Beliefs in the 15th Century

¶ … impactof humanism on Christian beliefs in the fifthteenth century.

Christianity has historically gone through many different phases; its various proponents have made a conscious effort to adapt to the times. From its origins with the teachings of Christ (which were outlawed by the Romans), to the time when those same Romans adopted it as their national religion, the way Christianity is conceived and practiced has transformed throughout the years. As such, it is not surprising that the intellectual trend of humanism produced a profound impact on this religion in the fifteenth century. Overall, humanism forced proponents of Christianity to substantiate their teachings and beliefs in sources of academia, instead of simply blind faith in God or in the Bible.

It is not surprising that humanism produced this impact on Christian beliefs in the fifteenth century, which marked the beginning stages of the Italian Renaissance and that which would span throughout Europe. During this particular time period, there was a resurgence in formal academic learning as Europe emerged from the Dark Ages. Humanism was well aligned with this movement. Humanism is a more human-centric approach to life which depends substantially less on faith and supernatural powers (such as God) and more on human achievement and ability. During the Renaissance, there were tangible markers of human prowess in advancements in various forms of architecture, visual arts, and academic disciplines. The general focus of mankind shifted from one in which God was the focus of the world to one in which man and his ability became more of a focus of the world.

Christianity had no choice but to react to this sentiment. Whereas previously believers simply relied on innate faith and Biblical scriptures to convince others of the veracity of this religion and its central place in society, during this time they were forced to utilize other means that were more academic to substantiate their beliefs. Disciplines such as history, literature, and even some sciences were initially used to corroborate Christian viewpoints during the 15th century due to the influence of humanism. Christianity expanded its boundaries beyond mere rhetoric in attempts to validate some of its points with the scholarly subjects that today are considered the humanities. The central tenets regarding God, Jesus, and the latter's sacrifice still mattered and played eminent roles in this religion. However, Christian teachers and preachers more commonly utilized some of the tools that were popular during the humanist movement -- academic disciplines -- to now defend some of these viewpoints or to simply make them more realistic and believable in a society that increasingly valued empirical evidence and validation from men and their ways.