¶ … Renaissance Humanism By nature, Humanists believed that the ancient teachings of Greeks and Romans were a solid foundation for intellectual pursuits and social philosophy.

During the Renaissance the average man found himself turning away from a life that was governed by medieval Christian restrictions, and welcoming classical literature and paganistic views that paved the way to a more secular life and view.

The return to favor of the pagan classics stimulated the philosophy of secularism, the appreciation of worldly pleasures, and above all intensified the assertion of personal independence and individual expression.... Expansion of trade, growth of prosperity and luxury, and widening social contacts generated interest in worldly...

Erasmus was a first rate scholar and a skilled popularist.
He was considered 'the king of humanists' and prided himself as a world traveler.

Erasmus also felt the church shouldn't be governed by state, but rather be an institutional 'propagator of faith'. This view found him in opposition to many tradition theologians.

Another founding father of Renaissance Humanism has to be Petrach (1304-1374). Petrach was an Italian scholar and poet…