The Renaissance and Reformation

Renaissance

The Emergence of the Renaissance Movement

Determining and analyzing what gave rise to the Renaissance movement during the 14th to 16th centuries include a closer look into its main philosophy, humanism. The Renaissance movement was well-known for its support of the philosophy of humanism, which posited that humans have the capacity not only for reason, but also for committing goodness and seeking truth. It can be said that because of humanism, Renaissance flourished because of the innate trust that it provided humanity, and its capacity for progress and development.

Humanism was reflected in every aspect of people's lives during the Renaissance. Prior to the establishment of the movement, culture and the arts were dominated and oftentimes, dictated by the Church, producing artworks that are religious in theme and subject. However, with the advent of the Renaissance movement, society indulged no longer in exclusive portrayal and depiction of religious icons and scenes, but also focused on secular artworks, showcasing independence in style and design, and even scientific experimentation on techniques and media. Such attempts in the development of scientific methods of creating art was evident in the techniques of foreshortening, perspective and three dimensional paintings that were developed during this period.

The roots of humanism and the Renaissance movement cannot exactly be attributed to a successful and flourishing economic society. During the periods stated (14th to 16th centuries), Western society, especially Europe, was experiencing an economic crisis, making it a very unlikely venue for intellectual development such as the Renaissance. However, specific conditions in the Western society made it conducive for intellectual change to occur, such as the rapid development of urbanism in Italian cities and towns. The ease of establishing trade routes and Florence being the center of trade made possible not only the exchange of goods and commodities, but also of ideas and new information about territories outside of the country and Western society. Thus, even during the period wherein Italy was experiencing social and economic strife because of the Black Death, the Renaissance movement developed in time with the rapid development of socially-organized groups, giving birth to modern social developments such as the creation of communes and the structure of serfdom. This was the social environment of Italian society when the movement of intellectual rebirth was conceived and later emerged.

The Renaissance was also marked with religious decline, as society began to accept alternative religious philosophies other than what was imposed by the Catholic Church. With the decline of the Church, other religious movements emerged dominant among Renaissance thinkers and followers, which included the movement of Protestantism, and later on, Reformation. Under the Protestantism movement, reformed Catholic churches established their own assembly, disassociating from the Catholic Church to form their own religious organization. Protestantism, in fact, preceded the Protestant Reformation, which culminated the Renaissance movement in the 16th century. Under the Protestant Reformation, socio-economic changes were put into place, which involved primarily the transfer of power from the Church to the civil society/citizenry. The Reformation gave birth to a more democratic, independent society, wherein people or the citizens are given more voice in decision-making concerning civil society. Primarily, decentralization of social, economic and political power took place because of the Reformation.

Scientific development became one of the most important areas that developed from the Renaissance. Apart from promoting humanism and intellectual thought, expressed through artworks, Renaissance also gave importance to the pursuit of truth and knowledge through secular or non-religious means. Scientific inquiry became popular, not as a means to challenge the Catholic Church, but to pursue alternative 'routes' towards truth and new knowledge. Hence, intellectuals and thinkers of the movement propagated the idea of scientific inquiry as the key towards intellectual development, led by scientists such as Copernicus, Galileo, and Johaness Kepler.