The Renaissance era marked a significant shift in various fields, as it challenged the traditions of the Middle Ages. It paved the way for separating religion from the state, spreading liberalism, atheism, the rule of reason, and humanism. The Age of Enlightenment, which extended over the 17th and 18th centuries AD, was the culmination of the Renaissance era. It completed the march towards progress, as it emphasized the importance of reason, critical thinking, and empirical evidence, thereby promoting the scientific method and rational thought as the primary sources of knowledge.
We continue to trace the changes in the Western concept of morality throughout the ages, including the modern era and beyond, to gain insight into the various contexts that have led to the chaotic state of affairs in recent decades. Such chaos has even prompted some to consider abandoning morality altogether. These contexts are characterized by political, intellectual, social, religious, and cultural transformations that have occurred in every era. Understanding these transformations is crucial to comprehending the complex issues facing us today.
The Age of Enlightenment in Europe brought about significant changes due to radical intellectual, scientific, and religious transformations. These changes posed a direct threat to the political and religious authorities, causing them to disintegrate gradually. This transition led to a new era, the features of which crystallized in the late 18th century and the beginning of the industrial revolution in the 19th century.
The Age of Enlightenment was crucial in gradually dismantling the church's hegemony, stripping it of its prestige, and establishing a new European stage. This era was no less important than the one that followed World War II. To shed more light on the nature of the political and religious changes that took place during this period, it's important to examine the background of the events that led to this enormous transformation.
Most Western scholars agree that the Age of Enlightenment represents a decisive turning point in the history of European civilization. The principles and foundations that still govern the West today were formed during this period, according to Dr Hashim Saleh in his book "Introduction to European Enlightenment."
One Era, Two Revolutions
The Enlightenment process began gradually in England and the Netherlands before spreading to France, Germany, and other European countries during the 17th and 18th centuries AD. This era witnessed two revolutions or philosophical directions of research and thinking. The first was a philosophy based on experimentation and observation, pioneered by the British thinker and philosopher Francis Bacon (1561-1626 AD), who was called the father of the experimental approach. This approach was further developed by scientists Galileo Galilei and Isaac Newton.
The second revolution was a philosophy based on reason, led by the French philosopher Rene Descartes (1596-1650 AD), who authored the book "The Curriculum" in 1637 AD. Descartes' ideas paved the way for the launch of the Enlightenment era through his method of doubt, which he applied to everything except religion and belief. His ideas were instrumental in the development of this era, which emphasized the importance of rational thought, critical thinking, and empirical evidence.
The results of the experimental and rational philosophical trends led to a direct clash with the political and religious authorities, which ultimately resulted in the emergence of atheistic thought during the late Enlightenment. Although the advanced philosophers of this era avoided direct confrontation with religion and sought to reform it, subsequent generations of philosophers did not share the same view.
They demanded the undermining of royal authority and the Catholic Church, which paved the way for political revolutions that took place in the second half of the 18th and 19th centuries. This era saw the rise of calls for atheism and the laying of the intellectual foundation for liberalism and communism.
In our modern age, everything has become subject to discussion, change, and even dissolution. The principles of worldly sciences and the foundations of divine revelation are now being exposed to scrutiny, leading to debates about metaphysics, taste, ethics, music, trade affairs, the rights of rulers, and the rights of peoples. This general seething of the soul has brought some issues into the spotlight while shrouding others in darkness. The pace of change and the constant questioning of previously held beliefs have made this era one of significant transformation, where new ideas and approaches are being explored, and old norms are being challenged.
Fierce Political and Religious Conflicts
During the Renaissance in the 15th and 16th centuries, the Inquisition was established by Pope Gregory IX in 1235 and spread throughout Europe. It was set up to pursue heretical thinkers, philosophers, scholars, and violators of the Catholic doctrine from the followers of the sect.
The circle of religious fanaticism expanded in France and Europe in general over the course of the 17th and most of the 18th century as an extension of the Inquisition. Among the most famous of these courts were those set up in Spain against Muslims, Jews, and converts from Catholicism. While some trends claim that nearly 5 million people were killed in these courts, others say that the number did not exceed 13 thousand.
These religious and sectarian wars extended over the course of the 17th century and the first half of the 18th century, all over Europe, and among them was what is known as the 30-year war, which extended over the period from 1618 to 1648 AD. In the midst of these wars, the French King Louis XIV (1638-1715 AD) launched a massive campaign against the Protestant sect under the slogan "One sect, one law, one king" and sent fanatical clerics to eliminate the followers of this sect of men and women, shouting "Kill Everyone who is not a Catholic.”
There was also the war of the Spanish succession at the level of Europe, which lasted 13 years in the period (1701-1714 AD), between Spain, France and German Bavaria on the one hand, and Romania, England and Portugal on the other hand, following the death of Carlos II of Spain in 1700 AD without leaving an heir over The throne of Spain, which was then a great empire spanning Europe, Asia, and the Americas.
Perhaps these heinous serial wars, from which Europe suffered for nearly 4 centuries, explain to us part of the reaction of the philosophers of the Age of Enlightenment, especially the philosophers of the second phase of it, which crystallized in the second half of the 18th century and was dominated by the sharp hostile attitude towards religion.
In general, the beginnings of the emergence of atheism, and the denial of all the Christian religious heritage, and what falls under it of beliefs, teachings, values, and morals, as the church began to lose its religious prestige and the prestige of its men, strongly in the hearts of its followers, especially after the French Revolution at the end of the age of enlightenment, and the treaties that were signed between European kingdoms to put an end to religious and sectarian wars, and legislate freedom of thought and belief.
In the next post, we will learn about the most prominent figures of this era in experimental and rational philosophy, and their positions on religion and ethics.