Religious Tolerance in the Renaissance and Today

May 15

Olivia Ludwick (she/her)

The Renaissance was a period of social, cultural, and religious enlightenment. This period was still fairly conservative but it opened many doors to the expansion of different religions during the 14th to 17th centuries. Many revolutionary values and ideas were introduced during this time, one of which was Humanism.

Humanism was a new philosophical way to view life in the 14th to 17th centuries by way of expanding one’s knowledge past religion. The belief was centered around humanity and caused those involved to pursue burning questions about life’s many wonders. Humanists were often very involved in some aspects of the art field. Whether it be performing arts, early playwrights, or painters and poets, most humanists valued the liberal arts highly. They felt that being informed on all events and having a large skill set was the true image of a “Renaissance Man”. The term Renaissance man also points out the fact that even though many more doors of opportunity were opening, some still remained closed. Women still did not have the same access to a broadened education that these “Renaissance Men” had. Even if they were wealthy, women were incredibly unlikely to receive an education. They were expected to look out for the children, take care of the house, or in wealthier cases, get a simple education that was much less than what a male would have received during this time period. However, Humanism allowed for ideas to break away from the Catholic Church, and be more focused on humane principles. This allowed for more religious tolerance during this time.

Humanism required many old Roman Catholic texts to be read. Within the texts were old ideas and principles that those during the enlightenment found incredibly fascinating. This caused many to question if religion was actually the only source of fulfillment, or if there were other paths down which life could lead them. Protestant reformers heavily pushed the growth of religious freedom, and strongly encouraged the people to explore new ideas. Many new denominations of the Catholic Church were created because of this, one of which was the very well-known religion called Calvinism. Calvinism was one of the very first religions to emerge because of the enlightenment. It challenged traditional Catholic ideas, and eventually paved the way for several more denominations to be developed. Along with new denominations, the rebirth brought up the idea of acceptance and tolerance. For example, Judaism, which has had its fair share of rocky rides with Catholicism was now fairly sanctioned. Jews were very active in the Renaissance. They were often physicians or worked in the medical field. Having this tolerance was so monumental and even led to Catholics wanting to be informed about Judaism. There was a group of people called Christian Hebratists which consisted of Christians that actively studied Hebrew and the teachings of the Torah. Even though Christians read the old testament before the Renaissance, they spent time studying Jewish practices and other Hebrew texts such as the Talmud and Kabbalah. This was revolutionary! Hebrew started becoming much more popular in the non-Jewish world and became more respected. Despite the heightened tolerance, there was still a heavy religious bias, and Judaism was still looked down upon by many.

The Renaissance has left hefty impacts on how our modern-day society functions currently. This period marks the downfall of Feudalism and the uprise of Capitalism. The Enlightenment left a lasting educational impact and has influenced the ways in which we fight for what we believe and follow what we feel is morally correct. Of course, the Renaissance was still a very conservative time period, but it has helped paved the way for more religious acceptance in today’s world. Even during our century we still have to fight for freedom of worship. Embracing others for what they stand for is still an uneasy topic. There are still many acts of hatred made towards groups just because of who they believe in. Hate crimes have skyrocketed in recent years, but it is not too late to try and fix the religious detest in the world. And even if it is a slow process, humanity can take on the task to work towards improvement.

https://berkleycenter.georgetown.edu/essays/christianity-and-religious-freedom-in-the-early-modern-period-1454-1750