Midterm

Midterm Essay
Anna Payne
Honors History 10
Mr. Viles
January 16, 2007

The 60's, the Great Depression, the rock and roll era and the 70's are just a few of the many different stages of our culture. If we travel back further, we can remember the times of the the Renaissance, the Reformation, the Scientific Revolution, the Age of Reason, the Age of Enlightenment, the Industrial Revolution, the French Revolution and the modern flat world we live in today. Through each of these eras, religion has made a significant impact. These threads have woven through each era effecting the actions taken. Religion is a way to unite people, but it is also a way to tear them apart.
The Renaissance was a time of new beginnings. A new system of banking was developed by the Medici family. This introduced a new economy and ways of doing business. During the Renaissance the church was filled with corruption. The Pope had bankrupt the church by wasting money on irrelevant things. The Pope had sold positions in the church to his friends and anyone who was willing to pay. Once the Pope was out of money he redeveloped a new money making technique. In order for citizens to cleanse their souls they would have to buy a ticket and say a prayer on each step making their way towards the temple. The common citizens were growing very unhappy.
Martin Luther wrote 95 thesis in 1517 sparking the Reformation. These 95 thesis were a list of the things corrupt about the church. Martin Luther wrote them to say the things that the rest of the common people were to afraid to say. His thesis were spread all over the world by the invention of the printing press, however this was not his plan until he was kicked out of the catholic church 4 years later. He branched off the Catholic church into the Protestant religion. The Catholic church lost some of their believers and there was no longer one dominant religion.
The Scientific Revolution was during the 1300's to the 1800's. This was a time of major developments in the scientific field. Galileo developed the telescope which he was later able to use to challenge the authority of the Church with actual evidence. Before the Scientific Revolution the church stated that God had placed earth in the center of the solar system. This fact was later disproved by the newly developed inventions that scientists were able to use when studying the solar system. Scientists had actual evidence and were able to use it in disproving the church. The church lost many supporters, which forced them to become more open to the idea of new beliefs. Citizens started reject powerful leaders, such as the Pope, King and church. Who else would the people begin to question?
During the Enlightenment common citizens had lost the respect for the absolute rulers. People like Hobbes and Locke were able to voice their personal opinions. People were able to express their opinion of the government and it started to effect change. If people were not willing to challenge the church how would they be able to challenge and change the government? Standing up to the church gave people the will to stand up to other corruptions. Diderot's encyclopedia spread the new scientific information that Galileo and Kepler discovered. Diderot's encyclopedia disproved the superstitious ways of the church and replaced it with fact. Again fact had disproved the Church costing more followers.
The Industrial Revolution was a time of creating new inventions which sped up the work process. This now created more high technology jobs taking common citizens away from their farms and into the industrial work force. Now workers had transitioned to the monotonous daily routine of working, shopping and sleeping. People became more tired with their longer work hours, and constant work worry. The people grew less and less concerned with the church than they use to be.
The French Revolution was from 1789-1799. During this period the government had taken over the churches land and had undermined their authority by taking control of the church. Napoleon restored power back to the church. He introduced the Napoleonic code to return stability and order back to France. Napoleon had to restore the church back to power to win the love of the people in France. During this period the church reached a low and high point in their authority. The church was returned to its power.
Religion has made significant changes from the Renaissance to today. Religion is still involved in our way of life. There are now many different types of religions that have developed over time. America also doesn't have one dominant religion. One problem that America focuses on today is being politically correct. We are constantly being reminded that not everyone shares your same religion. For example at Christmas time we are encouraged to say happy holidays instead of merry Christmas for those who don't celebrate Christmas. If you look around, there is no longer just one church per town or community. Often many towns will have 2 or 3 churches depending on the faith that you follow.
Each era in our society has been impacted by religion. It is a positive how religion has ended up today. In America people are able to worship however they want. It doesn't make sense to me to have one dominant religion over an entire nation. Look at all of the problem there were with the one Catholic Church, there was absolute chaos. Things will only get better from here on out. In the future I think religions will branch out even further. More specific religions will develop to target specific beliefs. If you follow the eras of culture you can see that religion has improved with each era it weaves through. If we live in a free country, all aspects of it should be free, including religious rights. Even though religions were made to bring people together, it's still tearing people apart. The conflict in the Middle East is not mainly religiously based but it is a factor. Religion didn't just cause problems in the past, it's still causing problems today. We need to learn to live, work together and respect each others faith's together.