Lesson video

Welcome to this lesson on Renaissance and Enlightenment, Religion and Thoughts.

My name is Mrs. Robone, and I'm going to be working with you on this topic today.

We'll be looking at worldviews and in particular the worldviews of Renaissance and the Enlightenment period and looking at that in the context of religion.

So the outcome for today's lesson is I can explain how changes in worldviews during the Renaissance and the Enlightenment period impacted religion's role in society, including in political life.

We're going to be using some keywords today and they are the Enlightenment, humanism of the Renaissance, politics, and the Renaissance.

Now the Enlightenment was a 17th and 18th century movement which emphasised reason, science, and individual rights.

Humanism of the Renaissance was a movement that emphasised the value of human potential during inspiration from classical Greek and Roman ideas.

Politics is the activities and decisions involved in governing a society or state.

And the Renaissance was a period of cultural, artistic, scientific, and intellectual rebirth in Europe from the 14th to the 17th century.

So we'll be looking at two elements in the lesson today.

Firstly, we'll be looking at a changing worldview and then we're going to be looking at Renaissance and Enlightenment values.

So let's get started on a changing worldview.

Whatever your worldview, you can use disciplines such as social science, theology, and philosophy to study religious and non-religious worldviews.

Overall, in this unit on political philosophy, we will be using philosophical tools such as reason and logic to explore the political and religious ideas of Hobbes and Rousseau.

In this lesson, we'll be using sociological and historical tools to understand the factors which influenced political philosophy.

World views describe the way we experience, understand, and respond to the world.

They can be both individual and collective and may or may not include religious beliefs.

Lucas is expressing a collective worldview.

It reflects the shared beliefs of the era he's living in and it's likely to influence his personal worldview.

He says, people today believe that things like fairness, equality, and taking care of each other are really important.

So let's check your understanding.

Is this true or false? Individual and collective worldviews do not influence each other.

Take some time to think about your answer and have a think as well about whether if it is true, why it's true or if it is false, why you think it is false.

Pause the video to give yourself time to think and come back when you are ready.

Well done if you put false.

But why is this false? The reason is that individual and collective worldviews often do influence each other with personal beliefs shaping the broader society and societal values affecting collective perspectives.

This world map attributed to Heinrich of Mainz was created during the Middle Ages and is dated to 1110 to 1130.

It reflects a theocentric, which means God-centered worldview and was used to teach people about Christian beliefs and remind them of God's plan for the world rather than to accurately reflect geography.

Think about the world maps you have seen.

What do you notice about this one? What is different about this one? And would you have recognised it as a map? Take some time to talk about this if you can to someone nearby.

Pause if you need to and then come back when you're ready to move on.

Let's look more closely at the map.

So here we can see an enlargement of the centre of the map and it's difficult to read, but we actually have the word Jerusalem written there.

Now this map is inaccurate because Jerusalem is placed at the centre of the world, which was done because it's where Jesus died and is a central place for Christianity.

So it was put there to emphasise this idea that God, religion is the centre of everything.

But of course we know today that Jerusalem is not physically in the centre of the world.

You might also have spotted that individual countries are not recognisable.

It's very difficult to see the shapes of the countries as we're familiar with them today.

If you looked a bit closer you'd be able to see that lots of biblical locations are included and the map itself is surrounded by angels.

So this map is an illustration of the world view of the Middle Ages.

This is how collectively the Middle Ages saw the world.

Now the word Renaissance comes from Latin and this refers to a period of time, but it can also be used to describe a collective world view and it's a different world view from that of the Middle Ages.

So Renaissance has two parts to it.

We have re, which means again, and naissance, which comes from nasci, meaning to be born and you can find the root of that in Latin, but you can also see it in French as well.

So the Renaissance refers to this period of cultural, artistic, scientific and intellectual rebirth in Europe from the 14th to the 17th century.

So it's changing from the Middle Ages.

So here's a different map for you to look at.

Now this world map was created during the Renaissance and it's dated to 1569.

It's much more accurate than the last map that we looked at.

For example, Jerusalem is not at the centre because that is not how the world is and this map is meant to be designed for sailors to use for navigation.

So it's actually helpful.

The individual countries are recognisable so you can, for example, see the boot outline of Italy if you look a little bit more closely.

So which two of the following statements accurately describe the world map from the Middle Ages? So this is the map that reflected the world view of the Middle Ages.

Is it A, it reflects a theocentric or God centred world view? B, it was designed for navigation? C, it places Jerusalem at the centre of the world? Or D, it includes recognisable geographical features? So remember we're looking for two statements here.

So take a little bit of time to think about which two accurately describe that first map that we looked at.

Jot down your answer and come back when you are ready to check.

Well done if you put A and C.

So that map very much reflected the idea that God is at the centre of everything and Jerusalem in particular was at the centre of the world as a reflection of this.

It definitely wasn't designed for navigation.

It would be very hard to find your way around using that map.

So if you're tasked you're going to use the two world maps to explain how the collective world view of the Middle Ages changed during the Renaissance.

So we have our first map, the Middle Ages world map, which as you might remember had Jerusalem at the centre and reflected a theocentric view.

And then we have our Renaissance world map which does not have Jerusalem at the centre, it has recognisable features, landmarks, countries and it was aimed to be used for navigation.

So take some time to think about how you could explain the world view reflected in each map and draw out what the difference is between the two world views.

Pause the video, come back when you're ready to check your work.

So let's have a look at what you wrote.

You could have said, the world map from the Middle Ages places Jerusalem in the centre, showing how important church and Christianity were at the time.

It also includes features from the Bible and is surrounded by angels.

It was intended as a visual representation of Christian teachings.

In contrast, the Renaissance world map was intended to help sailors navigate many of the geographical features that are still recognisable today.

The world map from the Middle Ages reflects a worldview where religion was the main focus, while the world map from the Renaissance reflects a new way of thinking, focusing more on the physical world and exploration.

So let's move on to the second part of our lessons.

We're going to be looking at Renaissance and Enlightenment values.

Here's a picture of the printing press.

In Europe during the Middle Ages, it's important for us to understand that the information that people received was controlled by the church and any ideas that didn't align with what the church taught, with Christian teachings was suppressed.

Now, Renaissance humanism was a movement that emphasised the value of human potential.

So education was encouraged and gradually more people became literate, which meant that more people started to be able to read.

So during the Middle Ages, we had much fewer people reading than we did during the Renaissance.

So the invention of the printing press, which happened in 1440, meant that books became more widely available to people.

And this meant that the church could not control so much what people read or understood.

And so those humanist ideas of the Renaissance, which were written down and printed in books, became shared more widely.

So the Middle Ages worldview is very much about the worldview being dependent on God.

So everything is dependent on God.

People were seen as servants, servants of God, and their job, their purpose was to follow what he taught, so to follow religious teachings.

Now, when we move over to the Renaissance humanist worldview, we can see it moves over towards being more of an independent from God kind of view.

Renaissance humanists still believed in God, but they focus much more on human potential.

So we're not looking completely the opposite, but we're looking at a move away from that dependence on God.

And this idea was supported when they rediscovered some classical Greek and Roman texts, such as those written by the philosopher Cicero, and he encouraged personal development and education.

So the contrast between Renaissance humanist worldviews and the worldview of the Middle Ages is also evident in the art of the period.

If we start with the Middle Ages, we can see a photograph of a icon called "Maestà" by Duccio.

It's theocentric, God-centered.

The art is all about religion.

But if we look at Renaissance humanism, here's an example, a very famous one, a painting by Leonardo da Vinci called "Mona Lisa," painted between 1503 and 1506.

And it's very much human centred.

And there's a real difference in the style and the focus of that art.

The "Maestà" by Duccio is an example of a work of art that reflects the theocentric God-centered worldview of the Middle Ages.

The focus here is on the Virgin Mary.

We can see her right in the centre.

And there are other religious figures emphasising their divine importance, so their relationship with God.

These figures are symbolic.

They're not painted or drawn particularly realistically.

They are reflecting the mediaeval belief in God's central role.

In contrast, the Mona Lisa by Leonardo da Vinci is an example of a Renaissance work of art that reflects a human centred worldview.

The focus is on Lisa Gherardini with a realistic portrayal of her expression and features.

The attention to detail and the natural background also reflect the Renaissance belief in human potential and their belief that you should connect to the natural world.

Let's check your understanding.

What is the missing word here? So Renaissance humanism focused on human what? Take some time to think about what you've learnt about the difference, think about the paintings and what was different about them.

Pause and come back when you're ready to check your answer.

Well done if you put potential.

In other words, Renaissance humanism was all about what humans could do.

The Enlightenment followed the Renaissance and the word Enlightenment comes from Latin.

So we have the full word here, Enlightenment, but the word we're interested in is that one in the middle, light, and it comes from the Latin word illuminare meaning to light up or to make clear.

So the word Enlightenment is used to describe a 17th and 18th century movement focused on reason, science and individual rights, which challenged traditional authority and religious beliefs.

The Enlightenment worldview built upon the Renaissance worldview.

It couldn't have happened without the Renaissance, without the rebirth of ideas and the focus not so much on God, but much more on humans and their potential.

So Renaissance values included the revival of classical knowledge.

So remembering what ancient scholars wrote, and humanism.

Enlightenment values led on from that.

So it was a development of the scientific methods.

So the approach of observing the world around you to find out what you can know, and also the development of politics, a political philosophy.

They share some things in common.

One is the focus on reason, and that means humans' natural ability to work things out.

And the second is that to an extent, they both challenge the authority of, in particular, the church.

So let's check your understanding.

How did the Enlightenment build upon the Renaissance worldview? Was it A, by focusing on religious faith as the centre of knowledge? B, by emphasising the importance of using reason? C, by reinforcing traditional ideas about monarchy and divine rule? Or D, by rejecting all classical Greek and Roman ideas? So take some time to think about the answer.

Pause and then come back when you're ready to check.

Well done if you put B.

They both emphasise the role that humans themselves had to play in working things out, and that is what is meant by reason.

The way religious beliefs and political philosophy were aligned changed in the period from the Middle Ages through to the Enlightenment.

It changed actually quite a lot.

So the Middle Ages worldview has religion and politics working together.

And religion or the church had authority over monarchs, so the rulers, and their politics.

The Renaissance worldview, politics is still a big part of religion, but it's moving away a little bit.

So monarchs themselves challenged the power that previously belonged to the church, and they began to become more independent from the church about making political decisions.

As we move to an Enlightenment worldview, politics becomes more important.

I've made the circle larger here to try and illustrate that.

And it shifted further away from religion.

There's still a crossover, but it shifted a little bit further away.

So let's check your understanding on that.

How did the alignment between religion and politics change from the Middle Ages to the Renaissance and the Enlightenment? Was it A, religion and politics became more closely linked with kings ruling by divine right? Was it B, religion played a less central role in politics as ideas of reason and individual rights gained importance? Is it C, politics became entirely secular with no influence from religious beliefs? Or D, religion and politics were completely separate with no influence on each other? So take some time to read through the question and the answers again.

Pause the video, jot down what you think the answer is, and then come back when you are ready to check.

Well done if you put B.

So religion is still linked with politics, but it's got a much less central role and other things have more importance.

So for your task, I would like you to tick the statements that reflect Renaissance and Enlightenment values.

The church is the ultimate authority in all matters.

Human potential is highly valued.

God is the central figure in life with everything shaped by his will.

The study of classical Greek and Roman texts is important, and politics is aligned with religious authority.

So tick any that you think align with the values of the Renaissance and Enlightenment.

In other words, they are reflecting a worldview that is different from the one of the Middle Ages.

Pause whilst you do that, and then come back when you're ready to check your answers.

Well done if you put a tick for human potential is highly valued and also that the study of classical Greek and Roman texts is important.

The other three were all about the Middle Ages' worldview.

So for the second part of your task, Aisha has drafted an introductory paragraph using her learning on Renaissance and Enlightenment values to help her begin to answer the unit question, religion and politics in the Enlightenment, how were they aligned? However, what she's written is inaccurate, and I would like you to write a corrected version.

Aisha writes, "Before the Renaissance, there was no need to align religion and politics because people didn't care about religion at all.

The church had no influence on politics and rulers made decisions based on reason and human rights alone.

Religion played no role in how governments operated, so there was no need to connect the two." So hopefully you've spotted some of the things Aisha might have got wrong.

Take your time now to look carefully what she's written and rewrite it correctly.

Pause the video and come back when you're ready to see what you might have included.

So this is what you could have said.

Before the Renaissance, there was no need to align religion and politics because religion and politics were already deeply intertwined.

During the Middle Ages, the church held significant power over political decisions and rulers were seen as acting under God's authority.

The idea that political decisions were guided by God meant that there was little distinction between religious and political matters.

So well done if you managed to show that actually you didn't have to match them up because they were already completely linked together and that politics was really guided by God.

So there was literally no difference between the two of them.

We have learnt a lot today.

We've learnt that the Renaissance emphasised humanism, education and classical knowledge, spreading ideas more widely through the printing press.

We've learnt that the church controlled information in the Middle Ages, but its authority was questioned during the Renaissance.

We've learnt that Renaissance humanists still believed in God, but they focused on human potential and personal development.

That the Enlightenment built on Renaissance ideas, focusing on reason, science and challenging traditional authority.

And that political power shifted from the church to monarchs and emphasised reason over religion.

We've learnt a lot today, so thank you for working with me and well done.