History of the Christian Church Ii the Decline of European Christianity free essay sample

This shift is known as the Enlightenment. It is helpful I think to think about the word enlighten here—the idea of shedding light on something, illuminating it, making it clear. [1]† â€Å"Modern philosophy began with an enthusiastic faith in the powers of human reason to reach the truth. It represented a protest against the methods of Scholasticism and demanded a free field for unrestricted inquiry to work out its own salvation. [2]† The Age of Enlightenment was a time of new thinking. People became increasingly more interesting in scientific revolutions than religious laws. Rousseau, a well-known name of the Enlightenment Age, began to question the divine rights of the King. This is an example of the new thinking Europe experienced during this time. â€Å"The Enlightenment was a period of profound optimism, a sense that with science and reason†¦ human beings and human society would improve. [3]† It could go without saying that the Enlightenment period was new and creative, very much different from the traditional aspects of the Catholic Church. We will write a custom essay sample on History of the Christian Church Ii the Decline of European Christianity or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page â€Å"Instead, the Enlightenment thinkers developed a way of understanding the universe called Deism. [4]† Perhaps no nation more proudly flaunts its secularism than France. The land that launched the millennium of Christendom by crowning Charlemagne Holy Roman Emperor in 800 has morphed into a staunchly secularist state, opposed to even the most cursory mention of Christianitys historic influence in the European Unions recently drafted constitution. Over the years France has exemplified the convergence of academic skepticism and popular unrest that has produced empty church pews across the continent. [5]† Another contributor to the shift in European beliefs was the concept of Syncretism. Syncretism is â€Å"the combination of different forms of belief or practice,[6]† or, â€Å"the fusion of two or more originally different inflectional forms. [7]† There is nothing innately wrong with adaption and assimilation of other cultures. In fact, it can be a very good thing. Blending knowledge, technology, and histories can broaden cultures and the minds of the people that live in it. Yet when a religious culture assimilates into another religious culture, it can be nothing but expected that the dominate religion will be adapted. â€Å"Religion is part of the core beliefs of most cultures. Religion is a word of experience, but it has a correlate in an extra-experiential Reality which is a dominating factor in the situation out of which religion develops. To eliminate an objective God from religion is as illogical as to eliminate the soil and air from the life of a plant. [8]† In conclusion, it is difficult to point to any set moment or person, as change i s gradual and involves many factors. Adaption to time and cultures contributes, at the very basic of culprits, to the decline in Christianity, as with anything.