"Enlightenment...

Individual’s struggle
in search for truth"

 Praxis 6
 Guadalupe Acosta
 Joseph Didiana
 Mariana Gasca
 Desiree Gardner
 Beverly Peterson
 Joel Salvador

Struggle for Religious Freedom
Throughout history the dominant religion in any
given nation has had power either in a direct or
indirect way in areas such as government ,
education , art , and science .

But what happens when toleration for other

religions is lost? We have seen the persecution
and wars in many nations throughout different time
periods . All have been guilty of this crime : Jews ,
Muslims , Hindus , Buddhists , Catholics , and
Protestants , Sikhs , and even ideologies like Nazism ,
Facism , Socialism , Communism , etc .
Why does it Matter?
These religious lessons are what
shaped the foundation of our country ,
especially the era when the Catholic
Church was the dominant religion
across Europe in the 1500 ’ s . This
situation gave the Vatican power and
influence over politics , people , and
wealth .
 What Problems did this Cause?
Many high ecclesiastics Soon, all the high clerical positions were
became corrupt. They sought after by members of royalty, the
stopped following Church rich. and public officials who obtained them
doctrine and abused their with money or favors.
position in the Church to
increase their wealth.

These members of the Roman Curia began to sell indulgences and had taxes
increased. Whoever went against their decisions was accused of heresy and
persecuted.

Their oppression was not only towards lay members, it also reached the majority
of the Church’s priests, missionaries, and religious clergies who had remained
faithful to the Church’s teachings. Their efforts towards justice, charity, and their
work in education, art, and literature were hindered by the cruelty, lack of
tolerance, and oppression of the Roman Curia.
 Protestant Reformation
The more land Catholicism covered , the greater the power
of its leaders . A division in doctrine meant a threat to
their power and wealth . Those who had dared confront their
corruption , contradict or disobey the Roman Curia were
accused of heresy and persecuted .

Martin Luther : the first to publicly confront the

Church
Martin Luther wrote the Ninety-Five Theses on the
Power and Efficacy of Indulgences which he posted
on the door of the Castle Church, protesting
against the Catholic Church’s doctrine.
Later he would establish his own religion, the
Protestants.
Luther’s stand against the Church encouraged the
same in other countries, and as a result, many
other Protestant religions were formed.
 The Struggle Continues…

Unfortunately, oppression only switched to

different hands. Many kings, like Henry VIII who
declared himself Pope of the Church of England,
manipulated religion to make it convenient for
them. Meanwhile, people were still given an
official religion to follow—only now it was one
of the many Protestant religions.

Many years of intolerance

followed. There were wars
between Catholics and
Protestants , Protestants
against other Protestants,
and general intolerance
towards other religions
like Judaism and Islam.
 When Change Began…
The religious change brought change in the Church ’ s
corrupt ways … some by choice and some by force .
The Church lost political power and was eventually
stripped of most of its wealth . The positions that
were once sought lost their charm .
In general , this brought economic and social change .
Education became more accessible to more and more
people . The study of theology , philosophy , and science
became more accessible .
With education came reason that brought people out of
darkness . Education makes it easier to rebel against
injustices , speak up and question . Education gave
people the tools to look for answers ... it brought
spiritual enlightenment .
And it is the knowledge that education brought that
ultimately leads to tolerance .
 Some Enlightenment
The Birth of Thinkers
Enlightenment… Scientists: Copernicus, Galileo
(helio-centricism), Newton
(gravity)
If the universe operates on fixed
The Protestant Reformation principles, hence, is a machine
was a key factor in the operating by fixed natural laws.
flowering of
Enlightenment that had Philosophers: Francis Bacon
its origins in the Inductive method (observe vs.
scientific and authority)
intellectual revolutions If the universe runs on fixed
of the 17 th century .
laws, then the universe can be
Enlightenment thinkers known by Reason, without
felt that change and Revelation.
reason were both possible
and desirable for the Theologians: Descartes: “I
sake of human liberty . think, therefore I am”
Man can start with himself and
Enlightenment philosophies find truth apart from any help.
provided a major source
of ideas that could be
used to undermine
existing social and
political structures .
 Enlightenment Core Ideology
"Enlightenment is man's emergence from his self-incurred immaturity"

(Immanuel Kant, 1784).
1. Human autonomy is the means and end of
Enlightenment
a. Humans develop and mature through the use
of their reason and seeking knowledge without
interference of the church or the state.
b. Human autonomy changes the relationship
between individual freedom and the state.
2. The importance of reason
a. Freedom means being able to think rationally
for yourself according to reason and not relying
on superstition, faith, and blind obedience.
b. Reason will lead to the truth through science
rather than opinion or faith. Through scientific
inquiry all the mysteries of the universe can be
solved and the solutions revealed to all the
problems people face.
3. Enlightenment is universal
All human beings possess the ability to be
enlightened. Humans are equal by nature and
part of a “universal community” who share a
single universal human nature. Differences
among people are less important than their
fundamental sameness.
4. Progress
Humanity is progressing from immaturity, superstition,
and slavery to maturity, reason, and freedom. Human
history is therefore the story of progress in the human
condition.
5. Secularism
Religion and politics should be separated. There
should be no official religion. Individual’s method of
worship should be a private matter.
6. The centrality of economics to politics
The social organization of production and distribution
becomes a central problem for enlightenment
ideologies. A society’s well-being depends on how its
economy is structured.
7. The ideal of popular government
a. People are capable of ruling themselves. The
aristocrats are not the only class that could rule, the
middle class, or bourgeoisie, should also play a part in
politics.
b. Support for popular government must be developed
into support for democracy.
How did the The American Revolution :
Reformation Product of the Enlightenment ideals .
Era lead to
spiritual and It emphasized
social idea of natural
rights.
Enlightenment
? Equality and
independence free
The example of the
Church’s corrupt years from oppressive,
is an example of what tyrannical rule of
happens when the absolute monarchs.
government determines
the nation’s religion The repressive leadership and social and
or when religion economic hardship from high taxation led to
defines the government. rebellion.
There needs to be a The power was placed back into the hands of the
division between people.
church and state for United States Bill of Rights

there to be freedom of The Bill of Rights limits the power of Congress

religion and of
thought. by prohibiting it from making any law favoring
of any religion or prohibiting its practice.



 “ There are many paths to
enlightenment . Be sure to
take one with a heart .” – Lao Tzu
The greatest


outbreaks for equality

have come from those
who have chosen to
follow their hearts.
Only those who fight
for something they
believe deep in their
hearts achieve true
enlightenment.
 "Enlightenment is a full,
permanent recognition of what
one truly is, free of all false
positions, speculations and other
mental encumbrances. At the end
of a hard day trading, it is
enlightenment that is the only
thing worth taking home from the
spiritual marketplace."
Oshana Dave
 Additional Text:
Ninety-Five Theses on the
Power and Efficacy of
Indulgences
Author: Martin Luther
This text protesting against the
Catholic Church’s doctrine.

United States
Declaration of
Independence
Author: Thomas Jefferson United States
Bill of Rights
Document declaring Author: James Madison
independence from Great
Britain: Marked limits on the
“We hold these truths to be self- government to protect
evident, that all men are created
equal, that they are endowed by American personal
their Creator with certain limits.
unalienable Rights, that among
these are Life, Liberty and the
pursuit of Happiness.”
Suggested Readings
 In The Enlightenment: The
Rise of Modern Paganism,
Peter Gay analyzed the
struggle about the
philosophes that pitted
classical pagan thought
against their Christian
heritage. In The Science of
Freedom, the second book is
a brilliant reinterpretation of
the philosophes begun in
the first book. The second
book describes the
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