“Secularism” is a word derived from the word “secular”, meaning “of this world”. The idea of secularism originated when economic and political opportunities opened up in the late middle ages for Western Europe, which encouraged more people to take an interest in this world. A new perspective on life was formed, where people saw life as something more than a trial before going to heaven. One of the main ways people showed this was through art, which showed descriptive details of scenery and anatomy. Another way the people of this time expressed their secularistic beliefs was by throwing large parties and banquets, wearing expensive clothes, and treating themselves to indulgences. Secularism, which in similarity to humanism, was more of a movement, and wasn’t caused by a single person. These ideals would go on to change the way that society functioned forever.
“Humanism” relates to “Secularism” because it focuses on human beings, instead of gods or religion, as the center of life. Renaissance art showed this well due to it depicting humans as the center of art, not for religion but for the “beauty of the human body” in a sense. Humanists, which were the people that believed in humanism, pushed for artists and architects to carry on classic traditions derived from Greek nature and form. This style of art and architecture which was brought on by humanism was seen all throughout the renaissance and can still be seen to this date. Along with art and architecture; humanists popularized the study of more classic education; History, Literature, and Philosophy. The subjects that were just mentioned were coined as “humanities”.
How Were These Ideals a Turning Point?-
Secularism and Humanism caused a turning point in society due to the revival of ancient Greek traditions and arts. This can be seen in works of art such as “Andrea Mantegna” and Leonardo Da Vinci's “Vitruvian Man”. This focus on humans over religion also caused a major shift in philosophical views, and humanism is still taken into account today when making philosophical claims. Secularism has also caused many changes in philosophical views, creating the use of indulgences and causing society to relax a lot more on religion and focus more on living in the moment over appeasing a god. The main reason these views had such an impact was due to the rigorous application of religion at the time. Citizens, seeing Humanism and Secularism as an escape to a freedom of choice in religion, quickly fell in love with the principles, and to this day we still “love” Humanism and Secularism. In summary, Humanism and Secularism both had many reasons for their effects on society. For more information on the various impacts, please check the Impacts tab.