Secularism In The Renaissance

Erasmus, an important figure of the Renaissance, once said, “Now I believe I can hear the philosophers protesting that it can only be misery to live in folly, illusion, deception and ignorance, but it isn’t: it’s human. I don’t see why they call it a misery when you’re all born, formed and fashioned in this pattern, and it’s the common lot of mankind. There is no misery about remaining true to type” (West 22). The Renaissance was the revival of the Greek and Roman classics from the 1300 - 1600. There were countless changes from the Middle Ages to the period of the Renaissance. One of them was the evolving role of artists. Artists from the Middle ages were barely recognized. They were seen as artisans and other low class occupations. This concept

According to a study, “Atheism is a lack of belief in gods. Secularism simply provides a framework for a democratic society. Atheists have an obvious interest in supporting secularism, but secularism itself does not seek to challenge the tenets of any particular religion or belief, neither does it seek to impose atheism on anyone” (National Secular Society). The two are very different terms which should be discussed before it gets confusing. Secularism was turning popular after the fourteenth century. Secular art was the new trend, it was fascinating for the public to see paintings, sculptures, and all types of arts dealing with topics disregarding religion. The Middle Ages were a period in which all arts were related to religion. Part of the reason of this was the fact that almost all patronage was done by the church. The church would pay the artists to create beautiful sculptures and paintings of representations of God and other religious figures. One religious event that was artistically popular was the Crucifixion. The image of the Crucifixion was done by many different artists like Giotto and Nardo di Cione and was performed in the form of painting and sculpture. Renaissance art was less focused on God and more into humanism, individualism, and the everyday life. People began to gain interest in other subjects that did not had to do with Christianity. The work of artists focused on the importance of humans and our life down here in earth. An excellent example of Renaissance art is the etching “ The Fair on St. George’s Day.” This etching contains an image of the holiday of St. George’s Day celebrated by the common people and shows the many different types of leisure activities. “The Fair on St. George’s Day” excludes concentration on religion, exposes the activities done by the common people, and shows the spirit of Humanism. All of these