Running Head: THE ENLIGHTMENT
(Kent 1994) describes enlightment as an intellectual movement within which certain thinkers, after viewing themselves as better thinkers set out to enlighten the rest. It is believed these thinkers were mostly from London and Paris. They collectively believed that evils such as superstition, ignorance, and tyranny could be eliminated by reason and common sense all with the objective of improving the world as man’s home.
Their principal aims were to confront religion especially in French Catholic and to eliminate the domination of minority and monarchial aristocracies. In America nothing was more powerful than the movement towards the separation of church and state than the realization that no one church could dominate this new state.
Enlightment in America
The 18th century witnessed the passage of several eras amongst them the enlightment age. The main landmarks of enlightment include among others; conflict between religion and politics mostly in United States of well as in Europe. With enlightment, logic and facts were given authority whereas the religious preferred to observe Gods law as their scriptures stipulated.
In America, enlightment resulted to the formation of the American Revolution in the form of resistance of Britain imperialism. This revolution was directly supported by France which gave material support to the Americans – including guns, ammunition and monetary support. (www.anglefine.com) as the debates on enlightment went on, philosophies of enlightment divided people as they intensified.
Religion was blamed for perpetrating the thoughts of the state which worked using correspondences owing to poor exchange of information (Kent 1994) (www.history-world.org/american_revolution) in battles at Lexington, near Boston, 8 Americans and 23 British soldiers were killed. Those who died marked the beginning of the American Revolution. Clearly, American enlightment is not without its shortcomings.In the declaration (www.pbs.org/enlightment) of independence Thomas Jefferson uttered words which have put many Americans to issues/conflict with law. The definition of freedom of speech has led to radical forms of expression in protest such as flag burning which even the court cannot impede.
By and large new science undermined to a great extent the faith proclaimed in Christianity. Things which this new science could not explain became questionable. The result? There was great compromise of scriptural message which resulted from the adoption of illogical and unverified theories including evolution and by replacing the view of things from a Godly perspective to a scientific one. The inception of political practices worsened the rift between religion and politics since with it, came disagreement at international fronts- variation of views. With time, all these conflicts of views and ideologies down-looked biblical truth about God being the supreme controller of the world. By taking sides in wars and conflicts between members of similar religious beliefs this was, literally speaking, against its own teachings of non-violence and peace making amongst warring sides. In a word biblical truth and credibility was once again undermined by this sort of ungodly partisanism.
No doubt the conflict between Christianity and politics was very deep in the colonies where it(Christianity) was most likely introduced by the imperial powers. In Africa which was colonized mostly by Britain, Germany and France, Christianity was treated with great suspicion and initially with resistance and hostility. The encyclopedia of religion notes for instance that the “Voodoo, a syncretic religion pieced together from West African religions, society, Christian religion, and folklore has become the real religion of many Haitians.”
In the United States of America, enlightment took a more significant form as demonstrated by the separation of state and church demanded by the American constitution is a great reflection of enlightment. While enlightment in America seems to have been an advocate for political supremacy, in Europe, where it (enlightment) is believed to have originated, enlightment was viewed as an intellectual movement that emphasized intellectual and wealth creation by encouraging practical reasoning and ignoring the authority hitherto displayed by religion, politics and traditional belief.
In America the effects of enlightment were even more noticeable since it persuaded people to lay blame on religion for their shortcomings. According to the Encyclopedia of religion, (1976) the idea that “Society should be constructed according to the preordained blue prints of divine and neutral law was replaced by the notion that society was, or could be, constructed by man’s own artifice or contrivance.
. A secular, social humanism thus came into being, that in turn, would beget most of the philosophical and sociological theories of the modern world”
According to Henry J. Sage, enlightment was important to America in the sense that it had direct results in the form of the American Revolution. It is the revolution which can be credited to creation of a democratic society.
One of the shortcomings however, of the American enlightment, was its gross failure to address slavery which was outstandingly bothersome. One of the most historically intellectual sources of American Revolution is undoubtedly the American Declaration of independence greatly attributed to Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Jefferson –greatly believed to America’s founding fathers. In his first inaugural address Thomas Jefferson (1776) wrote, “If there be any among us who would wish to dissolve this union or to change its republican form, let them stand undistributed as monuments of the safety with which error of opinion may be tolerated where reason is left free to combat it (Brian, 1997).
In America unlike in Europe, enlightment took the form of democracy as the most manifest form of ideology. In Europe on the other hand enlightment was Marjory built on common sense and tolerance – both seen as facets of reason (www.paganliblary.com) A direct connection that can be made between the American enlightment and paganism is that like democracy – which is a fruit of enlightment, paganism has high tolerance for other paganistic for other paganistic religions and ideas even those that contradicts it’s own.
The number of practicing pagans in the United States of America remains unclear. However studies conducted in American institutions indicates a rise in paganism informs of numbers. The site (www.gc.cuny.edu/faculty/research) reveals a survey carried out by the graduate institute at the City University of New York. The survey labeled as the “American Religious Identification Survey” ARIS. Collectively the 2001 ARIS estimated that in addition to 134 000 wiccans, there exists 140 000 pagans residing in the United States of America (Mark, 1760) . The middle class in Americas has been greatly associated with the revolution. To begin with because of their numeric Might and economic contributions in terms of labor and market.
An even likelier cause of the American Revolution is the contribution of the French. An almost permanent enemy of Britain, France gladly assisted American in material and ideology during the resistance against British imperialism. It goes without saying that movement of enlightment as a movement and probably the success of the French revolution was a greatest motivation factors to the American Revolution. (Brian1997) in Ideological Origins of American Revolution’ believes that the revolution was in the minds of people “The war? That was not part of it; it was only an effect and consequence of it. Further that the records of several legislatures, newspapers in all the colonies ought to have directly resulted in the enlightment of the public opinion which in return led to the |Revolution. Christianity teachings on equality no doubt led to the acceleration of American Revolution. Since Britain, the imperial master was predominantly a Christian empire there emerged with the enlightment, a class of highly critical and logic-loving thinkers who questioned the sincerity of British as a propagator of Christianity in America. The result? These thinkers agreed that Britain was unjustified and a revolution was deemed inevitable (Gay, 1977). defends the view that philosophies environment, programme to an extent science, views of progress, art, society and the acquiring of power are all social historical facets of enlightment. In short all the views arising from American enlightment points towards American Revolution as a general consequence. This enlightment can infact be viewed as an era of rise in levels of information as seen earlier even through newspapers as well as correspondences through philosophers of the time.
References
- Brian, B. (1997). The Ideological Origins of the American Revolution. New York. Cambridge University Press.
- Ernest, D. (1990) Patterns of Faith, Michigan. Harper.
- Gray, (1977) The Enlightment: The Science of Freedom. London: W.W. Norton.
- Hitchens, C. (2007) God is Not Great. London. Atlantic Books.
- Kent, D. (1994) Give Liberty or Give Me Death Amazon Enslow Publishers.
- Magliocco, S. (1997). Folklore and Neo-paganism in America. Retrieved August 25th 2007 from www.beadsland.com.
- Meet, M. (2007) The Pagan Library.
- Meet, M. (1760) The Emergence of the Middle Class: New York: Cambridge University Press.
- Paul, B. (1997). Philosophical Dictionary: Washington DC. Washington State University.
- Varange, V. (1962) The Philosophy of History And Politics. New York City, Noontide Press.