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==The Renaissance and Religion==
The Renaissance is often seen as a secular and even pagan movement that was in many ways anti-Christian. This was certainly the case in Italy, the birthplace of the Renaissance, here the humanists were particularly worldly and had little interest in the Church<ref> Patrick, p 115</ref>. Several early Italian humanists, such as Petrarch sought to reform the Church, but his successors were largely secular in outlook and in their concerns. Many humanist were interested in reforming the Church, but in the main the Church and religion was not a major preoccupation of the Italian humanists. However, there were many Renaissances and the movement took many forms in different countries<ref> Payton, p. 45</ref>. The ideas of the Italian Renaissance found their way to the North of Europe at a time when there was a receptive audience for them. The ideas of the Renaissance and the works of classical writers were transmitted throughout northern Europe by the new printing press. This led to the Northern Renaissance this is the term given to the cultural flowering, north of the Alps, in German-speaking countries, France, England and elsewhere. The Northern Renaissance was a unique event and although influenced by the Italian Renaissance was different in some crucial regards. <ref> Patrick, p. 123</ref> . It also was interested in the ancient past and believed that it offered an alternative view of what life could be and could even provide practical guidance as to how people should live and organize their societies. However, the Northern Europe was much more religious in its concerns than the Italian Renaissance <ref> Chipps Smith, Jeffrey. The Northern Renaissance. Phaidon Press, 2004), p. 167</ref>. The Northern Humanists made the reform of the Church their chief preoccupation. Many German, English and other Northern Humanists saw no contradictions between Christianity and the study of ancient cultures and believed that they could be reconciled<ref> Chipps, p 119</ref>. The religious character of the Renaissance north of the Alp was due in part to the continuing influence of the Church, unlike in Italy, where its, was in decline. Despite the often deplorable state of the Church the general population and even the elite remained very religious. The demand for the reform of the Church was very popular and was a particular preoccupation of the elite. The desire for Church reform can be seen in the works of major Northern Renaissance figures such as Thomas More or Rabelais, who satirised satirized the abuses in the monasteries , in particular<ref> Patrick, p. 145</ref>. The Northern Humanists inspired many people to become more strident in their demands for reforms and the end of abuses such as simony and clerical immorality. The works of Erasmus were particularly important in this regard. In his much admired and widely read book ‘In Praise of Folly’ he lampooned and ridiculed corrupt clerics and immoral monks<ref> O'Neill, J, ed. The Renaissance in the North. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1987), p. 5</ref>. The attacks of the Northern humanists on the Church did much to encourage others to see it in the new light and they became less deferential to the clergy and this was to lead many of them to support the Reformers when they attempted to end the corruption in the Church <ref>Collinson, Patrick. The Reformation: A History (Longman, London, 2006), p.87</ref>. Previously, many people believed that the Church was not capable of reforming itself and simply accepted it. The humanists believed in reasons and the possibility of progress in all aspects of human life. They argued that what was happening at present was not fated to be and could be improved and changed, which was contrary to the medieval view of an unchanging and fixed order. This belief in the possibility of change inspired many people to seek real and meaningful changes in the church and when they failed to secure these, they sought to create alternative churches<ref> Collinson, p. 56</ref>. [[File: Valla One.jpg|thumbnail|200px| Lorenzo Valla, great Italian Humanists]].jpg
==Humanism and the Church==
The humanists were intellectuals who were mostly interested in scholarly pursuits. They sought to understand the ancient world, in order to find answers and knowledge and they studied ancient texts in order to achieve this. They wanted to go back to the original texts in order to understand the past and in particular wanted to remove medieval corruptions and additions to texts. Their cry was ‘Ad Fontas’ in Latin, which is in English ‘to the sources’.<ref> Payton, p. 57</ref>. They studied the ancient texts and developed textual strategies to understand the great works of the classical past. The Humanists were better able to understand the works of the past after developing ways to analyse texts. The development of textual criticism was not only of academic interest but was to change the way that people came to see the Church and was ultimately to undermine the authority of the Pope. The power of the Church rested on the authority of the Pope and the prelates which was ultimately based on tradition<ref> Patrick, p. 121</ref>. The humanists employed their textual analysis and techniques to the bible and other works and they made some astonishing discoveries and they provided evidence that undermined the claims of the Catholic Church. Ironically, a humanist employed by the Pope, was one of the first to discredit the traditional authority of the Papacy in the Renaissance. The Pope was not just a spiritual leader but he claimed to have real political power. The Pontiffs were masters of the Papal States in central Italy and many even believed that the monarchs of Europe were subject to their judgement. This was based on the Donation of Constantine, a document from the first Christian Emperor, which purported to show that he had bequeathed his authority to the Popes <ref> Davies, Tony. Humanism The New Critical Idiom. (University of Stirling, UK. Routledge, 1997), p 34</ref>. This document was used to justify the Pope’s temporal power. An Italian humanist named Lorenzo Valla began to study this document historically and he found that it was written in a style of Latin that was from the 8th century and long after the death of Constantine. Valla showed that the document was a forgery. This and other revelations, at a time when the Papacy was very corrupt, helped to weaken the authority of the Pope and did much to embolden reformers to challenge the Church. Erasmus did much to discredit the traditional theology of the Church when he discovered that the words in the Catholic bible in relation to the Trinity (that God has three persons) was not in the earliest versions<ref> Davies, p 67</ref>. He argued that the Catholic Church had added the words to support some statements that had been agreed at a Church Council in the Roman era. Once again, by returning to the original sources a medieval corruption was discovered and old assumptions proven to be false and this weakened the position of the Catholic Church<ref> Davies, p. 134</ref>.
