SS Timeline

Age of Faith

Nick D.

The Ancients

(3600-2000 BCE)

The life of the ancients revolved around religion. Their religion was polytheistic and the individual had absolutely no worth in this system. There was no free will for the people either. The ancients lived in the most faith based era of them all, any knowledge of science was frowned upon. Their limited scientific influence was hoarded by their governments.

Nick D.

The Hebrews

(2000 BCE)

The Hebrews challenged the ideas of the Ancients. Their society was still very much based on faith, but they were the first to believe in the value of the individual. The Hebrews were monotheistic, and they believed in an omnipotent god. The Hebrews were still majorly religious, but they were the first to recognize the worth of each person, which is why they are slightly closer to the age of reason than the Ancients.

Nick D.

The Christians

(6 BCE)

Christianity majorly affected the cultures surrounding it, even in a time where they were often persecuted for their beliefs. The Christians promised a personal relationship with god. Up until this point, no religion before had done this. It gave the individual even greater value in society. However they were still a religious group, so they stay very close to the faith end on the Faith vs. Reason scale. Science was still frowned upon by the leaders of the church and innovation was at a standstill.

Nick D.

The Middle Ages

(Feudalism)

(476-1450 CE)

The Ancients

After the fall of the Roman Empire, Europe descended into a dark time because almost all of the knowledge about science and reason that the Romans had acquired was lost. Europe took a huge step backwards and life was terrible for a regular person. The Roman Catholic Church was the only major institution to retain knowledge at this time, and they chose to hide their information from the people. The Middle Ages are placed much closer to the age of Faith because of all the last knowledge of their time.

The Hebrews

The Christians

The Middle Ages

Alex L.

Age of reason

The

Black Death

The Black Death

(The Bubonic Plague)

(1346-53 CE)

The Black Death was an event that brought about change across most of Europe. The main change occurred among the serfs and lower class. The Black Death resulted in questions being raised about the church and the way people lived their lives.

The Black Death is placed below the Protestant Reformation because it caused people to start questioning the church, but they were not yet willing to do anything about it. However, at the time of the Black Death the lower class started losing faith in the preachings of the church as a result of the upper class dying from the plague as easily as they did.

The End

The

Enlightenment

The

Reformation

Alex L.

The Enlightenment

(1651-1789 CE)

During the Enlightenment, philosophers conducted thought-experiments using rational thinking. These experiments looked into human nature to determine how society should be setup. Some of the major philosophers involved in these experiments were: Thomas Hobbes, John Locke, Jean-Jacques Rousseau and Voltaire.

The Enlightenment was the key factor that allowed the majority of society to make the shift from faith to reason, due to insights made into human nature. By the end of the Enlightenment most people in Europe were in favor of rational thinking and science being the answer to the questions they had about the world around them. It is because of this the Enlightenment is placed

closest to the Age of Reason.

Alex L.

The Protestant Reformation

(1517-1648 CE)

The Protestant reformation lead by Martin Luther called out the flaws in the Roman Catholic church. This created the new religion of Protestantism which allowed for a more personal relationship with god.

After the Black Death people started questioning the Roman Catholic church and how it was run but were incapable of demanding change, until the Protestant Reformation. At the time of the Reformation many shared the views of Martin Luther, but they need a leader and found that in Luther. This major event moved people away from the Age of Faith however they were limited in their progression along the path towards reason because of the overwhelming

power of the church.

The Greeks

The Scientific Revolution

Nick D.

The Greeks

(500-30 BCE)

The Greeks made huge changes in terms of science and reason. They were still a mostly religion based society, but Athens was the birthplace of early democracy. The Greeks were way ahead of their time in the way that they were more accepting of science and reason than previous eras. The Greeks also introduced the idea of equality, which had never appeared in any civilization before. The Greek era was even more science and reason based than the Age of Reformation.

Alex L.

The Scientific Revolution

(1473-1690 CE)

The Romans

The Scientific Revolution was a time of great advancements in science and understanding of the world. As well, the idea of reason was developed at this time.

The Scientific Revolution was one of the first major movements after the Middle Ages towards the Age of Reason and where we are today. The scientific advancements made during the Revolution allowed people to have proof against what the church was saying, and by the end more and more people were moving away from faith and towards science and reason. This resulted in society moving ever closer to the Age of Reason.

The

Renaissance

Nick D.

The Romans

(509 BCE - 476 CE)

The Romans were very focused on religion, but innovation was big part of their culture. Under Roman control, roads were built across Europe, as well as philosophy and science being explored thoroughly despite the Religious institutions dislike of the concept of reason. The Romans also believed that the law should be rational, as opposed to being purely based on what the religious institutions decided. The Romans were placed in the age of reason because of their lessened dependence on Faith, and their embrace of new ideas and innovation.

Alex L.

The Renaissance

(1350-1550 CE)

The Renaissance was a time of great advancement in philosophy and art. All of the amazing things that were occurring at the time gave the common man hope for the future.

As people developed hope came a respect for the natural world and for the life they were living. Unlike the Middle Ages where people were rewarded in heaven for their hardship and toll on earth. This change helped people move away from the Age of Faith and closer to the Age of Reason. Hence the placement of the Renaissance on the scale.