The 17th-century philosophy played a huge role in shaping the religious beliefs of the time. Different philosophers made critical but varying arguments about the concept of God and religion. These arguments made by Descartes, Spinoza, and other philosophers changed how people believed in and viewed God. For instance, Spinoza’s argument implied that God is not the ultimate creator of the world. He made it clear that the world itself was a part of God on the same view. It is arguments like this that brought more public attention to the concept of God as a creator. Spinoza’s view differed from what Christians and the Jews held in their beliefs. He brought a new perspective that was disputed and, at the same time considered, to varying extents.
There are some chances that Spinoza’s argument is true and valid considering the outline of God’s nature from other philosophers like Descartes. Spinoza’s influence and impact on religion and philosophy were not highly considered at first, but it continued to grow towards the mid of the 17th century. Spinoza made significant contributions to the various disciplines of philosophy with his arguments. His philosophy presents God as Nature itself rather than the transcendent universe creator. Spinoza articulates that human beings only find happiness through the reason-based understanding of the world and its role. His impact on philosophy is directly linked to his extreme naturalistic perception of God, humans, the world, and knowledge.
Other effects of 17th-century philosophy on religion and beliefs about God were seen through the works of Rene Descartes and John Locke. These two scholars made significant strides, and they were both philosophical innovators despite coming from different places. Their contributions shaped and took the philosophy of religion in new directions. Descartes used rationalism in his arguments about God, the world, and the existence of humankind. His main argument was based on the idea that reason is human’s main source of knowledge. Here, God is removed from the center of philosophical thought and is viewed as the guarantor of the dependability and effectiveness of human sensory experiences. Descartes made different arguments about the relation between humans and God. Although he does not dispute the existence of God at any point, Descartes makes reasonable arguments that disagree with those made by his counterparts, like Spinoza. These arguments made about the nature of God and how the world is God’s work created different reactions which gradually contributed to the Enlightenment between the 17th and 18th centuries. John Locke is another key philosopher of this period. He joined the philosophy of religion debate with his empiricism view.
Unlike Descartes, who argued that reason is the human’s main source of knowledge, Locke introduced the opposing idea that experience was the chief source of human knowledge. This empiricism approach induced a more rational approach towards religion. These arguments by Descartes and Locke brought some doubts and changes on the religion of the time. Some followers of these philosophers disapproved of their traditional beliefs and considered the new perceptions that had started being implied. Followers like Matthew Tindal and John Toland were key figures in executing the new beliefs. It’s important to note that empiricism used reason to disregard the authority of miracles and divine revelation. The principles of rationalism and empiricism used by these two philosophers shunned mystery in religion and appealed to natural religion. The natural religion, also referred to as the religion of nature, was established on the propositional basis that any reasonable and intelligent individual would accept.
Other philosophical arguments about religion presented it as an escape from and compensation for some unhappy prospects of the human existence and condition of living. Some philosophers who adopted this approach include Karl Marx. At some point in his philosophical quest, he stated that religion is “the sigh of the oppressed creature, the heart of a heartless world and the soul of soulless conditions. It is the opium of the people.” These comments about religion generally implied that it was just a refuge created by humans due to some of the inconveniences in their lives. Calling it the opium of the people was an indication that it was a scapegoat used to get people hooked on to the supernatural world. Among those who considered God a projection were thinkers who were influenced by modern science. Unlike philosophers like Spinoza and Descartes, thinkers like Karl did not accept or reject the existence of God. The argument was further extended that there was no sufficient and reliable evidence for or against the existence of God.
The 17th-century philosophy has often been associated with the gradual shift from religious orthodoxy and oppression towards atheism, pre-enlightenment deism toleration, and agnosticism. However, in reality, the religious thought of the 17th century is much more complicated than what this scheme proposes. All these different propositions by different philosophers brought up a buzz among the public on the true nature of religion. The philosophers’ result of these ideas included the sprouting of geographically far-flung religious movements that had different beliefs and characters. There was also the adoption of a stream of interconnected religious opinions and developments. These interconnected religious ideas may today look strange and irrelevant to philosophy. Still, during the 17th century, they were considered important and taken seriously by almost all the main philosophers.
The fact that an individual could hold multiple beliefs concerning the concepts of religion and God cast some doubts and unreliability on the philosophical implications of Descartes, Spinoza, and the others. All these philosophers who made these varying religious arguments lived in a religion-dominated society, and they also experienced tremendous difficulties primarily caused by religious concerns. Some of the difficult experiences and events that influenced the religious philosophy of the 17th century included the thirty years war, the reformation, counter-reformation, and the puritan revolution, among others. The above religious events, ideas, and movements influenced 17th century philosophical thought. However, the main focus was that these issues were deeply infused with the philosophical conceptions of knowledge, the importance of scientific research, and human nature.
The rise of the Age of reason, also known as the Age of Enlightenment, is today considered a key philosophical and intellectual movement of the 17th century. This movement considerably dominated the world of ideas in Europe. It encompassed multiple ideas based on the value of the pursuit of human happiness, the pursuit of knowledge through reason and evidence from the sensory experiences, and other ideal factors such as progress, liberty, toleration, and the separation of the authority held by the church and the state. The roots of the enlightenment period are considered the European scholarly and intellectual movement called Renaissance humanism. Some other suggestions indicate that the Age of Reason also came after the scientific revolution and the philosophical works of Francis Bacon. Therefore, the scientific revolution is also said to house the roots of this important philosophical era- the Enlightenment. The Age of Reason is where most people started questioning their religious beliefs. The government held some authority over its people on what was fit or not fit to believe in. Philosophers like Descartes, Karl Marx, Spinoza, and others hugely impacted how the public was religiously controlled by their governments. The rise of the Enlightenment gave people some liberation, and they could now hold the religious beliefs they considered best fit for them.
Scientists and philosophers of the 17th century passed their information widely to the public through different methods like walking into coffee houses, masonic lodges, scientific academies meetings, salons, journals, pamphlets, and printed books. The idea of Enlightenment defended the rights of the public, and they were now able to stray away from their traditional beliefs and join other religious beliefs that they preferred. The enlightenment era mostly constituted the acts of disregarding and undermining the authority of the English monarchy and the Catholic Church, which was the most common religious structure in England at the time. These early counters by the philosophers created religious options for the people of England and also paved the way for the political revolutions that followed later in the 18th century. Some movements with philosophical traces like communism, liberalism, and neoclassicism were founded in the 18th century but had intellectual roots based on the Age of Enlightenment.
Philosophy played a major role in diversifying religion in the 17th century. At that time, religious liberation was witnessed in different parts of the world apart from England. For instance, in France, the Age of Enlightenment was also witnessed, and the main doctrines of the philosophers mostly included religious tolerance and individual liberty. Just like in England, these philosophers also opposed the monarchy rule and the strict tenets proposed by the church. During the Enlightenment, there was more emphasis on reductionism and other scientific methods. Additionally, there was increased questioning of religious orthodoxy at the same time. The philosophy of the 17th century is therefore critical, and it played an important part in creating religious freedom.
Works Cited
Galilei, Galileo, The Essential Galileo, edited and translated by Maurice A. Finocchiaro,
(Cambridge, 2008).
Glanvill, Joseph, Sciri tum nihil est: or The Authors defense of The Vanity of Dogmatizing;
Against the Exceptions of The Learned Tho. Albius in his Late Sciri, (London, 1665).
Glanvill, Joseph, Essays on Several Important Subjects in Philosophy and Religion,(London,1676).
Hobbes, Thomas, The English Works of Thomas Hobbes of Malmesbury, edited by William Molesworth, (11 vols., London, 1839).