Test 2 – Review, Part 3
World
History
Christianity Spreads
Throughout Roman Empire
• At first, Christianity is illegal in Roman Empire.
• In 312 A.D., Emperor Constantine legalizes
Christianity. It eventually becomes official religion
of the Empire.
• When the Western Roman Empire falls to German
barbarians in the 400’s A.D., the Roman Catholic
Church (led by the Pope) takes over and rules for
the next 1100 years (through the Middle Ages)
How Religion Helped Spread of Democracy
• Jewish Religion
– Was started about 1800 B.C. when God spoke to
Abraham
– Monotheistic: Belief in ONE God (Yahweh)
– All people are children of God – equal, with rights
– Ten Commandments
• Contains both Religious Laws (no false gods; honor God on
Sabbath; etc.) and Moral Laws (do not lie, steal, murder,
etc.)
– Prophets: Taught that governments and leaders
should not oppress others and should help the poor
(justice)
– Holy Book: Hebrew Bible (Old Testament)
How Religion Helped Spread of Democracy
• Christian Religion
– Was started by Jesus Christ around 33 A.D.
– Monotheistic: Belief in ONE God (who exists as a
Trinity – Father, Son (Jesus) & Holy Spirit)
– Shares Jewish belief that all people are children of
God – equal, with rights
– Shares Jewish belief that rulers must govern with
justice, caring for poor & not oppressing people
– Jesus taught love of neighbor, even of enemies
(especially in Sermon on the Mount)
– Holy Book: Hebrew Bible (Old Testament) and
Christian Bible (New Testament, including Gospels)
How Religion Helped Spread of Democracy
• Muslim Religion (Islam)
– Was started by Muhammad around 600 A.D.
– Monotheistic: Belief in ONE God (Allah)
– Shares Jewish & Christian beliefs that all people are
children of God – equal, with rights
– Shares Jewish & Christian belief about justice and
taking care of the poor
– Teaches tolerance of Jews and Christians
– Holy Book: Qur’an (Koran)
In Middle Ages…
(from 500 to 1300 A.D.)
• Western Roman Empire has
fallen.
• Roman Catholic Church (led by
Pope) rules and becomes
powerful, authoritarian
religious and political
organization that insists on
absolute obedience
Renaissance (1300-1500 A.D.) …
• “Rebirth” of Greek and Roman
ideas. The Renaissance
emphasized:
1. Humanism: Focus on the
human, rather than God or
religion
2. Individualism: Focus on
equality and worth of all
people
3. Secularism: Focus on this
world, not the spiritual world
Important Renaissance Thinkers …
1. Erasmus: Catholic priest and humanist who
supported religious toleration and reform to
end corruption in Roman Catholic Church.
Important Renaissance Thinkers …
2. Thomas More:
Humanist advisor to
England’s King Henry
VIII who wrote
“Utopia,” about an
ideal, peaceful world.
Beheaded by Henry VIII
for refusing to leave the
Catholic Church and join
Henry’s new Anglican
Church (Church of
England).
Important Renaissance Thinkers …
3. Machiavelli: Wrote
that rulers could act
immorally, if
necessary, to
maintain their
power, and that
ends sometimes
justify means.
Reformation (1500’s A.D.) …
• Martin Luther, a priest,
protests against the power
and corruption in the Roman
Catholic Church
• He and others break away
from the Catholic Church and
form new (Protestant)
Churches
• The absolute power of the
Roman Catholic Church is
broken
• People become free to choose
their own religion
Enlightenment (1600s & 1700s)
• An intellectual movement
in Europe
• Applied methods of science
and principles of reason to
human society, especially
government
• Influenced the American
Revolution and the French
Revolution, which both
were attempts to replace
monarchy with democracy
Important Enlightenment Thinkers …
1. Thomas Hobbes: People are
basically selfish and ambitious,
but want security and safety
more than freedom, so they enter
into a “social contract,”
submitting to an authoritarian
ruler to prevent disorder.
2. John Locke: People are basically
good and want a limited
government that will protect their
basic rights to life, liberty and
property. People may rebel
against a government that fails to
protect their rights.
More Enlightenment Thinkers …
3. Jean Jacques Rousseau: Believed in democracy.
People enter into a “social contract,” an
agreement among free individuals to create a
government that responds to their will.
4. Voltaire: Argued for tolerance, freedom of religion
and free speech.
5. Montesquieu: Supported liberty as a natural right
and believed liberty could best be protected if
there was a separation of powers in government
– a check-and-balance between the executive,
legislative and judicial branches of government.
Democracy evolves in England,
setting the stage for democracy in
U.S.
Democracy evolves in England,
setting the stage for democracy in
U.S.
Baby steps in the Middle Ages in England:
1. In 1215, angry nobles force king to sign the Magna Carta, an
agreement that limits the power of the king and protects
individual rights & liberty
2. Common Law develops – laws that develop over time from
customs and traditions of the people, not just the will of the
King.
3. Juries develop – a person accused of a crime is judged by
peers and a royal judge, instead of having to survive a duel
or some other dangerous ordeal.
4. Due process of law develops – people are guaranteed that
they will be judged according to a fair, orderly, known
“process” or procedure, not just arbitrarily at the whim of a
ruler
Democracy evolves in England,
setting the stage for democracy in
U.S.
Bigger steps in the 1600s in England:
1. Parliament, the representative body of the
people, overthrows and beheads a king who
refuses to share power. The king believed in
“Divine Right” -- that his absolute power came
from God (the “divine”), so he did not need to
share power with Parliament or the people.
Democracy evolves in England,
setting the stage for democracy in
U.S.
Bigger steps in the 1600s in England:
2. England endures a brief dictatorship under
Oliver Cromwell.
3. Parliament reestablished the monarchy, but
again clashes with a “divine right” king.
4. Parliament peacefully deposes the king in what
is called “the Glorious Revolution.”
Democracy evolves in England,
setting the stage for democracy in
U.S.
Bigger steps in the 1600s in England:
3. Parliament invites William and Mary from the
Netherlands to become the new king and
queen – but only if they agree to follow a
Constitution and a Bill of Rights.
4. England becomes a “Constitutional Monarchy”
with Parliament in control. The king and queen
only have “limited power” and must follow the
Constitution and the Bill of Rights.
The End!