World Religions

Introduction to World Religions Study Guide

Chapter 9: Modern Times

©2018 Achieve Page 87 of 96 , was a cultural movement that started in Europe in the 17 th and 18 th centuries. The movement spread to the American colonies and helped to frame the documents the colonies used to gain their independence from Great Britain. The purpose of the movement was to reform society using reason. This movement challenged existing ideas that had been grounded in tradition, especially faith. This advanced knowledge brought the scientific method. Science was a discipline that was promoted through interchange. This movement opposed superstition, intolerance, and the abuses that had occurred in the church and state. National Variations Each country embraced the Age of Enlightenment differently and with their own local emphasis. For example, in France, the movement became associated with an anti-government and anti-Church radicalism. In Germany, it was a middle class movement with a spiritualistic and nationalistic tone; it was not deemed a threat to the German government or the established church. As individuals and localities responded differently to the Enlightenment, so did governments. In France, the government was understandably hostile and moved to censor the ideas. Those embracing the Enlightenment were often imprisoned or hounded into exile. The British government simply ignored the Enlightenment and the leaders in England and Scotland. The government, however, gave Isaac Newton a knighthood and a very lucrative government position in charge of the mint. Demythologization and Rationalization A myth is something that is regarded as historical or obsolete. Scholars in the field of cultural studies are researching the idea that the myth has worked itself into modern discourses. With the ease of discussing ideas across the globe, mythological discourse and exchanges play to massive audiences. Various elements of myth can now be found in television, movies, and video games. Myths have been transmitted through oral traditions. In current times, the transmittal method has been the film industry showing myths to large audiences. Carl Jung noted that myths are the expression of a culture or society’s goals, fears, ambitions, and dreams. Films reflect the norms and ideals of the time in which it was created. While the technological aspect of film changes the way the myth is distributed, the core idea of the myth remains the same. Many contemporary movies have deeply rooted stories based in myths. The Disney Corporation relies on ancient myths from which to construct narratives. They then reinvent the traditional childhood myths and reconstruct the story. The plots are based on rough structures of the myth. Disney is not the only movie-making enterprise that relies on ancient myths, sometimes even current myths, to make stories. The plots of many films are based on technology, battles between 9.1 Religious Movements The Enlightenment The Age of Enlightenment , or The Age of Reason