Where can I find information about the rise of secularism in medieval culture?

Question

I am writing an interdisciplinary essay for my humanities class that I need to make an A on, and I need some good sources. PLEASE HELP!

Answer 1

The rise of secularism in Medieval culture can be traced primarily by examining the spread of Classical culture through Medieval Europe. This spread obviouslly culminated in the Italian Renaissance (approx. 1350 to 1550, depending on who you ask), but this period is not considered "Medieval". There are however traces of Classical and secular culture in Medieval Europe. Here are a few topics it would be worth looking into:

-Classical studies in Ireland and Britian during the 5th and 6th centuries
-the Anglo-Saxon monastic schools (yes, they were "church" schools, but studied Classical culture not just as a tool for church work, but as valuable in-and-of itself. (Bede and Aldhelm)
-the Carolingian Educational Reforms (Charlemagne) and the so-called "Twelfth Century Renaissance."

If you're looking for sources, here are a couple:
-"The Classical Heritage and It's Beneficiaries", R.R. Bolgar. Cambridge University Press
-"The Renaissance of the Twelfth Century," Charles Homer Haskins. Harvard University Press.

**I promise that if you use Haskins as a source for your paper that you will get an A...unless your teacher/professor is an idiot!

Answer 2

secularism:
any movement in society directed away from otherworldliness to life on earth. In the European Middle Ages there was a strong tendency for religious persons to despise human affairs and to meditate on God and the afterlife. As a reaction to this medieval tendency, secularism, at the time of the Renaissance, exhibited itself in the development of humanism, when people began to show more interest in human cultural achievements and the possibilities of their fulfillment in this world. The movement toward secularism has been in progress during the entire course of modern history and has often been viewed as being anti-Christian and antireligious. In the latter half of the 20th century, however, some theologians began advocating secular Christianity. They suggested that Christianity should not be concerned only with the sacred and the otherworldly, but that people should find in the world the opportunity to promote Christian values. These theologians maintain that the real meaning of the message of Jesus can be discovered and fulfilled in the everyday affairs of secular urban living.