The Enlightenment in America Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

The Enlightenment in America - Research Paper Example American enlightenment started in the 18 century. It reached the country through the port cities. At the beginning of the enlightenment period, only the elite had embraced the new ways of thinking. Famous philosophers spread enlightenment ideas throughout the country during that time. An example of the philosophers was Benjamin Franklin. He spread ideas using cheap materials such as pamphlets and newspapers. The enlightenment ideas started in Europe, but Europeans took a long time to implement the ideas because they had to discuss the implementation of the ideas. Americans adopted the ideas faster than Europe. They started to question the relevance of kings and churches in the era. This resulted into the introduction of the new theology which the educate elite in the society named the rational Christianity1. The rational Christianity theology influenced people from different religions in the society to tolerate each other. This is because new theology made them to accept the idea that God gave human the ability to think rationally. This increased humans’ understanding that enabled them to live according to the moral teachings without considering their religious backgrounds. This made many Americans to embrace Deism that was a belief that is influenced by reason instead of religious teachings like in the past. This belief held that our Creator made the world and the natural laws that are meant to maintain it. It is the duty of humans to ensure that they maintain the world using the natural laws. In the past, people in the country believed that humans were guided by God’s supernatural powers. However, during the enlightenment period, people started to believe that humans are guided by their reasoning ability. The ability is a gift that God gave them, but not supernatural pow ers. Thomas Jefferson was among those who embraced the new philosophy. The beliefs led to the introduction of new laws aligned with the