Enlightenment
Enlightenment[edit]
The Age of Enlightenment, or simply the Enlightenment, began in Europe among intellectuals in the 17th and 18th centuries. Its aim was to challenge faith-based norms in society by using reason, science and logic. Many proponents of the Enlightenment were punished by the church and state as much of their ideas and teachings stood in stark opposition to the teachings of the church. Well known early leaders of the Enlightenment movement include Voltaire and Isaac Newton. \\ Eventually, the ideological basis of the Enlightenment spread to America where it influenced revolutionaries including Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Jefferson and played a key role in deciding the principles of the US Bill of Rights and the Declaration of Independence
