On Christian Humanism during the European Renaissance

Christianity was closely related to humanism during the European Renaissance. What medieval religious tradition had inherited from the classical culture of Antiquity, it was now giving back in the interpenetration between the study of humanism and the study of Christian thought and theology. As an institution, the Roman Catholic Church of Italy, the country where humanism began, was becoming increasingly secularized while the Christian laity was becoming increasingly pietistic. When humanism spread northward beyond the Alps, the revival of classical culture gave birth to Christian humanism. The Protestant Reformation championed by Martin Luther was the inevitable result and transformation from the Christian humanism movement.