Religion and Secularism in Renaissance Literature

Were the classic Renaissance works of Sir Thomas More (Utopia), Baldassare Castiglione (The Courtier), and Niccolo Machiavelli (The Prince) intended to be handbooks to promote a secular society or did these writers intend their books to express piety and argue on behalf of the role of religion in people’s lives? For this seminar we will read three short excerpts from these works and examine the authors’ attitudes toward belief and their views on what makes a just society.

Carla Zecher is Director of the Center for Renaissance Studies and Curator of Music at the Newberry.