Editing History of Christianity (section)

=== Ideological movements ===
The era of [[Absolutism (European history)|political absolutism]] followed the breakdown of Christian universalism in Europe.{{sfn|Aguilera-Barchet|2015|p=141}} Abuses from absolutist Catholic kings gave rise to a virulent critique of Christianity that first emerged among the more extreme Protestant reformers in the 1680s as an aspect of the [[Age of Enlightenment]].{{sfn|Jacob|2006|pp=265–268, 270}}{{sfn|Aston|2006|pp=13–15}} For 200 years, Protestants had been arguing for religious toleration,{{sfn|Coffey|1998|p=961}}{{sfn|Coffey|2014|p=12}} and by the 1690s, secular thinkers were rethinking the state's reasons for persecution, and they too began advocating for religious toleration.{{sfn|Patterson|1997|p=64}}{{sfn|Mout|2007|pp=227–233; 242}} Concepts of [[freedom of religion]], [[Freedom of speech|speech]], and [[Freedom of thought|thought]] became established in the West.{{sfn|Mout|2007|pp=225–243}}{{sfn|Kaplan|2009|p=119}}{{sfn|Franck|1997|pp=594–595}}

Secularisation spread at every level of European society.{{sfn|Jacob|2006|pp=272–273, 279}} Pioneered by Protestants, [[Biblical criticism]] advocated [[historicism]] and [[rationalism]] to make study of the Bible more scholarly and secular in the 1700s.{{sfn|Law|2012|pp=8, 224}}{{sfn|Baird|1992|pp=118, 201}}{{sfn|McLeod|2006|p=3}} In reaction to rationalism, [[pietism]], a holiness movement within [[Lutheranism]], began in Europe and spread to the [[Thirteen Colonies]] where it contributed to the [[First Great Awakening]], a religious revival of the 1700s.{{sfn|Ward|2006|pp=329; 347}}{{sfn|Smith|2014b|p=19}}{{sfn|Valkenburgh|1994|p=172}} Pietist [[Moravians]] came to [[Georgia (U.S. state)|Georgia]] in 1732 where they influenced [[John Wesley]], an [[Anglican]] missionary in [[Savannah]].{{sfn|Cairns|2015|p=67}}{{sfn|Towns|Whaley|2012|p=117}} After returning to England, Wesley began preaching in open-air meetings, leading to the creation of the [[Methodism|Methodist]] church.{{sfn|Jones|1974|p=xiii}}{{sfn|Towns|Whaley|2012|p=119}}{{sfn|Jones|White|2012|pp=xi; xv}}{{sfn|Cairns|2015|p=93}} In the colonies, Presbyterians and Baptists contributed to revival, and to divisions over it, which formed political parties and lent crucial support for the [[American Revolution]].{{sfn|Heimert|2006|p=2}}{{sfn|Marty|2006|p=524}}{{sfn|Cairns|2015|p=51}} Spurred by Christians of varying sects, [[Thomas Jefferson]] adapted his earlier [[Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom]] into the [[First Amendment to the United States Constitution]], enshrining a [[separation of church and state]] to support [[religious pluralism]].{{sfn|McLeod|2006|p=8}}{{sfn|Zoller|2006}}

The rise of Protestantism contributed to the conceptualization of [[human capital]],{{sfn|Boppart|Falkinger|Grossmann|2014|pp=874–895}} development of [[Protestant work ethic|a new work ethic]],{{sfn|Schaltegger|Torgler|2010|pp=99–101}} the European state system,{{sfn|Becker|Pfaff|Rubin|2016}} modern [[capitalism]] in Northern Europe,{{sfn|Weber|Kalberg|2012|pp=xi; xxviii–xxxvi; xl; 3–5; 103–126}} and overall economic growth.{{sfn|Spater|Tranvik|2019|pp=1963–1994}} However, [[urbanization]] and [[industrialisation]] created a plethora of new social problems.{{sfn|Skocpol|Trimberger|1977|pp=101–104}}{{sfn|Gilley|2006|pp=4–5}} In Europe and North America, both Protestants and Catholics provided massive aid to the poor, supported family welfare, and offered medicine and education.{{sfn|Gilley|2006|p=5}}

During the [[French Revolution]], Jefferson co-authored the 1789 [[Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen]] recognizing freedom of religion, while radical revolutionaries violently sought [[Dechristianization of France during the French Revolution|dechristianization]].{{sfn|McLean|2004}}{{sfn|Tallett|1991}} As a result, the Eastern Orthodox Church rejected Enlightenment ideas as too dangerous to embrace.{{sfn|Kenworthy|2008|p=175}}