In the seventeenth century, developments in science led to a questioning of faith. For the thinkers of the Enlightenment, only statements that could be rationally proven qualified as true. The Church and the Pope came under heavy attack.
Rationalism centred on human thought. The (incorrect) conclusion was that God’s revelation and Christianity had to be rejected. Still, faith and science can be perfectly compatible! Sometimes this period had a positive impact on the Church. In some Protestant countries, the Enlightenment led to more religious freedom for Catholics and others. But at the same time there were the horrors of the French Revolution, which was also based on the Enlightenment.
