The Italian Renaissance saw a resurgence of philosophers and free thought. Celebrations of the individual and human nature were common themes throughout the period, and were themes previously unexplored in the Middle Ages. Humanism, the celebration of human potential, spirit and intellect, was on of these themes. Three scholars of this "humanistic" movement were Baldassare Castiglione, Leonardo Bruni and Pico della Mirandola. Although the three all have humanistic foundations, each focuses on a different aspect of what it means to be human. Castiglione focused on class and development of the "universal man", Bruni on the intellectual beauty and importance of classic Greco-Roman literature, and Pico celebrated human nature on the belief that humans were fashioned after God, and given by God the gift of being able to fulfill one's own capacity.

Although humanism is defined by the study of human nature, it was in no way a secular...