Is The Enlightenment Still Relevant Today

Ideas do not always have the same effect across the globe, and there can be drastic differences in how an idea is assimilated into different countries. In the modern world, the ideas of the Enlightenment can be found as values in many countries, and some, like freedom of speech, have even become law in some nations. However, in some countries, the concepts are not valued and any influence of enlightenment thinkers’ ideas is extremely rare. For example, freedom of speech was a key idea of the Enlightenment and is now a fundamental freedom in Canada, the United States, and many other countries. This shows that the ideas of the enlightenment are very relevant indeed and are even considered basic human rights in many western nations. A point that is very different across the globe is religion’s influence on law. …show more content…
Secularism was an important Enlightenment concept, but it is not observed in these countries. This shows how the ideas of the Enlightenment are not relevant everywhere. One large difference in the effect of the Enlightenment on the modern world is democracy. Whilst nations like Canada and the USA are democratic, many countries, such as North Korea and China, lack a democratic system and use an authoritarian model. Modern democracy emerged as one of the main ideas of the Enlightenment and is now observed in many countries, but there are still many countries where this influence cannot be found. In some parts of the world, the ideas of the enlightenment have shaped the some of the most important parts of society. In contrast, some parts of the world have no trace of any influence of the enlightenment and have very different