The Renaissance and the Reformation were two of the most significant changes in history that shaped our world today. Both of these great periods are strikingly similar in some ways and totally different in others. This is because the Renaissance was a change from religion to humanism, both in art and literature; it's where the individual begins to matter. However, the reform was, simply put, a way to reform the Church and even more to shape our society as it is today. The first half of this article will examine the decline in faith, economic power, and artistic and literary changes during the Renaissance, while the second half will examine the progress and changes made by the Church during the Reformation. As stated earlier, the Renaissance was the rebirth of society. What led to this was a decrease in faith due to the great schism, a conflict between two popes, in which both claimed to be the pope. People were starting to take a secular view of what the church told them to believe. Society was changing and individual points of view mattered. With politics starting to matter and a better economy, places began to center around cities, particularly city-states, which are urban societies that have adopted secular views. Some of the major economic powers of the Renaissance were Italian city-states. The first, Milan, was in northern Italy. Milan, a center of trade and money with a large tax, was governed by the Viscontis and later passed to the Sforzas. Then came Venice, which was the connection between Asia and the Western world. Venice was a republic with a doge, or elected leader, and was governed by merchants and aristocrats. Finally, Florence became the cultural center of paper. Catholic leaders held meetings in Trent for 18 years and examined the Catholic religion. The only real change they actually made was that indulgences were no longer for sale but were donated. The Renaissance and the Reformation were two of the most significant changes in history that shaped our world today. If you were to examine both the Renaissance and the Reformation you would see many differences and similarities between both. One of the main contrasts was that the Reformation was exclusively about how to reform the church, while the Renaissance had a much more secular vision. Some of the similarities were that both were about accepting new ideas both artistic and religious, and both had corrupt leaders. There have been many changes in these times and I believe our world today would be completely different without them.