Answer: The Enlightenment, or Age of Reason, was a period of time in Europe when science and reason were used to explain nature, society, and politics. Prior to the Enlightenment, Europeans did not question things like education, social justice, and government authority because they believed such things were the will of God. During the Enlightenment, scientists and philosophers began to change the way people thought about the world by challenging accepted ideas. People began to think that government should function based on the consent of the governed and that citizens had certain rights that the government could not take away. These new beliefs radically changed the way that some governments functioned in the world.
