Option A best captures the comparative nature of the Middle Ages and the Renaissance. Catholicism was the dominant intellectual and religious expression of the Middle Ages. Largely hierarchical and dominated by the clergy, Catholicism played a very important role in shaping religious, social, political, economic and intellectual life in Medieval Europe. It represented the centrality of God in human life. The Renaissance shifted the focus from God to the achievements and abilities of human beings. Humanistic inquiry dominated the social, political, cultural and intellectual institutions throughout Europe. but especially in Italy where the Renaissance had its greatest influence.
