Father+of+the+Enlightenment

Epicurus' secular beliefs were assaulted for centuries by religious people and philosophers alike.(1) Secularism really did not catch hold until the Enlightenment. Philosophers rejected Plato and Aristotle and began to give Epicureanism the credit it deserved. Ludwig von Mises is quoted saying,

"The historical role of the theory of the division of labor as elaborated by British political economy from Hume to Ricardo consisted in the complete demolition of all metaphysical doctrines concerning the origin and the operation of social cooperation. It consummated the spiritual, moral and intellectual emancipation of mankind inaugurated by the philosophy of Epicureanism." (3)   Epicureanism resembled a very early version of the Enlightenment because Epicurus' beliefs were so far ahead of his time. Before the Enlightenment, education centered around religion. In fact, most people entering education had a goal to enter religious life. Eventually, higher education developed "Scholasticism", an educational movement that combined human reason with biblical revelations.(2) The Enlightenment went a step further by supporting a non-dogmatic education of students. Epicurus' ideas of atoms and the scientific method proved to be useful in post-Enlightenment education. Schools mainly taught religious philosophy and Latin before the Enlightenment but afterwards taught mathematics, science, navigation and history.

Schools today do not typically reflect pre-Epicurean beliefs because the world is much more secular today than it was centuries ago. The only schools that may act as if the shift did not happen would be middle-Eastern schools where Islam dominates nearly all facets of their culture. America is one of the less secular nations in the world, with just around 10% of the population claiming to have no religious beliefs. Because of the strength of some Christians' beliefs, it is quite possible that there are private religious schools in America today that stress creationism and intelligent design over modern scientific ideas.