History of Christianity. Lecture 25 of 30. The Church of the Renaissance. A rebirth (Renaissance) of ancient Roman art and letters was sweeping across Europe. The Popes embraced the movement wholeheartedly. But with the new learning came a new and skeptical look at traditional Church practices and beliefs. And the humanists did not like what they saw. The desire to build a new St. Peter's Basilica brought matters to a head.