During the renaissance, art, religion, science, technology and philosophy all changed.
In art, perspective and porportion made art more realistic looking. The subject matter of art also changed. No longer was all the art religious. For example, artists started to sketch nature and Leonardo da Vinci painted his famous Mona Lisa.
Before the renaissance, there was only one religion in Europe: Roman Catholic Christian. The renaissance/reformation changed that. Groups such as the Protestant, Lutherean, Anglican, and Calvinist religions started to pop up. They had different beliefs, practices, and ideologys, even though they are all branches of Christianity today.
Scientists like Galileo changed popular held beliefs about science. A scientific method for testing theories was formulated. The invention of the printing press ensured that information could be spread quicker and cheaper.
Finally, the renaissance is marked by a change in thinking. Previously, most people were fatalists, which meant that they believed their destinies were pre-chosen and nothing they did would change them. New thinkers called humanists believed that humans had freedom of choice and weren't as concerned with spiritual matters.
(Thanks Grade 8 teacher for all this information!)
It was caused by the tensions between the European powers and crisis of the balance-of-power system that divided Europe into two camps.
