"And it was the ideas from the Age of Enlightenment that brought the abolitionist movement out of the margins and more into the mainstream." 

The Age of Enlightenment was born of the Renaissance in Italy.  Which was the seat of the Roman Empire.  Which adopted Christianity under Constantine.  Which underwent a Reformation by the Germans.  Who had previously sacked Rome to establish the Holy Roman Empire.  Which became the inheritors of the legacy of Christian Church and of Rome.  Who had borrowed heavily from the ancient Greeks.  Whose democratic ideas eventually flourished again in England and France.  

At the end of the day, European civilization contains a fair bit of awesomeness.  I guess all I’m saying is that I’d hesitate to throw away any component.