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Definition: Counter-Reformation from Collins English Dictionary

n

1 the reform movement of the Roman Catholic Church in the 16th and early 17th centuries considered as a reaction to the Protestant Reformation

Counter Reformation

From The Columbia Encyclopedia
16th-century reformation that arose largely in answer to the Protestant Reformation; sometimes called the Catholic Reformation. Although the Roman Catholic reformers shared the Protestants' revulsion at the corrupt conditions in the church, there was present none of the tradition breaking that characterized Protestantism. The Counter Reformation was led by conservative forces whose aim was both to reform the church and to secure the its traditions against the innovations of Protestant theology and against the more liberalizing effects of the Renaissance. Since the time of St. Catherine of Siena (14th cent.) there had been a growing demand for reform—of the clergy, of Christian life, and of ecclesiastical administration. Probably the Great Schism did more than anything else to prevent change, for in its duration ecclesiastical politics preoccupied those who might have been busy with reform. In the 15th cent. the papacy was too weak to lead any movement, much less a drastic reform of the…
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Full text Article Counter-Reformation

From Philip's Encyclopedia
Revival of the Roman Catholic Church in Europe during the 16th and early 17th centuries. It began as a reaction to the Protestant Reformation and was intended to strengthen the Church against Protestantism and the prevailing humanism of the Renaissance . The reforms were essentially conservative, …
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Full text Article Counter Reformation

From The Columbia Encyclopedia
16th-century reformation that arose largely in answer to the Protestant Reformation; sometimes called the Catholic Reformation. Although the Roman Catholic reformers shared the Protestants' revulsion at the corrupt conditions in the church, there was present none of the tradition breaking that…
| 940 words
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Full text Article Counter-Reformation

From Encyclopedia of World Religions: Encyclopedia of Catholicism
Most people define the Counter-Reformation as the Catholic reaction to the Protestant Reformation, sparked in 1517 by Martin Luther's Ninety-five Theses. The reality was much more complex. The Counter-Reformation was first and foremost a continuation of the reform movement within Catholicism itself, …
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Full text Article Counter-Reformation

From Britannica Concise Encyclopedia
In Roman Catholicism , efforts in the 16th and early 17th century to oppose the Protestant Reformation and reform the Catholic Church. Early efforts grew out of criticism of the worldliness and corruption of the papacy and clergy during the Renaissance. Paul III (r. 1534–49) was the first pope to…
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Full text Article COUNTER REFORMATION

From Global Dictionary of Theology
The term Counter Reformation has historically been a polemical one. Protestants have generally used it to describe Catholic efforts to recatholicize territories following the beginning of the * Reformation by installing and/or supporting Catholic rulers, following the principle of the Peace of…
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Full text Article THE CATHOLIC COUNTER-REFORMATION

From The Handy Answer Book Series: The Handy Christianity Answer Book
During the Reformation, various Protestant groups under the leadership of Martin Luther, John Calvin, Henry VIII, and various Anabaptist leaders broke away from the Roman Catholic Church to form their own churches. The Catholic Church response to the Reformation is called the Counter-Reformation. …
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Full text Article 1553: Mary I and the Counter- Reformation

From English History: People, Places and Events That Built a Country
1553: Mary I and the Counter- Reformation
Following the death of Edward VI, his half-sister Mary became Queen. As the daughter of Catherine of Aragon, Mary was a devout Catholic, who intended to put her father’s Protestant Reformation into reverse. The boldness of Mary’s plans increased after she married King Philip II of Spain, the most…
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Full text Article Counter-Reformation

From Chambers Dictionary of World History
A general movement of reform and missionary activity in the Roman Catholic Church from the mid-16c, stimulated in part by the Protestant Reformation . It included the revival of the monastic movement (eg Capuchins, 1528; Oratorians, 1575), especially the creation of the Jesuit Order. It provided for…
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Full text Article Counter Reformation

From The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Houghton Mifflin
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Full text Article Counter-Reformation

From The Hutchinson Unabridged Encyclopedia with Atlas and Weather Guide
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