The Renaissance

SEEALSO: Julius II; Leo X; Leonardo da
Vinci; Michelangelo Buonarroti; painting

Reformation, Catholic ......................

The Catholic Reformation, or Counter-
Reformation, was the effort by the Catho-
lic Church to stem the tide of Protestant-
ism that was sweeping across northern
Europe by the middle of the sixteenth cen-
tury. In response to charges of corruption
and the greed for wealth and power, the
church undertook reforms and established
new institutions, including the Inquisition,
to counter the Protestants. This campaign
was begun by Pope Paul III, who convened
the Council of Trent in 1545. Over the
next eighteen years, the Council made im-
portant changes to the structure of the
Catholic Church, reaffirmed church doc-
trine in questions of the Mass and the sac-
raments, and reformed the training of
priests. The Council of Trent rejected Prot-
estant Reformation leader Martin Luther’s
doctrine of justification by faith alone,
leaving no room for compromise with
Protestants on the central issue of the na-
ture of faith. It was followed by the cre-
ation in 1559 of the Index of Prohibited
Books, which controlled the exposure of
Catholic believers to new ideas and unor-
thodox philosophies. In the meantime,
new religious orders such as the Capuchins
were founded in order to preach among
the common people.

The Counter-Reformation was a mili-
tary and political effort as well. Catholic
monarchs, including Emperor Charles V,
fought against Protestant princes in Ger-
many and central Europe. King Philip II
of Spain campaigned against Protestant
rebels in the Low Countries and dis-
patched the Spanish Armada against En-
gland. Ignatius Loyola established the So-
ciety of Jesus, or Jesuits, to return

Protestants to the Catholic fold and gather

new converts among the people of newly

discovered colonies in Asia and the Ameri-

cas. Jesuit schools throughout Catholic Eu-

rope instructed students in the faith.

The Catholic Reformation was sup-

ported by many prominent scholars, in-

cluding Sir Thomas More of England and

Desiderius Erasmus, who opposed the

Protestants’ complete rejection of Catholic

authority. The movement, however, also

represented a reaction against the human-

ist ideas that had inspired Renaissance

scholars, artists, and writers. The views of

scientists such as Galileo Galilei and Nico-

laus Copernicus were condemned, even as

the church eliminated the practice of sell-

ing indulgences and put a stop to the ac-

cumulation of ostentatious luxuries in the

papal court in Rome. The Catholic Refor-

mation was successful in bringing many

European territories back into the church,

including Austria, Poland, Hungary, south-

ern Germany, and Bohemia.

SEEALSO: Catholicism; Papacy; Reforma-

tion, Protestant

Reformation, Protestant ....................

A movement that set Christian religious

leaders against the teachings and practices

of the Catholic Church, and which reached

the height of its influence during the late

Renaissance. In essence, Protestants re-

jected the authority of the pope and trans-

formed the meaning of religious faith, re-

jecting the traditional role of the priest

and the sacraments.

The Protestant Reformation was

prompted by the new scholarship that

emerged in the early Renaissance. Tradi-

tional medieval philosophy attempted to

perfect and explain religious doctrine,

never to question it. The new humanism

introduced debate and investigation into

Reformation, Protestant