The Counter Reformation

Counter Reformation is the term used to describe reforms instituted within the Catholic Church, partly in response to the challenges presented by the Protestant Reformation and partly generating from within the church hierarchy itself. It is sometimes referred to as the Catholic Reformation. The Counter Reformation comprised two main parallel threads: a positive reform of church practices, and the rooting out of perceived heresy and efforts to restore areas of Europe to Catholic domination. Both threads in the end shared a common theme: a refusal to make concessions to the newly emerging Protestants.

There is no doubt that some reforms in the Catholic Church were in response to the split in European Christianity marked by the publication of Martin Luther’s 95 Theses in 1517. It is also true that there was an impetus for reform in the church that originated before Luther and in response to church practices, such as the sale of ecclesiastical offices, that many found objectionable.

The Counter Reformation took place in the Renaissance era, a time of artistic innovations and political turmoil in Europe dominated by the rivalry of Europe's three "super powers" of the 16th century—Spain, France, and the Holy Roman Empire (essentially Germany and Austria). The Renaissance period began as early as the 1300s, with artists turning from a single-minded focus on religious themes to portraying subjects (especially people) in their own world. This change in paintings and in other art forms—including renewed interest in the culture of pre-Medieval Rome and Greece—both reflected and encouraged a change in attitudes toward the world and the role of mankind.

In politics, the notion of "religious freedom" was still in the future during both the Counter Reformation and the simultaneous Protestant Reformation. Secular rulers, either kings or medieval aristocrats who ruled the quasi-independent fiefdoms that comprised the Holy Roman Empire, dictated what form of religion would be tolerated and practiced by their subjects. At the same time, enforcing religious conformity was one among several motivations (some might say excuses) for going to war. Catholic popes of the era immediately preceding the Counter Reformation sometimes acted less like religious leaders and more like secular leaders, going so far as going into battle at the head of their (mostly mercenary) troops and playing a key role in arranging alliances.

Church Doctrine: Council of Trent

The primary vehicle for church reform was the Council of Trent. This meeting of senior church officials had first been called in 1534 by Pope Paul III. The character of the proposed council, where it would meet, and who would be invited was the subject of prolonged negotiations between several popes and Holy Roman Emperor Charles V. At the heart of these negotiations was Charles V’s hope that a council could reconcile the Protestants and the Catholic Church, and the church’s reluctance to entertain any concessions to what it viewed as heretics.

The council did not in fact get started until 1545, and its location was changed to Trent, a city within the Holy Roman Empire, but near Italy. A delegation of Protestants was invited to one session, but the council never gave serious discussion to compromising on church doctrine.

The Council of Trent met three times over a period of 18 years (1545-47, 1551-52, and 1562-63) during the reigns of three popes (Paul III, Julius III, and Pius IV). Particularly in its third and last session, the Council of Trent was sharply divided between Italian members, who supported papal power and influence, and Spanish attendees, who wanted to diminish the powers of the pope.

Nevertheless, in a series of pronouncements (including papal "bulls") the Council reaffirmed church teachings and church traditions, and the role of the church as offering the one true path to salvation.

The Council of Trent also took steps to change church practices, in particular improved education of priests by establishing a seminary in every diocese [a diocese is the territory presided over by a bishop of the Catholic church]; requiring bishops to reside in their diocese; barring the sale of ecclesiastical offices (called simony); and reforming some monastic orders.

Pursuing Heretics

The second major thread of the Counter Reformation was intended to suppress Protestantism and regain domination in territories lost to Protestant nobles. This side of the Counter Reformation resulted in formation of three institutions in particular that played a major role and generated both fame and controversy:

• Jesuits, formally known as the Society of Jesus, an order of Roman Catholic priests founded in 1540 by Ignatius Loyola. The Jesuits were encouraged by Pope Pius III to combat the influence of the Protestants, largely through education and preaching. Jesuits became leading missionaries, establishing Christian churches in India, Japan, and China during a period of European colonization and exploration. They also traveled extensively in Europe, setting up schools and universities and promoting allegiance to church doctrine.
• Roman Inquisition. The notion of the Inquisition—a program in which designated priests or monks questioned people in order to identify and punish and/or execute heretics—was not new in the Counter Reformation. In 1231 by Pope Gregory IX had initiated an inquisition; in 1491 Queen Isabella and King Ferdinand had instituted a Spanish Inquisition under their control. In 1542 Pope Paul III was persuaded to revive an inquisition in Rome which was given significant powers, including the ability to interrogate (and punish) suspected heretics including, if necessary, calling on help from secular powers. The new Roman Inquisition soon gained a reputation for harsh enforcement of church doctrine, adopting a policy of punishing on suspicion of heresy, giving no leniency to the powerful, and showing no moderation in punishments (especially with regard to followers of John Calvin). The Inquisition was initially under the control of Italian Cardinal Gian Pietro Caraffa (founder of an order of the clergy dedicated to reforming the priesthood) who became Pope Paul IV in 1555.
• The Index. In 1559 Pope Paul IV published the Index of Prohibited Books and established a special commission (called a "congregation") to keep the list up to date. The Index was a list of books that Catholics were banned from reading. The list of banned books fell into three categories: books by authors who had intentionally disputed Catholic doctrine, all of whose works were banned, authors only some of whose books were banned; and books found to contain some "errors" that had been written by anonymous authors or had been published without church permission. In addition all translations of the Bible except the Latin Vulgate were banned, as were books printed by 61 specific printers.

Reformation Papacy

Just as the so-called Renaissance papacy had contributed to a sense of unease among the faithful and helped spark the Protestant revolt, so there was a series of popes during the Counter Reformation who were instrumental in implementing reforms and reorganizing the church.

Pope Pius V (1566-72), later sainted, lived ascetically (he resided in a monk’s cell and sometimes visited churches in Rome barefoot). Following this lead, the luxurious lifestyles of other church leaders also disappeared. Pius threatened the Holy Roman Emperor, Maximilian II, with excommunication as a means of reinforcing edicts of the Council of Trent and sent troops to France to fight Protestants (called Huguenots). At the same time Pius supported the work of the Roman Inquisition.

Gregory VIII (1572-85), carried on the work of Pius V, although he is best known for reforming the previous "Julian" calendar in order to bring dates into line with the seasons (the so-called Gregorian calendar).

Pope Sixtus V (1585-1590) oversaw the effort to publish a new edition of the Vulgate (authorized Latin translation) of the Bible. Sixtus V also instituted a major reorganization of the church, including setting the number of cardinals at 70 and revising the structure of the curia (papal administration).

Concurrent Political Warfare

The Counter Reformation was not conducted in a political vacuum. Rather, the second half of the 16th century saw a continuation of the almost continuous warfare that had marked the first half of that tumultuous era, but with a difference: warfare took on a new religious aspect, seeming to pit Protestant princes or monarchs against loyal Catholics.

At the beginning of the Counter Reformation Holy Roman Emperor Charles V was confronted with religious turmoil within Germany, with some princes adopting Protestantism (and protecting religious dissidents under their rule) and others remaining loyal to Catholicism.

Philip II of Spain and the Low Countries, faced a revolt for independence in the Low Countries. The war, lasting for 80 years (1568-1648), took on a religious flavor when rebels in the northern part of the Low Countries (today’s Holland) became Protestants, while residents in the southern part (today’s Belgium) largely remained inside the Catholic Church.

France, too, saw a prolonged conflict with religious overtones from 1562-1598, pitting the Protestant Henri of Navarre against the Catholic House of Guise (occasionally aided by King Philip II of Spain) and a third group of moderate Catholics sympathetic to religious freedom for the Protestant Huguenots. In 1593 the war was at last over, won by Henri of Navarre, who reconverted to his original, faith, Catholicism.

In England, the first daughter of Henry VIII, Mary Tudor, won the nickname Bloody Mary for her efforts from 1553 to 1558 to restore Catholicism. She was succeeded by her half sister Elizabeth I (Henry VIII’s daughter by another wife) who restored the church of England and ruled for the next four decades.

The Treaty of Westphalia, signed in 1648, brought to a close a century of warfare and effectively sealed the religious map of Europe as well. Spain and Italy were firmly in the camp of the Catholic Church, while England and Holland were firmly Protestant. Germany was divided, with some principalities predominantly Protestant while others (e.g. Bavaria) either remained loyal to the Catholic Church or returned to the fold thanks to the efforts of the Jesuits, among others. France remained largely Catholic.

More information

"The Council of Trent Begins," Christian History, 1990, Vol. 9 Issue 4, p. 42.

Ayris, Paul. "Reformation in Action: The Implementation of Reform in the Dioceses of England," Reformation & Renaissance Review: Journal of the Society for Reformation Studies, June 2003, Vol. 5 Issue 1, p. 27.

Bradshaw, Brendan. "The Reformation and the Counter Reformation," History Today, Nov, 1983, Vol. 33 Issue 11, p. 42.

Darby, Graham. "The 30 Years’ War," History Review, Sep. 2001 Issue 40, p. 3.

Hendrix, Scott. "Rerooting the Faith: The Reformation as Re-Christianization," Church History, Sep. 2000, Vol. 69 Issue 3, p. 558.

Hsia, R. Po-chia. "Reformation on the Continent: Approaches Old and New," Journal of Religious History, June 2004, Vol. 28 Issue 2, p. 162.

McManners, John and Patrick Collinson. "The Late Medieval Church and its Reformation: 1400-1600," Oxford History of Christianity, 1990, p. 243.

Tausiet, Maria. "Excluded Souls: The Wayward and Excommunicated in Counter Reformation Spain," History, July 2003, Vol. 88 Issue 291, p. 437.

Walsham, Alexandra. "Translating Trent? English Catholicism and the Counter Reformation," Historical Research, Aug. 2005, Vol. 78 Issue 201, p. 288.

Ward, W. R. "The Protestant Frame of Mind," History Today, Sep. 1990, Vol. 40 Issue 9, p. 18.

Books

Lindberg, Carter. The European Reformations, Cambridge: Blackwell Publishers, 1996.

O’Malley, John W. Trent and All That: Renaming Catholicism in the Early Modern Era, Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 2000.