Jump To:

• Counter Reformation
  Counter Reformation

  noun

  the movement within the Roman Catholic Church that followed the Protestant Reformation of the 16th century.
• Counter-Reformation
  Counter-Reformation

  noun

  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

American  

noun

1. the movement within the Roman Catholic Church that followed the Protestant Reformation of the 16th century.

---

Counter-Reformation British  

/ ˌkaʊntəˌrɛfəˈmeɪʃən /

noun

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 ¹ Cultural  

1. The reaction of the Roman Catholic Church to the Reformation. The chief aims of the Counter Reformation were to increase faith among church members, get rid of some of the abuses to which the leaders of the Reformation objected, and affirm some of the principles rejected by the Protestant churches, such as veneration of the saints and acceptance of the authority of the pope. Many Jesuits were leaders of the Counter Reformation.

---

Counter Reformation ² Cultural  

1. The reaction of the Roman Catholic Church to the Reformation. The chief aims of the Counter Reformation were to increase faith among church members, end many of the abuses to which the leaders of the Reformation objected, and affirm some of the principles rejected by the Protestant churches, such as veneration of the saints and acceptance of the authority of the pope. Many Jesuits were leaders of the Counter Reformation.

---

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

Counter Reformation Counter-Reformation

Historians once referred to it as the Counter Reformation.

From Textbooks ● Jan. 1, 2012

The 1648 Peace of Westphalia, he points out, by strengthening the Protestant North, checked the Counter Reformation and "ended the reign of theology over the European mind," leaving faith "naked to rationalist winds."

From Time Magazine Archive

The first stone was set just as the Council of Trent was ending, and for 21 years the walls rose to bear out in architecture the spirit of the Counter Reformation begun at the council.

From Time Magazine Archive

The fathers of Trent went on alone, passed 131 canons, sparked a Counter Reformation that brought life back to Catholicism.

From Time Magazine Archive

Another agency in the Counter Reformation was the great Church Council summoned by Pope Paul III.

From Early European History by Webster, Hutton

However, Chávez-Bárcenas said the technique has always been controversial, with the best known policies against it coming during the Counter-Reformation.

From Seattle Times ● Apr. 26, 2024

The early decades of the Counter-Reformation thus saw an “opening up” of the Church to its followers and a greater emphasis on the duties of the Church to laypeople.

From Textbooks ● Jan. 1, 2020

The imposing drawing is as theatrical as a Counter-Reformation Baroque painting.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 18, 2018

The printing press, praised by Martin Luther as “God’s highest and extremest act of Grace,” led to the Reformation, the Counter-Reformation — and a century of bloody religious wars.

From Washington Post ● Dec. 20, 2016

Despite the church’s Counter-Reformation, the new philosophy wasn’t easily destroyed.

From "Zero: The Biography of a Dangerous Idea" by Charles Seife