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• 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.

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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

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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.

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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.

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

Counter Reformation Counter-Reformation

Historians once referred to it as the Counter Reformation.

From Textbooks ● Jan. 1, 2012

What the defeat did accomplish, Mattingly argues, was to halt the spread of the Counter Reformation and provide the English with a handy legend of victory.

From Time Magazine Archive

A jewel-box city over the Tagus river, Toledo was also a center of the Counter Reformation, which sought to mobilize the faithful and harden the lines of Roman Catholic dogma.

From Time Magazine Archive

The Counter Reformation Council of Trent, which was closely directed by three strong-minded Popes, marked the beginning of the modern era of "papal maximalism."

From Time Magazine Archive

Still another agency of the Counter Reformation consisted of the Inquisition.

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 Catholic Reformation, also called the Counter-Reformation, was the Catholic Church’s effort to address Luther’s challenges as well as to effect other necessary reforms.

From Textbooks ● Dec. 14, 2022

Counter-Reformation stridency never really took hold in New Spain.

From New York Times ● May 10, 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

A child of the Counter-Reformation, Descartes learned about Aristotle at the very moment when the church was relying upon his principles the most.

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