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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

Said Canadian Father Gregory Baum, a council theologian: "This day will go down in history as the end of the Counter Reformation."

From Time Magazine Archive

The Counter Reformation succeeded in its principal purposes.

From Time Magazine Archive

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

From Early European History by Hutton Webster

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

His aim: to advocate for the aggressive Catholic Counter-Reformation that was roiling 17th century Europe.

From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 6, 2021

The Counter-Reformation, in which the Catholic Church sought new ways of converting and maintaining believers, played an important role.

From New York Times ● Jul. 24, 2017

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

What Protestant and Counter-Reformation reforms meant, more or less whoever you were, was a simplifying of church music so that the words could be heard more clearly.

From "The Story of Music" by Howard Goodall