What does "counter-reformation" mean?
The period of Roman Catholic revival that aimed to combat the Reformation; any of various specific strains of anti-Reformation thought and action.
Counter-reformation
name
name ·Rare ·Advanced level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: The period of Roman Catholic revival that aimed to combat the Reformation; any of various specific strains of anti-Reformation thought and action.
- Grammar: counter-reformation is listed as name.
- Useful contrasts: reformation.
- Usage evidence: The Reformation as well as the subsequent Counter-Reformation had an important influence on the development of Hungarian literature.
How to use "counter-reformation"
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Source and review context
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Definitions
Proper Noun
- 1 The period of Roman Catholic revival that aimed to combat the Reformation; any of various specific strains of anti-Reformation thought and action. historical
"Ranke [Leopold von Ranke] also popularized the term "Counter-Reformation." He initially used this term in the plural (Gegenreformationen, Counter-Reformations). Roman Catholic historians took umbrage because this implied — and frequently stated — the historical and theological priority of the Protestant Reformation to which Catholicism then reacted. "The expression seemed to interpret the recovery of the Catholic Church merely as a counteraction to the schism and seemed to imply the use of force in religious matters" (Iserloh et al. 1986: 431). The Catholic scholar John Bossy (1985:91) would just as soon drop the term Reformation altogether because "it goes along too easily with the notion that a bad form of Christianity was being replaced by a good one." Indeed, earlier Roman Catholic historians generally used the term "religious schism" (Glaubensspaltung) rather than Reformation to designate this period. In short, terms are not always innocent of values and problems. Yet without terms and periodizations it would be impossible to provide a coherent drama of complex changes."
Antonyms
Example
"The Reformation as well as the subsequent Counter-Reformation had an important influence on the development of Hungarian literature."
Common questions
How do you use "counter-reformation" in a sentence?
The Reformation as well as the subsequent Counter-Reformation had an important influence on the development of Hungarian literature.
Etymology
From counter- + Reformation.