Counter-Reformation: Causes, Key Events, and Resources

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The Counter-Reformation of 16th century Europe, the movement aimed at reforming the Roman Catholic Church from within, came on the heels of and in response to the Protestant Reformation. While history books use the terms Counter-Reformation and Catholic Reformation interchangeably, a closer look at the causes of the Counter-Reformation and the history of the Catholic Reformation reveals a significant difference between them.

Implied by the word ‘counter,’ the Counter-Reformation movement came in response to an existing set of circumstances. In particular, the Protestant movement had sparked a fierce desire for reform within the Church, and many Catholics were on a mission for change.

The root causes of the Counter-Reformation can be traced back to the period of the Renaissance when people were taught to question and challenge the status quo. The character of the Catholic Church, with its rigid hierarchy, all-powerful papacy and punitive practices, was brought into question. Some individuals and groups began to view the Church as corrupt, rigid and outdated.

In fact, in the 1500s there was no religious or legislative power greater than the Roman Catholic Church in Western Europe. The Roman Catholic Church tenaciously held on to its powerful position and punished heretics by burning them at the stake. This dominance of the Catholic Church had existed for centuries. It was dependent upon the indoctrination of an ignorant and superstitious population who believed that heresy led to hell while obedience to the church clergy led to heaven.

The great wealth of the Catholic Church widened the chasm between itself and the people. This was especially the situation among the poor who were required to make enormous payments to the clergy by way of tithes, service collections and fees to be married or buried or to have a child christened and in other manners.

The Roman Catholic Church adopted various corrupt and abusive ways of collecting money, among them were “indulgences.” Indulgences were pieces of paper or certificates signed by the pope and purchased by the masses in order to be pardoned for their sins. These were based on the notion that true repentance for sin must be demonstrated via some temporal punishment such as doing “good works.” Church officials suggested that the clergy had a surplus of good works stored in their spiritual banks. Bishops could thus sell indulgences, substituting their good deeds for the works required by the people in order to pay their debt to God.

As the printing press helped turn indulgences into a lucrative business for the Church, the voices of the Church’s critics began to rise in revolt. Martin Luther, who many tout as the father of the Protestant Reformation, was in the fore among these opponents. In his famous 1517 publication, “95 Theses,” Martin Luther challenged and attacked the Catholic Church on many levels. Advocating humanism, Luther rejected the notion that ‘good works’ or any external manifestation of one’s relationship to God was relevant. He argued that all the efforts in money collection schemes of the Church would be better spent on works of love and mercy. In his condemnation, he vehemently opposed the Church’s claim that the pope had absolute power as the head of the Church and could not err and that those who denied the teachings of the Church were heretics.

As the Catholic Church increasingly lost financial, religious and eventually political power over the people with the advent of the Protestant Reformation, the Counter-Reformation was born.

However, some historians argue that equating the terms Counter-Reformation and Catholic Reformation is problematic. The Catholic Church in essence has been reforming itself since its inception (i.e. via Ecumenical Councils where leaders meet to reform aspects of the Church). There cannot be one period of time that can be labeled the Catholic Reformation. Hence the Counter-Reformation may be said to have an identifiable duration, while the Catholic Reformation has been a progressive reform taking place over many centuries.

Key Events 1534-1596

• 1534 Paul III became pope, and St. Ignatius of Loyola and his friends took the vows that founded the Jesuits.
• 1534 Henry VIII established new independent entity for worship with the Church of England
• 1535 Thomas More refused to accept King Henry VIII’s claim to be the supreme head of the Church in England, and was executed.
• 1536 Tyndale put to death and English ecclesiastical authorities ordered his Bible burned because it was thought to be part of Lutheran reform
• 1536 Institutes of the Christian Religion written by John Calvin
• 1536 Helvetic Confessions of the Reformed Churches of Switzerland
• 1537 Christian III of Denmark decreed Lutheranism state religion of Norway and Denmark
• 1540 Ignatius Loyola founds the Jesuits and the Counter-Reformation, attempting to stem the tide of Christians withdrawing from Rome
• 1541 Calvin in Geneva works on his Institutes of Christian Religion, and helps reform the churches in Switzerland, Holland, Scotland France and parts of Germany
• 1542 Roman Inquisition established by Pope Paul III
• 1543 Parliament of England bans Tyndale’s translation as a “crafty, false and untrue translation”
• 1545-1563 1545 After delay and miscarriage, the Council of Trent was convened by Paul III. The Roman Church formally, for the first time, repudiates the doctrines of the Reformation which had ALWAYS been a part of orthodox doctrine.
• 1552 Francis Xavier, Jesuit missionary, “Apostle of the Indies”
• 1553 Pontifical Gregorian University founded at Vatican City
• 1553 Michael Servetus founder of Unitarianism, burned at the stake in Geneva
• 1553-1558 Queen Mary I of England persecuted reformers: John Rogers, Hugh Latimer, Nicholas Ridley, Thomas Cranmer; of 238 burned at the stake
• 1555 Peace of Augsburg gives religious freedom in Germany only to Lutheran Protestants
• 1560 Scots Confession, Church of Scotland, Scottish Reformation
• 1560-1812 Goa Inquisition, persecution of Hindus and Jews in India
• 1561 Menno Simons founder of Mennonites
• 1563 Thirty-Nine Articles of Church of England, also decreed Biblical canon
• 1563 Heidelberg Catechism of Reformed churches
• 1572 John Knox, founded Scottish Presbyterian Church, due to disagreement with Lutherans over sacraments and church government
• 1572 The French persecute Protestants, murdering thousands during the St. Bartholomew Day’s Massacre
• 1579 Discovery of the holiest Russian icon, Our Lady of Kazan
• 1582 Gregorian calendar of Pope Gregory XIII adopted at different times in different regions of the world
• 1590 Michelangelo’s dome in St Peter’s Basilica completed
• 1596 Ukrainian Catholic Church forms when Ukrainian subjects of the king of Poland are reunited with Rome, largest Byzantine Catholic Church

Additional Reading on the Counter-Reformation

M. R. O’Connell, The Counter Reformation 1559–1610 (1974); J. C. Olin, Catholic Reform (1990).

Origins of the Counter Reformation

Paper on the Reformation by Matthew Elton

Resource by A.Moore

I just moved to Michigan from South Carolina. This is my first winter here and so far it's freezing. I enjoy traveling, drawing, camping, writing, and doing community service in my spare time. I work for a education company and help them with their outreach to teachers and students. Hope everyone enjoys my articles.

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