The Counter Reformation
Overview
The Counter Reformation
The Protestant Reformation prompted the Roman Catholic Church to reform itself from the top down.
Learning Objectives
- Discuss the religious and political developments associated with the Counter-Reformation.
Key Terms / Key Concepts
Council of Trent: council of the Roman Catholic Church set up in direct response to the Reformation in Trento, Italy
Ignatius Loyola (1491 – 1556): the founder of the Society of Jesus (Jesuits)
The Counter-Reformation
The Protestant Reformation resulted in large areas of Europe defecting from the Roman Catholic Church. However, many Christians in Italy, Spain, and France, for example, remained loyal to the Catholic church. Some church reformers wished to end corrupt practices in the Roman Catholic Church, while still supporting the institution. For example, Erasmus of Rotterdam (1466 – 1536)—the Dutch Humanist—and the English Humanist Thomas More (1478 – 1532) were both vocal critics of corruption and abuses within the Roman Catholic Church, but both refused to abandon this church. In fact, the English king Henry VIII executed Thomas More on the charge of treason when More refused to reject the Pope as the head of the Church. Eventually reform did take place within the Roman Catholic Church in the 16th century as a response to the defection of so many Christians to the Protestant churches. Historians refer to these reforms as the Counter-Reformation or the Catholic Reformation.
Since the Roman Catholic Church possessed a strict hierarchical structure, sweeping reform within the church could only be implemented from the very top of the hierarchy by the Pope himself. Pope Paul III (Alessandro Farnese, r. 1534 – 1549) was an unlikely reformer. He belonged to a powerful, aristocratic family in Central Italy; he had become a Cardinal in the church through nepotism since his older sister, Giulia was the mistress of Pope Alexander VI. Pope Paul III summoned the Council of Trent in 1545 to address the issue of church reform. Earlier Popes had resisted summoning such a council for fear that that a church council could limit the authority of the Papacy within the church. The Council of Trent convened for nineteen years until 1563. The members of the council debated whether to adopt the reforms proposed by Martin Luther or to affirm support for existing church practices and doctrines. In general church leaders from northern Europe at this council tended to support Luther's ideas, whereas church leaders from Spain and Italy were more conservative and wished to see no changes in practices and doctrines. In the end the conservatives were victorious in this debate. The focus of reform, therefore, in the Counter-Reformation was on ending abuse and corruption within the church rather than adopting new doctrines or practices. For example, the Council of Trent affirmed the belief in Purgatory and in papal indulgences but condemned the selling of indulgences as a fund-raising scheme. The Council also sought to purge the church of uneducated, corrupt priests by requiring priests to receive more education and training.
The Counter-Reformation also witnessed a grass roots revival among Roman Catholics and renewed a sense of mission. The Society of Jesus or Jesuits was front and center in this revival. Ignatius Loyola (1491 – 1556) was the founder of this new religious order within the Roman Catholic Church. Loyola was a soldier from an aristocratic Spanish family in his youth. After a brush with death due to an injury in battle, Loyola decided to devote his life to Christ, spending up to seven hours a day in prayer. He wandered through Spain, France, and Italy, preaching and serving others. Eventually, in 1540, Pope Paul III allowed Ignatius and his followers to organize the Society of Jesus as a new order of priests. With his military background Loyola organized the Jesuits along the military lines. Loyola was the first Superior General of the order. These Jesuits committed themselves to preaching the doctrines of the Roman Catholic Church to Protestants in Europe and heathens (non-Christians) in Asia and the Western Hemisphere. The Jesuits also established schools and colleges across Europe whose curriculum was shaped by Renaissance Humanism. Protestants, however, came to view Jesuits as tools of the Devil.
Spain and the Counter-Reformation
By the second half of the 16th century, Spain dominated the world stage with its vast empire in Europe and the Western Hemisphere during the reign of Charles V (1516 – 1555) and his son Philip II (1555 – 1598). Philip's territories included the former empires of the Aztecs and Incas in Mexico and South America, as well as the Netherlands and lands in Italy. In 1578 he inherited the throne of Portugal and its overseas empire. The massive influx of gold and silver from the royal mines in the New World provided Philip with the financial resources to wage wars across Europe in order to advance his interests and those of Spain, which in his eyes were identical. Like his father, Charles V, Philip sought to expand the territories of the Hapsburg family and to defend Christendom and the Roman Catholic Church from the Muslim Ottoman Empire and Protestant “heretics.”
Even though Philip's policies were rooted in a Medieval mindset, Philip constructed a modern, centralized bureaucracy to govern his extensive empire. Philip used the precious metals of the New World to build a large bureaucratic structure, whose officials he appointed and oversaw. Philip reportedly spent his days and nights pouring over reports from his officials, writing and dispatching letters to these officials, and conferring with his advisers. His father, Charles V, had allowed local aristocrats in various territories to administer their respective regions, but Philip appointed his own trusted men and family members to govern these same territories. Many of these appointed officials were Spaniards from Castile in central Spain where Philip II grew up. The Hapsburg Empire was therefore much more centralized under Philip than under his father.
Also, unlike his father Charles, Philip II preferred to remain in Spain rather than travel frequently across his territories. He built his primary residence, the Escorial, which was both a royal palace and monastery, just outside Madrid, which under Philip II became the capital of the Spanish Empire. Madrid during Philip's reign went from being a village to being one of the largest cities in Europe with a population of 100,000. The city's population expanded rapidly as royal bureaucrats with their servants and staffs move there to be in close proximity to the king.
In the administration of his kingdom, Philip's policies foreshadowed the Absolutism of the following century. In an Absolute Monarchy, political power is concentrated in the hands of the monarch, whose authority is in theory unlimited since there is no legal or institutional structures to keep this authority in check. In Spain prior to Philip's reign, the power of the king was held in check by the regional Cortes. Each region of Spain had its own Cortes, which was an elected body that represented the landed aristocracy and wealthy commoners in the towns. The monarch could not raise taxes without the approval of the Cortes. Kings also issued laws with the approval of the Cortes to obtain these new taxes. Philip, however, did not need the Cortes to secure funding for his government since he could draw revenue from the silver and gold mines of the New World. Consequently, he could simply rule by decree since winning the approval of the Cortes was no longer necessary. Traditionally, the landed aristocracy had exercised political power through participation in the Cortes, but under Philip, the landed aristocracy instead sought positions in Philip's royal bureaucracy as a way to wield political power and influence. In addition, royal bureaucrats were exempt from paying taxes. Therefore, these aristocrats had a vested interest in supporting the unlimited authority of the king and his bureaucracy.
Philip II was a controversial figure in his own day. Protestants across Europe portrayed this king as a dark and evil person. Philip II reportedly laughed out loud only once in his life, when he heard the news that 30,000 Protestant men, women, and children had been slaughtered by Roman Catholics in France in the Saint Bartholomew Day Massacre. The walls of the Escorial were adorned with paintings of the sufferings of Christian martyrs since Philip supposedly took secret pleasure in these depictions of cruelty and torture. Philip reportedly murdered his own son, Charles. Protestants also propagated the “Black Legend” that portrayed the Spanish Empire under Philip as a force for evil tyranny and oppression, one that treated its many victims cruelly. During this period, many Protestants assumed that the Pope was an actual agent of Satan. The people of Spain, who were predominantly Roman Catholics, had a very different perspective. Philip II remained a very popular king in Spain due to his devotion to the Roman Catholic Church. The paintings of martyrs in the Escorial reportedly only served to inspire Philip to serve God in the face of adversity. His son, Charles, died tragically from natural causes. And in the eyes of Spaniards, Philip was a father figure, who worked tirelessly for the good of the Spanish people and the Roman Catholic Church.
Attributions
Title Image
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ignatius_Loyola.jpg
Ignatius Loyola, 16th century - Anonymous, Unknown author, Public Domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Adapted From:
https://courses.lumenlearning.com/boundless-worldhistory/chapter/protestantism/