Marks of modernity : the counter-reformation as a response to the emerging modern age

Abstract

The perceived narrative that the Counter-Reformation was an equal and opposite reaction to the Protestant Reformation proves to be a misunderstanding of the history and impetus of the Catholic Church of the time. This article offers corrections to this sometimes misguided understanding and provides insights into the more nuanced complexities of the overall motivation of the Catholic Church. This motivation was not so much an attempt to maintain rigid adherence to its internal status quo, along with its hold on the population of Europe, but more of a conscious evolution to meet and adapt to the catalysts for the calls to reform, namely here, the printing press and accompanying literacy along with a changing ontological view of existence initiated by scientific discoveries of the time.