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Unlike the traditional terms Counter-Reformation or Catholic Reform, this book does not see Catholicism from 1450 to 1700 primarily in relationship to the Protestant Reformation but as both shaped by the revolutionary changes of the early modern period and actively refashioning itself in response to these changes: the emergence of the early modern state; economic growth and social dislocation; the expansion of Europe across the seas; the Renaissance; and, to be sure, the Protestant Reformation. Bireley devotes particular attention to new methods of evangelization in the Old World and the New, education at the elementary, secondary and university levels, the new active religious orders of women and men, and the effort to create a spirituality for the Christian living in the world. A final chapter looks at the issues raised by Machiavelli, Galileo and Pascal.
Robert Bireley is a leading Jesuit historian and uniquely well placed to reassess this centrally important subject for understanding the dynamics of early modern Europe. This book will be of great value to all those studying the political, social, religious and cultural history of the period.
List of contents
Preface
Introduction
The New Religious Orders
The Council of Trent and the Papacy
The Church, the States and Religious Wars
Evangelization and Popular Piety (Europe)
Education
Evangelization Beyond Europe
The Christian in the World
Conclusion
Notes
Select Bibliography
Index.
About the author
ROBERT BIRELEY is Professor of History at Loyola University, Chicago.
Summary
This work does not view Catholicism from 1450 to 1700 primarily in relationship to the Protestant Reformation, but as both shaped by the revolutionary changes of the early modern period and actively refashioning itself in response to these changes.
