Catholic Revival of the Western Civilization

Catholic Revival Research Paper

History 112

Fall 2011

The Catholic Reformation represents a dynamic, crucial movement that occurred during the fifteenth to sixteenth century in Europe. Studying it and its effects allows one to see the continuity of the transformation of the Church during these times and the changes that are occurring today. The most important effect of the Revival is the integration of reformed Catholicism with cultures, and especially with popular culture. Significance also lies with the question of the adaptation of the Catholicism that had developed over the course of the sixteenth century1. This impact took on several forms. Examining the opposing side of the revival is also worth doing. There were many peoples who pushed in the opposite direction to remain centered around magic and pagan religions. Reflection on the impact of the Church’s Reformation can be made real by looking at examples of various countries throughout Europe during this time. Italy, France, and the Netherlands have specific effects that provide the ways in which the Revival varied life for the different cultures. The Reformation of the Catholic Church was so significant to the development of Europe during the sixteenth century that the absence of its happening would have created inherently very different cultures. Had the Revival not happened, a very different picture would have been painted on Europe’s canvas during the sixteenth century. This one movement may have caused the Crusades not to occur, the balance of political power to be inevitably different, progression on art, science, and philosophy would be delayed, and an inability for nations to unite to form efficient systems of government would likely be the ending story.

The first nation up for investigation is Italy. Italy was not actually a country during the Reformation1. This gives a very dramatic picture to the way the Catholic Church changed the course of history for this nation. The early Church had...