Catholic Women In The 16th Century Essay

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In the 16th century Protestants and Roman Catholics had an everlasting tension between them. This was mainly because they both wanted to be the dominant religion, as well as the fact that the Protestants saw corruptness in the catholics. In this feud, the Catholics were almost relentless and wouldn't give up their power, thus founding the Counter reformation, the Council of Trent, and creating many reforms within the Church. Some Catholic women also addressed the importance of things like education and devotion to God. One of the ways Catholics defended their religion was through politics. When the Church or more specifically Pope Leo X began the selling of indulgences it invoked a nay-sayer by the name of Martin Luther. Soon thereafter Luther posted his 95 theses on the door of the church that criticized the Catholic Church. thus the…show more content…
This is was their attempt to reinstate Roman-Catholic beliefs and practices. Then Ignatius Loyola soon formed the Jesuits whose main goals were to convert non-Christians into Catholics, and to stop the spread of Protestantism, and to fight for their right to practice religion. At this time they were beginning to play survival of the Roman Catholic Church. The “Index of Forbidden Books” was published, naming and shaming 583 what the Church believed to be heretical texts, including translations of the Bible and works of Erasmus, Calvin and Luther. Another publication was “Spiritual Exercises” by Ignatius Loyola, this entailed a set of rules of meditations, prayers and mental exercises. In the second half of the 16th century the theological conflict became a political power struggle. By the time Martin Luther and John Calvin died the Protestant movement had split into a number of sectarian churches, and Protestant reformers ceased to appear. Then Ignatius of Loyola died and the Council of Trent ended bringing the Counter-reformation to a theological

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