The words of God: Religious texts and the Counter -Reformation in the Spanish world

Mauricio Damian Rivero, Florida International University

Abstract

This dissertation analyzes a variety of religious texts such as catechisms, confession manuals, ecclesiastical legislation, saints' lives, and sermons to determine the definitions of orthodoxy held by the Spanish clergy and the origins of such visions. The conclusion posited by this research was that there was a definite continuity between the process of Catholic reform in Spain and the process of Catholic expansion into the New World in that the objectives and concerns of the Spanish clergy in Europe and the New World were very similar. This dissertation also analyzes sources that predated the Council of Trent and demonstrates that within the Iberian context the Council of Trent cannot be used as a starting date for the attempts at Catholic reform. In essence, this work concludes the Spanish clergy's activities were influenced by humanist concepts of models and model behaviour which is reflected in their attempt to form model Catholics in Spain and the New World and in their impulse to produce written texts as standards.

Subject Area

Religious history|Latin American history|European history|Religious congregations|Clergy

Recommended Citation

Rivero, Mauricio Damian, "The words of God: Religious texts and the Counter -Reformation in the Spanish world" (2000). ProQuest ETD Collection for FIU. AAI9967780.
https://digitalcommons.fiu.edu/dissertations/AAI9967780

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