How did the Reformation and Counter-Reformation also reflect broader currents in European culture and society?

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

A. Reformation as a reflection of current events
1. colonization of new regions
a. overseas missionizing was a rare vocation for Protestants
b. Roman Catholic religious orders had enough manpower and
zeal to undertake missions on a large scale
2. growing spread of Islam
a. in the Philippines Christian success in direct competition with
Islam was limited
b. in Mindanao, where Muslim intruders arrived in the 1580s, the
Christians had barely begun
3. power of aristocracy to spread religion
a. Franciscans and Jesuits in Japan encountered amazing
success
4. persecution of Christians
a. successive central governments in Japan had been
suspicious of the new religion
b. source of subversive political ideas, foreign influence,
and encouragement to local lords to usurp central authority
c. sporadic persecution from the 1590s, however, had
failed to halt the progress of Christianity
d. in 1639, it was banned outright, and Christians who refused
to renounce their faith were forced into exile or put to death
5. more interested other aspects of missionaries
a. Chinese were more interested in the Jesuits' scientific learning and
technical skills as mapmakers, astronomers, artists, clock makers,
and designers than in their religious teaching