Catholic Reform: The Council of Trent and the Catholic Enlightenment
Swift Hall, First Floor Common Room 1025 E 58th St,Chicago, IL 60637, Hyde Park, ILCosponsored by the Department of Romance Languages and Literatures. About Ulrich Lehner's recent book The Catholic Enlightenment: "Whoever needs an act of faith to elucidate an event that can be explained by reason is a fool, and unworthy of reasonable thought." This line, spoken by the notorious 18th-century libertine Giacomo Casanova, illustrates a deeply entrenched perception of religion, as prevalent today as it was hundreds of years ago. It is the sentiment behind the narrative that Catholic beliefs were incompatible with the Enlightenment ideals. Catholics, many claim, are superstitious and traditional, opposed to democracy and gender equality, and hostile to...