Table of Contents

List of maps; Acknowledgements; List of abbreviations; Introduction; 1. The Counter-Reformation offensive, 1550–1650; 2. The sacral landscape and pilgrimage piety; 3. Religious practice; 4. Clericalism in the villages; 5. The communal church in German Catholicism; 6. Reformers and intermediaries, 1650–1750; Conclusion; Bibliography; Index.

Promotional Information

A study of 'Catholic identity' in southwest Germany in the two centuries after the Reformation.

Reviews

'... an invaluable contribution to the history of Catholic revival in Germany and has profound implications for other areas of Europe as well.' Journal of Ecclesiastical History 'Forster's approach, in short, is a compelling one and has the added virtue of making the German experience more comparable with other parts of Catholic Europe.' English Historical Review Forster's work illuminates central features of Baroque Catholicism and underlines the limitations of the theory of confessionalisation as a model of the development of early modern German society and the religious experience of its members.' Joachim Whaley, German History 'Forster's approach, in short, is a compelling one and has the added virtue of making the German experience more comparable with other parts of Catholic Europe.' Oxford Academic Journals '... a vivid and nuanced picture of the relations between secular rulers, the Catholic clergy, and their blocks ... the book makes a wonderful introduction to the religious history of eighteenth-century Europe.' The Historical Journal '... a significant contribution to the specialist literatures on German and religious history.' Religious Studies Review