- [uncountable] (formal)
the act of improving or changing somebody/something 改革；改进；变革 - the Reformation[singular]
new ideas in religion in 16th century Europe that led to attempts to reform (= change and improve) the Roman Catholic Church and to the forming of the Protestant Churches; the period of time when these changes were taking place 宗教改革（欧洲 16 世纪改革天主教从而导致新教的产生）；宗教改革时期 CultureLed by Martin Luther and others, supporters of the Reformation opposed the political powers of the Pope and argued for a simpler form of religion with less ceremony and more emphasis on the authority of the Bible. In England, King Henry VIII appointed himself head of a new Protestant Church of England in 1534, mainly so that he could get divorced from his first wife and marry again. The new Church was supported by bishops such as Thomas Cranmer and Hugh Latimer, and became firmly established under Queen Elizabeth I. In Scotland, the strict Protestant views of John Knox and others led to the creation in 1690 of the Presbyterian Church of Scotland.see also Act of Supremacy, Dissolution of the Monasteries.Topics Historyc2, Religion and festivalsc2
Word Originlate Middle English: from Latin reformatio(n-), from reformare ‘shape again’, from re- ‘back’ + formare ‘to form, shape’.