Offers a sharp critique, or rather a series of critiques, of the conventional historiography of early modern Spanish religion [ and] a series of valuable case studies of Catholic thought and practice... The book is beautifully written, and adds drama, emotion, and even humor to what might otherwise seem arcane ecclesiastical or scholarly disputes. Bulletin of the Society for Spanish and Portuguese Historical Studies A penetrating and convincing work of revisionist history. Few scholarly books from the start clearly mark a watershed in the interpretation of history. This one magisterially does. -- L. R. N. Ashley Bibliotheque d'Humanisme et Renaissance With clear writing and convincing scholarship, Homza has successfully challenged a long-standing paradigm in Spanish historical studies... Homza has rescued Spanish intellectual history from its paralyzingly rigid past... [ and] discovered a dynamic intellectual world where theologians skillfully joined old authorities and new techniques as they groped for answers. -- Allyson M. Poska Journal of Modern History Meticulous and engaging scholarship... The challenges [ Homza] poses to questions of periodization and categorization should be a model for future studies of the religious, cultural, and intellectual currents of sixteenth-century Europe. -- Elizabeth A. Lehfeldt Catholic Historical Review
