<P> The Protestant Reformation spread almost entirely within the confines of Northern Europe but did not take hold in certain northern areas such as Ireland and parts of Germany . The Catholic response to the Protestant Reformation is known as the Counter-Reformation which resulted in a reassertion of traditional doctrines and the emergence of new religious orders aimed at both moral reform and new missionary activity . The Counter-Reformation reconverted approximately 33 % of Northern Europe to Catholicism and initiated missions in South and Central America , Africa , Asia , and even China and Japan . Protestant expansion outside of Europe occurred on a smaller scale through colonization of North America and areas of Africa . </P>
<P> The Protestant Reformation spread almost entirely within the confines of Northern Europe but did not take hold in certain northern areas such as Ireland and parts of Germany . The Catholic response to the Protestant Reformation is known as the Counter-Reformation which resulted in a reassertion of traditional doctrines and the emergence of new religious orders aimed at both moral reform and new missionary activity . The Counter-Reformation reconverted approximately 33 % of Northern Europe to Catholicism and initiated missions in South and Central America , Africa , Asia , and even China and Japan . Protestant expansion outside of Europe occurred on a smaller scale through colonization of North America and areas of Africa . </P>
christianity was shaped in its first two centuries within the confines of what
christianity was shaped in its first two centuries within the confines of what
Northern Europe
Northern Europe