Galilei lived from mid-1500s to mid-1600s (I didn't incidentally realize he was that late). No way that's Middle Ages by any measure.

Besides, the Reformation had the funny side effect of causing a whole new spate of fanaticism, rigid orthodoxy, persecution, horrible massacres and othe rsuch niceties. Before it the Church had for quite a while actually had pretty much a laissez-faire attitude - so long as you didn't try to buck them and paid whatever you might have been due, they didn't really care too much. A rather major part of their nominal rules were observed in name only. That may have indeed merited such denouncements as "corruption" and "decadence", but it also meant that in practice the Catholic Church had in fact gotten rid of many of the unpleasantries organized and monopolistic religion is usually associated with.

Then came Luther's hammer-work, and it eventually took the mind-boggling devastation (and grotesque economical costs) of the Thirty Years' War to convince most folks too much religious fervor wasn't really such a hot thing.

Did you incidentally know, the mechanical clock - in many ways a strong symbol of the modern world - was initially developed in monasteries during the Early Middle Ages or thereabouts to help the monks and nuns keep track of their prayer times...?