Calvinism (also called the Reformed tradition, Reformed Christianity, Reformed Protestantism,

or the Reformed faith) is a major branch of Protestantism that follows the theological tradition and
forms of Christian practice set down by John Calvin and other Reformation-era theologians.
Calvinists broke from the Roman Catholic Church in the 16th century. Calvinists differ
from Lutherans on the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist, theories of worship, and the use of
God's law for believers, among other things.[1][2] The term Calvinism can be misleading, because the
religious tradition which it denotes has always been diverse, with a wide range of influences rather
than a single founder; however almost all of them drew heavily from the writings of Augustine of
Hippo a millenium prior.[3] In the context of the Reformation, Huldrych Zwingli began the Reformed
tradition in 1519 in the city of Zürich. His followers were instantly labeled Zwinglians, consistent with
the Catholic practice of naming heresy after its founder. Very soon, Zwingli was joined by Martin
Bucer, Wolfgang Capito, William Farel, Johannes Oecolampadius and other early Reformed
thinkers.
The namesake of the movement, French reformer John Calvin, renounced Roman Catholicism and
embraced Protestant views in the late 1520s or early 1530s, as the earliest notions of later
Reformed tradition were already espoused by Huldrych Zwingli. The movement was first
called Calvinism, referring to John Calvin, by Lutherans who opposed it. Many within the tradition
find it either an indescriptive or an inappropriate term and would prefer the word Reformed to be
used instead.[4][5] The most important Reformed theologians include Calvin, Zwingli, Martin
Bucer, William Farel, Heinrich Bullinger, Peter Martyr Vermigli, Theodore Beza, and John Knox. In
the twentieth century, Abraham Kuyper, Herman Bavinck, B. B. Warfield, J. Gresham Machen, Karl
Barth, Martyn Lloyd-Jones, Cornelius Van Til, Gordon Clark, and R. C. Sproul were influential.
Contemporary Reformed theologians include J. I. Packer, John MacArthur, Timothy J. Keller, David
Wells, and Michael Horton.
Reformed churches may exercise several forms of ecclesiastical polity; most
are presbyterian or congregationalist, though some are episcopalian. Calvinism is largely
represented by Continental Reformed, Presbyterian, and Congregationalist traditions. The biggest
Reformed association is the World Communion of Reformed Churches with more than 100 million
members in 211 member denominations around the world.[6][7] There are more conservative
Reformed federations such as the World Reformed Fellowship and the International Conference of
Reformed Churches, as well as independent churches.

Contents

 1Etymology
 2History
o 2.1Spread
 3Theology
o 3.1Revelation and scripture
o 3.2Covenant
o 3.3God
o 3.4Christ and atonement
o 3.5Sin
o 3.6Salvation
o 3.7Predestination
 3.7.1Five points of Calvinism
 3.7.2Comparison among Protestants
o 3.8Church
 o 3.9Worship
 3.9.1Regulative principle of worship
o 3.10Sacraments
o 3.11Logical order of God's decree
 4Variants
o 4.1Amyraldism
o 4.2Hyper-Calvinism
o 4.3Neo-Calvinism
o 4.4Christian Reconstructionism
o 4.5New Calvinism
 5Social and economic influences
 6Politics and society
 7See also
o 7.1Doctrine
o 7.2Related
o 7.3Similar groups in other traditions
o 7.4Opposing views
 8References
 9Bibliography
 10Further reading
 11External links

Etymology[edit]
Calvinism is named after John Calvin. It was first used by a Lutheran theologian in 1552. It was a
common practice of the Roman Catholic Church to name what it viewed as heresy after its founder.
Nevertheless, the term first came out of Lutheran circles. Calvin denounced the designation himself:
They could attach us no greater insult than this word, Calvinism. It is not hard to guess where such a
deadly hatred comes from that they hold against me.

— John Calvin, Leçons ou commentaires et expositions sur les Revelations du prophete Jeremie,
1565[8]
Despite its negative connotation, this designation became increasingly popular in order to distinguish
Calvinists from Lutherans and from newer Protestant branches that emerged later. The vast majority
of churches that trace their history back to Calvin (including Presbyterians, Congregationalists, and a
row of other Calvinist churches) do not use it themselves, since the designation "Reformed" is more
generally accepted and preferred, especially in the English-speaking world. Moreover, these
churches claim to be—in accordance with John Calvin's own words—"renewed accordingly with the
true order of gospel".
Since the Arminian controversy, the Reformed tradition—as a branch of Protestantism distinguished
from Lutheranism—divided into two separate groups: Arminians and Calvinists.[9][10] However, it is
now rare to call Arminians a part of the Reformed tradition. While the Reformed theological tradition
addresses all of the traditional topics of Christian theology, the word Calvinism is sometimes used to
refer to particular Calvinist views on soteriology and predestination, which are summarized in part by
the Five Points of Calvinism. Some have also argued that Calvinism as a whole stresses
the sovereignty or rule of God in all things including salvation.

History[edit]
Main article: History of Calvinism

Calvin preached at St. Pierre Cathedral, the main church in Geneva.

Calvin's magnum opus: Institutio Christianae religionis

First-generation Reformed theologians include Huldrych Zwingli (1484–1531), Martin Bucer (1491–
1551), Wolfgang Capito (1478–1541), John Oecolampadius (1482–1531), and Guillaume
Farel (1489–1565). These reformers came from diverse academic backgrounds, but later
distinctions within Reformed theology can already be detected in their thought, especially the priority
of scripture as a source of authority. Scripture was also viewed as a unified whole, which led to
a covenantal theology of the sacraments of baptism and the Lord's Supper as visible signs of
the covenant of grace. Another Reformed distinctive present in these theologians was their denial of
the bodily presence of Christ in the Lord's supper. Each of these theologians also understood
salvation to be by grace alone, and affirmed a doctrine of particular election (the teaching that some
people are chosen by God for salvation). Martin Luther and his successor Philipp Melanchthon were
undoubtedly significant influences on these theologians, and to a larger extent later Reformed
theologians. The doctrine of justification by faith alone was a direct inheritance from Luther.[11]
John Calvin (1509–64), Heinrich Bullinger (1504–75), Wolfgang Musculus (1497–1563), Peter
Martyr Vermigli (1500–62), and Andreas Hyperius (1511–64) belong to the second generation of
Reformed theologians. Calvin's Institutes of the Christian Religion (1536–59) was one of the most
influential theologies of the era.[12] Toward the middle of the 16th century, the Reformed began to
commit their beliefs to confessions of faith, which would shape the future definition of the Reformed
faith. The 1549 Consensus Tigurinus brought together those who followed Zwingli and
Bullinger's memorialist theology of the Lord's supper, which taught that the supper simply serves as
a reminder of Christ's death, and Calvin's view that the supper serves as a means of grace with
Christ actually present, though spiritually rather than bodily. The document demonstrates the
diversity as well as unity in early Reformed theology. The remainder of the 16th century saw an
explosion of confessional activity. The stability and breadth of Reformed theology during this period
stand in marked contrast to the bitter controversy experienced by Lutherans prior to the
1579 Formula of Concord.[13]
Due to Calvin's missionary work in France, his programme of reform eventually reached the French-
speaking provinces of the Netherlands. Calvinism was adopted in the Electorate of the
Palatinate under Frederick III, which led to the formulation of the Heidelberg Catechism in 1563, and
in Navarre by Jeanne d'Albret. This and the Belgic Confession were adopted as confessional
standards in the first synod of the Dutch Reformed Church in 1571. Leading divines, either Calvinist
or those sympathetic to Calvinism, settled in England (Martin Bucer, Peter Martyr, and Jan Łaski)
and Scotland (John Knox). During the English Civil War, the Calvinistic Puritans produced
the Westminster Confession, which became the confessional standard for Presbyterians in the
English-speaking world. Having established itself in Europe, the movement continued to spread to
other parts of the world, including North America, South Africa, and Korea.[14]
Calvin did not live to see the foundation of his work grow into an international movement; but his
death allowed his ideas to break out of their city of origin, to succeed far beyond their borders, and to
establish their own distinct character.[15]

Spread[edit]

Calvinism has been known at times for its simple, unadorned churches and lifestyles, as depicted in this
painting of the interior of the Oude kerk in Amsterdam by Emanuel de Witte c. 1661.

Although much of Calvin's work was in Geneva, his publications spread his ideas of
a correctly Reformed church to many parts of Europe. In Switzerland, some cantons are still
Reformed, and some are Catholic. Calvinism became the theological system of the majority
in Scotland (see John Knox), the Netherlands (see William Ames, T. J.
Frelinghuysen and Wilhelmus à Brakel), some communities in Flanders, and parts of Germany
(especially these adjacent to the Netherlands) in the Palatinate, Kassel and Lippe with the likes
of Olevianus and his colleague Zacharias Ursinus. In Hungary and the then-
independent Transylvania, Calvinism was a significant religion. In the 16th century, the Reformation
gained many supporters in Eastern Hungary and Hungarian-populated regions in Transylvania. In
these parts, the Reformed nobles protected the faith. Almost all Transylvanian dukes were
Reformed. Today there are about 3.5 million Hungarian Reformed people worldwide.[16] It was
influential in France, Lithuania and Poland before being mostly erased due to the counter-
reformational activities taken up by the monarch in each country. Calvinism gained some popularity
in Scandinavia, especially Sweden, but was rejected in favor of Lutheranism after the Synod of
Uppsala in 1593.[17]
Most settlers in the American Mid-Atlantic and New England were Calvinists, including the
English Puritans, the French Huguenots and Dutch settlers of New Amsterdam (New York), and
the Scotch-Irish Presbyterians of the Appalachian back country. Nonconforming
Protestants, Puritans, Separatists, Independents, English religious groups coming out of the English
Civil War, and other English dissenters not satisfied with the degree to which the Church of
England had been reformed, held overwhelmingly Reformed views. They are often cited among the
primary founders of the United States of America. Dutch and French Huguenot Calvinist settlers
were also the first European colonizers of South Africa, beginning in the 17th century, who became
known as Boers or Afrikaners.
Sierra Leone was largely colonized by Calvinist settlers from Nova Scotia, who were largely Black
Loyalists, blacks who had fought for the British during the American War of Independence. John
Marrant had organized a congregation there under the auspices of the Huntingdon Connection.
Some of the largest Calvinist communions were started by 19th- and 20th-century missionaries.
Especially large are those in Indonesia, Korea and Nigeria. In South Korea there are
20,000 Presbyterian congregations with about 9–10 million church members, scattered in more than
100 Presbyterian denominations. In South Korea, Presbyterianism is the largest Christian
denomination.[18]

A Calvinist church in Semarang, Indonesia. Protestantism in Indonesia is largely a result of Calvinist

and Lutheran missionary efforts during the colonial period.[19]

A 2011 report of the Pew Forum on Religious and Public Life estimated that members of
Presbyterian or Reformed churches make up 7% of the estimated 801 million Protestants globally, or
approximately 56 million people.[20] Though the broadly defined Reformed faith is much larger, as it
constitutes Congregationalist (0.5%), most of the United and uniting churches (unions of different
denominations) (7.2%) and most likely some of the other Protestant denominations (38.2%). All
three are distinct categories from Presbyterian or Reformed (7%) in this report.
The Reformed family of churches is one of the largest Christian denominations. According to
adherents.com the Reformed/Presbyterian/Congregational/United churches represent 75 million
believers worldwide.[21]
The World Communion of Reformed Churches, which includes some United Churches (most of
these are primarily Reformed; see Uniting and united churches for details), has 80 million
believers.[22] WCRC is the third largest Christian communion in the world, after the Roman Catholic
Church and the Eastern Orthodox Churches.[21]
Many conservative Reformed churches which are strongly Calvinistic formed the World Reformed
Fellowship which has about 70 member denominations. Most are not part of the World Communion
of Reformed Churches because of its ecumenical attire. The International Conference of Reformed
Churches is another conservative association.
Church of Tuvalu is the only officially established state church in the Calvinist tradition in the world.