Cultures of Calvinism in early modern Europe

Abstract

"Scholars have associated Calvinism with print and literary cultures, with republican, liberal, and participatory political cultures, with cultures of violence and vandalism, enlightened cultures, cultures of social discipline, secular cultures, and with the emergence of capitalism. Reflecting on these arguments, the essays in this volume recognize that Reformed Protestantism did not develop as a uniform tradition but varied across space and time. The authors demonstrate that multiple iterations of Calvinism developed and impacted upon differing European communities that were experiencing social and cultural transition. They show how these different forms of Calvinism were shaped by their adherents and opponents, and by the divergent political and social contexts in which they were articulated and performed. Recognizing that Reformed Protestantism developed in a variety of cultural settings, this volume analyzes the ways in which it related to the multi-confessional cultural environment that prevailed in Europe after the Reformation."--from Publisher.

Contents

Describing Calvinism / Todd Rester -- Calvinism, conversion, and the science of the self / Crawford Gribben -- Calvinism and education / D.G. Hart -- Calvin, Calvinism, and philosophy / Paul Helm -- Calvinism and literature / Mark S. Sweetnam -- Calvinism and theater in early modern England and the Dutch Republic / Freya Sierhuis and Adrian Streete -- Calvinism and visual culture: the art of evasion / Angela Vanhaelen -- Exiles and Calvinist identity / Mirjam van Veen -- Calvinism and war / Christine Kooi -- Calvinism and moral discipline / Graeme Murdock.