SJS 4: "A Social History of Calvinism"

Citation: Watt, Jeffery R. "Christ's Churches Purely Reformed: A Social History of
     Calvinism (Book)." Canadian Journal of Histroy (2003): 368-71. Print.

Author Credentials: James R. Watt attended the University of Mississippi, and has written many books related to Europe during the 17th century time period. He wrote "Choosing Death: Suicide and Calvinism in Early Modern Geneva" and he edited "Modern Europe". He is now a History Professor and teaches, specifically, the Renaissance, Absolutism, and the Enlightenment. He specializes in European religion History and social trends of people during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries.

Summary: In Phillip Benedict's book, he describes the beginning of Calvinism in the 1700's. Benedict was born in Zurich, Switzerland, and was inspired by Huldrych Swingli's views. He noted that in the 1520's the views of the majority of the people distinguished itself from Luther's reformation. In the 1540's the leading city was Geneva, which was a Calvinist city established by the Frenchman John Calvin. He created an independent system of church Consistory. In the second half of the sixteenth century, the reformation had drastically expanded, and attracted people from many different ethnic groups in the area. Then in the 17th century reformed Christian had been in disputes with the Roman Empire and disagreed over theology. Later in the 17th century, the Huguenots had to choose between converting to Catholicism or leaving the country. Calvinism was not tolerated during this period of time. Later in the document, Benedict analyzes the similarity of "confessionalization" between the Lutheran, Calvinist, and Catholic Reformations.


Analysis: John R. Watt made an argument that was in agreement with Phillip Benedict. Watt uses many examples from Benedict's book to provide evidence that Calvinism was played a major role in many areas throughout Europe. He strictly uses facts to explain how Calvinism affected social life during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. He does not add any of his own opinion to the writing, because he analyzes what Phillip Benedict said about Calvinism. This text was a reliable source because of the fact that John R. Watt is a History Professor and specializes in European history of religion and social trends.