CALVINISM AND REPRESENTATIVE GOVERNMENTWhile religious and civil liberty have no organic connection, they nevertheless have a very
strong affinity for each other; and where one is lacking the other will not long endure.
History is eloquent in declaring that on a people's religion ever depends their freedom or
their bondage. It is a matter of supreme importance what doctrines they believe, what
principles they adopt: for these must serve as the basis upon which the superstructure of
their lives and their government rests. Calvinism was revolutionary. It taught the natural
equality of men, and its essential tendency was to destroy all distinctions of rank and all
claims to superiority which rested upon wealth or vested privilege. The liberty-loving soul
of the Calvinist has made him a crusader against those artificial distinctions which raise
some men above others.Politically, Calvinism has been the chief source of modern republican government.
Calvinism and republicanism are related to each other as cause and effect; and where a
people are possessed of the former, the latter will soon be developed. Calvin himself
held that the Church, under God, was a spiritual republic; and certainly he was a
republican in theory. James I was well aware of the effects of Calvinism when he said:
"Presbytery agreeth as well with the monarchy as God with the Devil." Bancroft speaks
of "the political character of Calvinism, which with one consent and with instinctive
judgment the monarchs of that day feared as republicanism." Another American
historian, John Fiske, has written, "It would be hard to overrate the debt which mankind
owes to Calvin. The spiritual father of Coligny, of William the Silent, and of Cromwell,
must occupy a foremost rank among the champions of modern democracy .... The
promulgation of this theology was one of the longest steps that mankind has ever taken
toward personal freedom."1 Emilio Castelar, the leader of the Spanish Liberals, says that
"Anglo-Saxon democracy is the product of a severe theology, learned in the cities of
Holland and Switzerland." Buckle, in his History of Civilization says, "Calvinism is
essentially democratic," (I, 669). And de Tocqueville, an able political writer, calls it "&
democratic and republican religion."2The system not only imbued its converts with the spirit of liberty, but it gave them
practical training in the rights and duties as freemen. Each congregation was left to elect
its own officers and to conduct its own affairs. Fiske pronounces it, "one of the most
effective schools that has ever existed for training men in local serf-government."3
Spiritual freedom is the source and strength of all other freedom, and it need cause no
surprise when we are told that the principles which governed them in ecclesiastical affairs
gave shape to their political views. Instinctively they preferred a representative
government and.stubbornly resisted all unjust rulers. After religious despotism is
overthrown, civil despotism cannot long continue.We may say that the spiritual republic which was founded by Calvin rests upon four
basic principles. These have been summed up by an eminent English statesman and jurist,
Sir .lames Stephen, as follows: "These principles were, firstly that the will of the people
was the one legitimate source of the power of the rulers; secondly, that the power was
most properly delegated by the people, to their rulers, by means of elections, in which
every adult man might exercise the right of suffrage; thirdly, that in ecclesiastical
government, the clergy and laity were entitled to an equal and co-ordinate authority; and
fourthly that between the Church and State, no alliance, or mutual dependence, or other
definite relation, necessarily or properly existed."4The principle of the sovereignty of God when applied to the affairs of government
proved to be very important. God as the supreme Ruler, was vested with sovereignty;
and whatever sovereignty was found in man had been graciously granted to him. The
scriptures were taken as the final authority, as containing eternal principles which were
regulative for all ages and on all peoples. In the following words the Scriptures declared
the State to be a divinely established institution: "Let every soul be in subjection to the
higher powers: for there is no power but of God; and the powers that be are ordained of
God. Therefore he that resisteth the power, withstandeth the ordinance of God; and they
that withstand shall receive to themselves judgment. For rulers are not a terror to the
good work, but to the evil. And wouldst thou have no fear of the power? do that which
is good, and thou shalt have praise for the same: for he is a minister of God to thee for
good. But if thou do that which is evil, be afraid; for he beareth not the sword in vain: for
he is a minister of God, an avenger for wrath to him that doeth evil. Wherefore ye must
needs be in subjection, not only because of the wrath, but also for conscience sake. For
this cause ye pay tribute also; for they are ministers of God's service, attending
continually upon this very thing. Render to all their dues; custom to whom custom; fear to
whom fear; honor to whom honor," Romans 13:1-7.No one type of government, however, whether democracy, republic, or monarchy, was
thought to be divinely ordained for any certain age or people, although Calvinism showed
a preference for the republican type. "Whatever the system of government," says
Meeter, "be it monarchy or democracy or any other form, in each case the ruler (or
rulers) was to act as God's representative, and to administer the affairs of government in
accordance with God's law. The fundamental principle supplied at the same time the very
highest incentive for the preservation of law and order among its citizens. Subjects were
for God's sake to render obedience to the higher powers, whichever these might be.
Hence Calvinism made for highly stabilized governments."On the other hand this very principle of the sovereignty of God operated as a mighty
defense of the liberties of the subject citizens against tyrannical rulers. Whenever
sovereigns ignored the Will of God, trampled upon the rights of the governed and
became tyrannical, it became the privilege and the duty of the subjects, in view of the
higher responsibility of the supreme Sovereign, God, to refuse obedience and even, if
necessary, to depose the tyrant, through the lesser authorities appointed by God for the
defense of the rights of the governed."5The Calvinistic ideas concerning governments and rulers have been ably expressed by
J.C. Monsma in the following lucid paragraph: "Governments are instituted by God
through the instrumentality of the people. No kaiser or president has any power inherent
in himself; whatever power he possesses, whatever sovereignty he exercises, is power
and sovereignty derived from the great Source above. No might, but right, and right
springing from the eternal Fountain of justice. For the Calvinist it is extremely easy to
respect the laws and ordinances of the government. If the government were nothing but a
group of men, bound to carry out the wishes of a popular majority, his freedom-loving
soul would rebel. But now, to his mind, and according to his fixed belief , — back of the
government stands God, and before Him he kneels in deepest reverence. Here also lies
the fundamental reason for that profound and almost fanatical love of freedom, also the
political freedom, which has always been a characteristic of the genuine Calvinist. The
government is God's servant. That means that AS MEN all government officials stand on
an equal footing with their subordinates; have no claim to superiority in any sense
whatever For exactly the same reason the Calvinist gives preference to a republican form
of government over any other type. In no other form of government does the sovereignty
of God, the derivative character of government powers and the equality of men as men,
find a clearer and more eloquent expression."6The theology of the Calvinist exalted one Sovereign and humbled all other sovereigns
before His awful majesty. The divine right of kings and the infallible decrees of popes
could not long endure amid a people who place sovereignty in God alone. But while this
theology infinitely exalted God as the Almighty Ruler of heaven and earth and humbled all
men before Him, it enhanced the dignity of the individual and taught him that all men as
men were equal. The Calvinist feared God; and fearing God he feared nobody else.
Knowing himself to have been chosen in the counsels of eternity and marked for the
glories of heaven, he possessed something which dissipated the feeling of personal
homage for men and which dulled the lustre of all earthly grandeur. If a proud aristocracy
traced its lineage through generations of highborn ancestry, the Calvinists, with a loftier
pride, invaded the invisible world, and from the book of life brought down the record of
the noblest enfranchisement, decreed from eternity by the King of kings. By a higher than
any earthly lineage they were heaven's noblemen because God's sons and priests, joint
heirs with Christ, kings and priests unto God, by a divine anointing and consecration. Put
the truth of the sovereignty of God into a man's mind and heart, and you put iron in his
blood. The Reformed Faith has rendered a most valuable service in teaching the
individual his rights.In striking contrast with these democratic and republican tendencies which are found to
be inherent in the Reformed Faith we find that Arminianism has a very pronounced
aristocratic tendency. In the Presbyterian and Reformed Churches the elder votes in
Presbytery or Synod or General Assembly on full equality with his pastor; but in
Arminian churches the power is largely in the hands of the clergy, and the laymen have
very little real authority. Episcopacy stresses rule by the hierarchy. Arminianism and
Roman Catholicism (which is practically Arminian) thrive under a monarchy, but there
Calvinism finds its life cramped. On the other hand Romanism especially does not thrive
in a republic, but there Calvinism finds itself most at home. An aristocratic form of church
government tends toward monarchy in civil affairs, while a republican form of church
government tends toward democracy in civil affairs. Says McFetridge, "Arminianism is
unfavorable to civil liberty, and Calvinism is unfavorable to despotism. The despotic
rulers of former days were not slow to observe the correctness of these propositions,
and, claiming the divine right of kings, feared Calvinism as republicanism itself."7Footnotes:
1Beginnings of New England, p. 58.
2Democracy, I., p. 884.
3The Beginnings of New England, p. 59.
4Lectures on the History of France, p. 415.
5The Fundamental Principles of Calvinism, H. H. Meeter, p. 92.
6What Calvinism Has Done for America, p. 6.
7Calvinism in History, p. 21.