Describing Calvinism

Abstract The term “Calvinism” and the propriety, accuracy, and utility of its usage have become the focus of debates in historical theology and in social and cultural history. The word is a terminological construction referring to an array of controversies within and between religious communities and cultures, representing contested cultural values, practices, and visions for the church and for society. These polemical constructions of Calvinism and Reformed frequently depend on confessional sources. These controversies, which took place over several centuries, must be evaluated in their varying historical, geographical, social, cultural, and intellectual contexts. This chapter evaluates the sources that have been polemically deployed for the construction of the terms “Calvinism” and “Reformed.”