What is Calvinism?
{{Christianity}} '''Calvinism''' belongs to the '''Reformed tradition''' of [[Protestantism|Protestant]] [[Christianity]]. This tradition goes back to [[John Calvin]] and other [[Theology|theologians]]. ==Overview== Important Calvinists from [[Europe]] include: Martin Bucer, Heinrich Bullinger, Peter Martyr Vermigli, and [[Huldrych Zwingli]], and from [[England]], reformers [[Thomas Cranmer]] and John Jewel. Because [[John Calvin]] had great influence and played an important role in the [[confession]]al and ecclesiastical debates throughout the [[17th century]], the tradition generally became known as '''Calvinism'''. ===Today=== Today, this term also means the doctrines and practices of the [[Reformed churches]], of which Calvin was an early leader, and the system is perhaps best known for its doctrines of [[predestination (Calvinism)|predestination]] and [[total depravity]]. ==History== ===1530s=== [[John Calvin]]'s international influence on the development of the doctrines of the [[Protestant Reformation]] began at the age of 25, when he started work on his first edition of the ''Institutes of the Christian Religion'' in 1534 (published [[1536]]). He also contributed to confessional documents for use in churches, and his beliefs and practices left a direct influence on [[Protestantism]]. He was only one of many people to influence the doctrines of the Reformed churches, but he eventually became one of the most prominent [[Theology|theologians]]. ===1540s=== The rising importance of the Reformed churches and Calvin happened in the second phase of the [[Protestant Reformation]], when evangelical churches began to form, after [[Martin Luther]], another important Reformer, had been [[excommunication|excommunicated]] from the [[Roman Catholic Church]]. Calvin was a French exile in [[Geneva City]]. He had signed the Lutheran [[Augsburg Confession]] in 1540, but his importance came from the Swiss Reformation. It was not [[Lutheran]] but followed [[Huldrych Zwingli]] and then Calvin. True Calvinism, or hist