Adaptations of Calvinism in Reformation Europe

The essays in this volume highlight the different paths Calvinism followed as it took root in Western Europe, and how it developed, within fifty years, into the dominant Protestant confession. Each chapter reinforces the notion that while many reformers tried to duplicate the kind of community that Calvin had established, most had to compromise by adapting to the particular political and cultural landscapes in which they lived. Summarizing recent research in the field through selected French, German, English and Scottish case studies, this collection adds to the emerging picture of a flexible Calvinism that could adapt to meet specific local conditions and needs in order to allow the Reformed tradition to thrive and prosper.