A Calvinist Case for Tolerant Public Pluralism: The Religious Sources of Abraham Kuyper’s Public Philosophy
Issue: Vol 34 No. 1 (2015)
Journal: Religious Studies and Theology
Subject Areas: Religious Studies Buddhist Studies Islamic Studies Biblical Studies
Abstract:
Religiously generated conflict and intolerance around the world challenge the idea that religion can generate support for plurality, religious freedom, genuine toleration and democracy. Some argue, for example, that Islam is incompatible with democracy. This article argues that each religious tradition must explore its internal resources for how they might generate and support toleration and democracy. I explore the case of neo-Calvinism which shares a belief in God’s sovereignty with Islam, yet strongly supports religious freedom, toleration and democracy. The Dutch neo Calvinist leader, Abraham Kuyper (1837–1920) developed distinctive political ideas consistently based on Christian beliefs. This article opens by examining Calvin’s thought for intolerant political ideas. It presents Kuyper’s rationale for the legitimacy of “reforming” earlier Christian ideas and actions. The majority of the article analyzes Kuyper’s rationale for “tolerant public pluralism” in order to show how neo-Calvinist beliefs systematically shaped his political thinking.
Author: John L. Hiemstra
References :
Augustine. 1972. Concerning the City of God against the Pagans, translated by Henry Bettenson. New York: Penguin.
Balkenende, J. P. 2010. “Speech by Prime Minister J.-P. Balkenende on the Occasion of the Unveiling of the Statue of Abraham Kuyper in the Town of Maassluis on 5 November, 2008.” In http://www.ptsem.edu/uploadedFiles/Library/Non-protected/Research_Centers/Kuyper/Balkenende%20at%20Kuyper%27s%20statue.pdf.
Brink, Emily R., ed. “The Belgic Confession.” 1987. The Psalter Hymnal. Grand Rapids: CRC.
Bhargava, Rajeev. 2009. “Dealing with Religious Diversity: the Indian Model.” Horizons. Public Works and Government Services Canada, Policy Research Initiative. 10(2): 71–77.
Biéler, André. 2006. Calvin’s Economic and Social Thought. Geneva: World Council of Churches.
Bratt, James D., ed. 1998. Abraham Kuyper: A Centennial Reader. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans.
———. 2013. Abraham Kuyper: Modern Calvinist, Christian Democrat. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans.
Calvin, John. 1977. Institutes of the Christian Religion, edited by John T. McNeill. Translated by Ford Lewis Battles. Philadelphia: Westminster.
Cavanaugh, William T. 2009. The Myth of Religious Violence: Secular Ideology and the Roots of Modern Conflict. Oxford University Press. http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195385045.001.0001
Carlson-Thies, Stanley. 1993. “Democracy in the Netherlands: Consociational or Pluriform?” Ph.D. diss., University of Toronto.
Chaplin, Jonathan. 2010. Herman Dooyeweerd: Christian Philosopher of State and Civil Society. Notre Dame, Indiana: University of Notre Dame Press.
Dooyeweerd, Herman. 1979. Roots of Western Culture: Pagan, Secular and Christian Options. Toronto: Wedge.
———. 1953–1958. A New Critique of Theoretical Thought. 4 vol. Amsterdam: H.J. Paris/Philadelphia: Presbyterian and Reformed Publishing.
Ebadi, Shirin with Azadeh Moaveni. 2006. Iran Awakening: A Memoir of Revolution and Hope. New York: Random House.
Esposito, John L. and John O. Voll. 2001. “Islam and Democracy.” Humanities. 22(6). Accessed March 31, 2015 at http://www.neh.gov/humanities/2001/novemberdecember/feature/islam-and-democracy.
Fogarty, Michael. 1957. Christian Democracy in Western Europe: 1820–1953. London: Routledge and Kegan Paul.
Freston, Paul. 2004. Protestant Political Parties: A Global Survey. Burlington: Ashgate.
Goudzwaard, Bob. 1979. Capitalism and Progress: A Diagnosis of Western Culture. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans.
Goudzwaard, Bob, Mark Vander Vennen, David Van Heemst. 2007. Hope in Troubled Times: A New Vision for Confronting Global Crises. Grand Rapids: Baker.
Griffioen, Sander and Richard Mouw. 1993. Pluralisms and Horizons: An Essay in Christian Public Philosophy. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans.
Groen Van Prinsterer, Guilliaume. 1989. Lectures on Unbelief and Revolution. In A. J. van Dijk. 1989. Groen Van Prinsterer’s Lectures on Unbelief and Revolution. Toronto: Wedge.
Hall, David. 2009. Calvin in the Public Square: Liberal Democracies, Rights, and Civil Liberties. Phillipsburg: P&R.
Harinck, George. 2002. “A Historian’s Comment on the Use of Abraham Kuyper’s Idea of Sphere Sovereignty.” Journal of Markets & Morality. 5(1): 277–284.
Heslam, Peter S. 1998. Creating a Christian Worldview: Abraham Kuyper’s Lectures on Calvinism. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans/Carlisle: Paternoster.
Huntington, Samuel P. 1991. “Democracy’s Third Wave.” The Journal of Democracy. 2(2): 12–34. http://dx.doi.org/10.1353/jod.1991.0016
Kalyvas, Stathis N. 1996. The Rise of Christian Democracy in Europe. Ithaca: Cornell University Press.
Kraynak, Robert P. 2001. Christian faith and modern democracy: God and Politics in the Fallen World. Notre Dame: University of Notre Dame.
Kingdon, Robert M. and Robert D. Linder, eds. 1970. Calvin and Calvinism: Sources of Democracy? Lexington, Massachusetts: Heath.
Koyzis, David T. 2003. Political Visions and Illusions: A Survey and Christian Critique of Contemporary Ideologies. Dowers Grove: Intervarsity.
Kuiper, Roel. 2008. “The State as Unifier: The Protestant Thought of Dooyeweerd,” translated by Eline Freeman. Christians and Politics. http://www.cpportal.org/k/n22654/news/view/338041/383320/The-state-as-unifier.html. Published originally in Dutch in DenkWijzer 8(4): 10–12.
Kuyper, Abraham. 1880. Ons Program. 2nd ed. Amsterdam: J. H. Kruyt.
———. 1902–1904. De Gemeene Gratie. Vol III. Amsterdam: Hoveker and Vorer.
———. 1911–1912. Pro Rege: Of Het Koningschap van Christus. 3 vols. Kampen: Kok.
———. 1975. Lectures on Calvinism. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans.
———. 1991a. “The Ordinances of God,” translated by H. der Nederlander and G. Spykman. In Political Order and the Plural Structure of Society, edited by James W. Skillen and Rockne M. McCarthy, 242–257. Atlanta: Scholars.
———. 1991b. The Problem of Poverty, edited by James W. Skillen. Grand Rapids: Baker.
———. 1991c. Souvereiniteit in Eigen Kring. Amsterdam: J. H. Kruyt.
Marshall, Paul A. 1984. Thine is the Kingdom: A Biblical Perspective on the Nature of Government and Politics Today. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans.
Monsma, Stephen V. and J. Christopher Soper. 2008. The Challenge of Pluralism: Church and State in Five Democracies. 2nd edition. Landham: Rowman & Littlefield.
Müller, Jan-Werner. 2010. “Making Muslim Democracies.” Boston Review. (November/December). http://www.bostonreview.net/BR35.6/muller.php
Olthuis, James H. 1993. “Be(com)ing: Humankind as Gift and Call.” Philosophia Reformata. 58 (2): 153–172. http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/22116117-90000062
Sen, Amartya. 1999. “Democracy as a Universal Value.” Journal of Democracy. 10(3): 3–17. http://dx.doi.org/10.1353/jod.1999.0055
Skillen, James W. 2004. In Pursuit of Justice: Christian-Democratic Explorations. Landham: Rowman & Littlefield.
———. 2005. With or Against the World: America”s Role Among the Nations. Landham: Rowman & Littlefield,
———. 2007. “Watch Turkey! The Religion and Society Debate” Root and Branch. Center for Public Justice. http://www.cpjustice.org/rootandbranch5.
———. 2009. “Christian Counselling in the Public Square: Principled Pluralism for the Common Good.” Edification: Journal of the Society for Christian Psychology. 3(2): 5–11.
Turchetti, Mario. 2009. “Freedom of Conscience first in the Secular Democracy of the Twentieth Century.” In John Calvin’s Impact on Church and Society, 1509–2009, edited by Hirzel, Martin Ernst, and Martin Sallmann, 192–217. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans.
Wolterstorff, Nicholas. 1983. Until Justice and Peace Embrace: The Kuyper Lectures for 1981. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans. http://dx.doi.org/10.1515/9781400828715
———. 2008. Justice: Rights and Wrongs, Princeton: Princeton University Press.
Zuidema, S.U. 1972. “Common Grace and Christian Action in Abraham Kuyper.” In Communication and Confrontation: A Philosophical Appraisal and Critique of Modern Society and Contemporary Thought. 52–105. Toronto: Wedge.