The Encyclopedia of World Religions

352 S Presbyterian and Reformed churches

dominated the American religious scene. As the frontiers expanded west, Baptists and Methodists were better able to meet the needs of the pioneers. They became the dominant churches of 19th-cen tury America. M ISSIONARIES planted Presbyterian and Reformed churches in many parts of the world. Indonesia, formerly a Dutch colony, and Korea have very large Reformed churches. Presbyterian churches flourished among British immigrants in Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. Dutch set tlers known as Boers brought the Dutch Reformed Church to South Africa. That church provided a religious sanction for apartheid. Apartheid was the legal separation of whites and blacks to ensure white rule. In the 19th and 20th centuries, Reformed churches have pursued Calvin’s twin interests— theology and the proper organization of society— in exemplary fashion. Prominent Reformed theo logians have included the “father” of liberal the ology, Friedrich Schleiermacher (1768–1834), the prominent “neo-orthodox” theologians, Karl Barth (1886–1968) and Emil Brunner (1889–1966), and the American brothers, Reinhold Niebuhr (1892– 1971) and H. Richard Niebuhr (1894–1962). The Reformed traditions have also worked actively for social reform and improvement. Reformed theo logians played prominent roles in the Confessing Church, some of whose members opposed Nazi policies in Germany. BELIEFS Like most Protestants, Calvinists recognize the B IBLE as the ultimate religious authority. Indeed, a strong current in Calvinism has insisted that Christians may only accept practices that are positively mandated in the Bible. Calvinists also recognize the ancient Christian CREEDS . They wor ship G OD as a TRINITY and confess that in J ESUS two natures, divine and human, were joined in one person. Calvin agreed with Martin L UTHER in empha sizing that human beings cannot earn their own SALVATION . They must be saved by God’s GRACE . He also emphasized the absolute majesty and power

means “elder.” The representatives at Presby terian assemblies are often called presbyters or elders. Churches of British, especially Scottish, origin use the name “Presbyterian.” Churches that started in continental Europe use the name “Reformed,” for example, the Dutch Reformed. HISTORY John Calvin led the R EFORMATION in Geneva, Swit zerland, from 1541 to 1564. He had a distinctive THEOLOGY and a distinctive VISION of what a Chris tian society should be like. On the continent of Europe, Calvin’s teachings came to dominate religious life in the Netherlands. Reformed churches became minority churches in France, Hungary, Bohemia, and Poland. After the Peace of Westphalia in 1648, some German princes decided to have Reformed rather than Lutheran or Catholic churches in their realms ( see L UTHERANISM and R OMAN C ATHOLICISM ). The Reformed tradition influenced Scotland very early in its history. An important leader there was John Knox ( c. 1514–72). Eventually the Pres byterian Church became the established or official religion of Scotland. South of Scotland, in England, many people favored the Reformed tradition, too. They were called Puritans, because they wanted to purify the English church of Catholic influence ( see P URITANISM and A NGLICANISM ). The Puritans were not successful; the Church of England retained its Catholic heritage. Nevertheless, the Edict of Tol eration (1689) permitted English Presbyterians and other English Protestants to form their own churches. Reformed traditions came to North America very early. The Dutch Reformed Church was the established religion of the colony of New Nether land, which later became New York. The Puritans of New England were staunch Calvinists, but they favored C ONGREGATIONALISM rather than Presbyteri anism. Scotch-Irish immigrants brought Presbyte rianism to the North American colonies. German immigrants from the region of the Rhine brought their own Reformed traditions. After the Revolu tionary War, however, other Protestant churches