The Encyclopedia of World Religions

priests and priesthood S 353

of God. In doing so he taught that God chooses to save some sinners but to consign others to HELL . That teaching has led to some disputes in the past, but most Reformed thinkers have preferred to leave questions of salvation in God’s hands. They have emphasized other themes instead: that God is the mighty lord of history, active in the world through his grace, and human beings should praise him and seek to follow the path that he has established—not to earn salvation but to express their recognition of God’s glory and goodness. PRACTICES During the Reformation, Luther and his followers adopted the policy of rejecting only those Catho lic traditions that they thought violated the mes sage of the Bible. Calvin and his followers went further. They allowed only those practices that they thought the Bible directly commanded. The sermon became the central feature of Reformed WORSHIP ( see PREACHING ). Another prominent fea ture was singing Psalms rather than nonbiblical songs. Calvin himself produced a Psalter —Psalms set to simple music—and many others followed. The Reformed tradition has tended to shy away from weekly celebration of the E UCHARIST . It also disagrees with both the Catholic and the Lutheran ideas that Jesus’ body and blood are really pres ent in the bread and wine of communion. Calvin taught instead that the eucharist brings Christians into Jesus’ presence. Calvinists take very seriously their calling to do God’s work in the world. As a result, the Reformed tradition has cultivated a particular attitude toward life in the world. That attitude is one of earnestness and seriousness rather than idleness and frivolity. The sociologist Max W EBER (1864–1920) suggested that this attitude came about because Calvinists needed to convince themselves that they belonged to God’s chosen or elect. This, he said, was the origin of capitalism. Although Weber’s idea about the origin of capitalism may be wrong, his charac terization of the Calvinist way of life was correct. Calvinists believe that those who live an upright life will prosper.

ORGANIZATION Not all Reformed churches have adopted a Presby terian form of organization. Some have preferred Congregationalism. A few have even had bishops. But many Reformed churches are Presbyterian. This means that they see all ministers as having equal status; they do not allow bishops. It also means that assemblies made up of ministers and elected elders govern the church. Assemblies meet at different levels, from the local congregation to the national church. The Reformed tradition has taken particularly seriously one function of the elders: the maintenance of church discipline. SIGNIFICANCE The Reformed tradition is one of the oldest and most important forms of P ROTESTANTISM . It played a major role in shaping the traditional outlook of the United States. It gave Americans the idea that their nation is special or chosen by God, an idea that is theologically questionable. It also provided the motivation for certain traditions, such as observing Sunday as a day of rest. Further reading: Renée House and John Coakley, ed., Patterns and Portraits: Women in the History of the Reformed Church in America (Grand Rapids, Mich.: W. B. Eerdmans, 1999); Donald K. McKim, Presbyterian Beliefs: A Brief Introduction (Louisville, Ky.: Geneva Press, 2003); Jan Rohls, Reformed Confessions: Theology from Zurich to Barmen (Louisville, Ky.: Westminster John Knox Press, 1998); James H. Smylie, A Brief History of the Presbyterians (Louisville, Ky.: Geneva Press, 1996). priests and priesthood A class of religious spe cialists in many religions. A priest differs in some ways from other specialists, like a shaman ( see SHAMANISM ), minister, or teacher, or like a Jewish RABBI or Muslim IMAM . The priest’s work involves presenting a formal service of offering, commonly interpreted as a SACRIFICE ; it is generally presented at a special place, most often a sacred table or ALTAR . The priest may well have special training in the