Why is john calvin important today

John Calvin was a French theologian and pastor who was an instrumental figure in the Protestant Reformation. After his death, Calvinism became an influential religious doctrine which believed in thrift, hard work, a puritanical morality and the religious dogmas of predestination and eternal damnation for those who did not seek salvation from God.

Calvin was born 10 July at Noyon, a town in Picardy, France. He received a high standard of education, studying at College de Montaigu in Paris.

John calvin death

He planned a career in the church but aged 16 his father enrolled him in the University of Orleans to study law, probably because a lawyer was more remunerative than church life. In , he enrolled at the University of Bourges, where he was inspired by Andreas Alciati, a humanist lawyer. For a while, Calvin pursued humanist studies which included the great classical writers such as Aristotle and Plato.

However, around , the young Calvin underwent a religious conversion. This conversion mirrored the Protestant Reformation which had recently begun with Martin Luther in A reaction against the abuses of the Catholic church, such as the selling of indulgences. The Reformation created serious tension between those who wished to reform the Catholic church and those who were loyal to the old traditions.

As a result of Calvin being associated with reformers, he was forced to leave France, and in , he fled to Basel in Switzerland, a city which had become a haven for those seeking to reform the church.

Where did john calvin live

In , he published his first religious book — Institutio Christianae Religionis or Institutes of the Christian religion. It set out the position of Christian reformers in a comprehensive and systematic way. It was intended to be an introduction to the Christian faith and became a key book of the Protestant Reformation. He revised this book over the course of his life.