“It was sharpest of all for Protestants who did not belong to tightly organised and disciplined churches, in which there was either formal confession of sins (as in many Lutheran churches) or systematic oversight of the moral status of church members (as in many Calvinist churches). Those systems did not solve the problem of belief logically, but they did solve it emotionally, since anxious Christians could outsource their concern about themselves to the ministers who policed them. It was a kind of fideism: you cannot be certain of your own beliefs, but you can place your trust in your community instead.” FaithSinChristianityConfessionProtestantism Book:Unbelievers: An Emotional History of Doubt Source: Unbelievers: An Emotional History of Doubt
“John Calvin, brought characteristic rigor to the question. Luther dreamed of good princes, disliked law on principle, and had little interest in institutions. As a result, Lutheran churches ended up with a mishmash of governing structures. Calvin, by contrast, had trained as a lawyer, knew that structures matter, and favored more participatory government.” ProtestantismJohn Calvin Book:Protestants: The Faith That Made the Modern World Source: Protestants: The Faith That Made the Modern World
“The kind of sociopolitical structure that Protestantism engenders—based on free inquiry, participatory politics, and limited government—tends to favor market economics.” Market EconomyProtestantism Book:Protestants: The Faith That Made the Modern World Source: Protestants: The Faith That Made the Modern World