TY - JOUR AU - Kennedy, Simon P. PY - 2013/07/18 Y2 - 2024/03/29 TI - Abraham Kuyper and his Political Philosophy: Calvinist and Pluralist JF - Reformed Theological Review JA - RTR VL - 72 IS - 2 SE - Articles DO - UR - https://rtrjournal.org/index.php/RTR/article/view/45 SP - AB - Abraham Kuyper’s political thought is often referred to in discussions about Christian social and political action, and ethics. However, it is usually the case that his theoretical position in political thought is assumed. Kuyper never makes absolutely explicit his position in relation to political theory, apart from clearly labelling himself a Calvinist. It usually assumed that his theory of sphere sovereignty is pluralist. This article, by way of a survey of pluralist and Calvinist political theory, aims to investigate and clarify Kuyper's positioning within political theory and political theology. After investigating the political thought of John Calvin and Johannes Althusius, it is clear that Kuyper sits comfortably with the Calvinist stream of political theology, and the foundations for his doctrine of sphere sovereignty are shown to be Calvinistic. Kuyper's political thought is, therefore, a Calvinistic expression of political pluralism ER -