加尔文主义对美国《独立宣言》的影响

Influence of Calvinism on The Declaration of Independence 

Abstract

The American Declaration of Independence in 1776 was the first in world history to identify sovereignty with independence. Since Protestants landed on and explored the New World, the establishment of the United States and The Declaration of Independence has been profoundly influenced by Calvinism, which is one of the most advanced theologies in the 16th -century Reformation. 

In previous study, there is still lack of a systematic research to relate Calvin’s ideology with The Declaration. Therefore, this essay will aim at explaining the effects of Calvin’s theology on The Declaration of Independence, by analyzing the script of The Declaration, elaborating Calvin’s theology of human’s natural rights and deducting the relationship between the ideology of liberty, self-governance, self-reliance of Calvinism and “all men are created equal” in The Declaration of Independence.

This thesis consists of four parts. In the first part, the author gives brief introductions on historical backgrounds of Calvinism of The Declaration of Independence of the United States according. The second part elaborates propositions of rights of life, liberty and pursuit of happiness in The Declaration influenced by Calvin’s theology on God’s sovereignty. The third part interprets self-governance in The Declaration of Independence from Calvinism. The forth part analyzes the impacts of self-reliance from Calvin’s ideas of the people’s will and anti-tyranny. Finally, the paper concludes that the ideology of equal rights, self-governance and self-reliance in The Declaration of Independence was profoundly influenced by the theology of God’s sovereignty and human’s natural rights from Calvinism.

Key words：Calvinism; The Declaration of Independence; the United States