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Few matters were more hotly debated by Reformed divines in nineteenth-century America than the nature, history, and contemporary expression of the Calvinist system of thought. John Williamson Nevin of Mercersburg Seminary contended that most Americans had abandoned Calvin’s system long ago (especially in regard to the Eucharist). The New England theologians (led by Edwards Amasa Park) claimed to be faithful modern Calvinists, but no longer bound to Calvin’s own doctrinal preferences. Princeton theologians (led by Charles Hodge) criticized both of these other groups, trying their best to shore up a sense of mainstream orthodox Calvinist unity from the time of the Reformation to their own age. This chapter will use these debates to examine the status of Calvinism and reassess Calvin’s legacy in nineteenth-century America. It will also engage the interpretations of many recent historians who interpret the nineteenth century as one in which most American "Calvinists" abandoned Calvin’s legacy.

Chapter thirty-eight treats the threat of German Idealist thought as it came to influence the thinking of those who considered themselves part of the Reformed tradition. Particularly important in this regard stand: John Williamson Nevin, Charles Finney, and Horace Bushnell. Hodge considered each of these men as dangerous threats to traditional Reformed orthodoxy as they spread their own versions of the redemptive power of human moral intuition.

In the early nineteenth century, a great deal of diversity existed in American theology. Nevertheless, despite substantial differences, American religious thinkers during this period were dominated by Christians – mostly Protestants – and emphasized commonsense republican understandings of authority over against traditional standards. Even in disagreements, the commonsense republican approach to Christianity set the boundaries for dispute.

Thinkers unconnected to institutions were the most lively and creative thinkers in the US for much of the nineteenth century. These ‘amateurs’ were more willing to adopt untraditional, usually German, ideas; and they moved more quickly to modern, secular ideas. The most important of these thinkers were James Marsh of Vermont, who introduced Kantian ideas into America; Ralph Waldo Emerson, the leading Transcendentalist; Connecticut minister Horace Bushnell, who followed Nathaniel William Taylor in remaking the theology of New England and leading it to figurative and metaphorical interpretations of the Bible; John Williamson Nevin and Philip Schaff of the Mercersburg Seminary in Pennsylvania, who meditated on an organicist Protestant theology; and The St Louis Hegelians.

Chapter Eighteen recounts Hodge’s time studying theology in Halle, Germany. While there, he begins a lifelong friendship with August Tholuck, and solidifies his own theological commitment to the Reformation tradition he was taught at Princeton. While at Halle, he tours much of the surrounding towns before he sets off for Berlin via Wittenberg.