Abstract

This study examines the place of Calvinist theology in the political philosophy of Jean-Jacques Rousseau. In particular, it argues that Rousseau's formulations of human nature and the origins of inequality and his theory of the legitimate state are deeply informed by Calvinist understandings of the fall, providence, and the church. The study accounts for the persistence of Calvinist themes in Rousseau's Discourse on the Origins of Inequality, Emile, and the Social Contract by considering Rousseau as he considered himself, as a citizen of Geneva. By examining the place of Calvinist theology in Rousseau's political philosophy, the study suggests that religious values constitute a more pronounced and vital part of the tradition of modern political thought than is commonly supposed