Algernon Sidney's Calvinist Republicanism

Winship examines the republican political thought of Algernon Sidney from the perspective of his Calvinist theology. Sidney has become well known to early modern historians as one of the most lively and articulate "classical republicans" of the seventeenth century and a key figure in the history of the strained transition between the short-lived English Interregnum republic and the restored Stuart monarchy. he demonstrates that Sidney's religious beliefs are central to understanding his republican politics and that his religion can be confidently labeled as Calvinist. Sidney's Calvinism wasn't uneasily juxtaposed with his classical republican politics, he argues; rather, it helped to animate his opposition to what he perceived to be sin and tyranny. Reprinted by permission of the University of Chicago Press. © All rights reserved