Migration and Confession among Sixteenth-Century Western European Reformed Christians

Abstract

This article proceeds from the widely accepted assumption that Reformed refugee churches developed a particular exile theology. The distinctive characteristics of this theology are in the areas of ecclesiology, predestination doctrine, the relationship to civil powers and to Judaism, along with an emphasis on social concerns. The article tries to trace this theology in Western European confessions of faith, those of immigrant churches and of the churches that were much affected by religious persecution and migration, such as the French and Dutch ones. Many refugee and Strangers’ Churches published their confessions. Yet, the confessions varied considerably regarding their structure and also their content. Some of the above-mentioned topics were not mentioned at all, while others were referred to in a rather general way. It is ecclesiology that stands out as the chief and remarkably well-treated subject. The study argues, therefore, for an ‘ecclesiology of religious exiles’ rather than to speak of their ‘theology’.