Abraham Kuyper, Conservatism, and Church and State

Students of Reformed theology recognize that Abraham Kuyper was one of the premier theologians of the last two centuries. He was also a notable politician, founding the Antirevolutionary Party and serving as a member of the Dutch Parliament and eventually becoming prime minister of the Netherlands. He produced a body of neo-Calvinist political thought that has enduring value for the political engagement of the Christian community in our time. His political theory stands in continuity with John Calvin's doctrine of the church and social reformation, even as the current James Madison's teaching on church and state impacted it. While contemporary Kuyperians at times reflect a leftward political orientation, Kuyper was a champion of political conservatism who stood in the trajectory of fundamental conservative principles affirmed by Edmund Burke and more recently by Ronald Reagan. He believed that the conservative emphasis upon natural law, the need for limited government, and the importance of freedom was rooted in biblical revelation and was therefore valid for all nations at all times.