References to Idolatry and Idols in Calvin’s Institutes of the Christian Religion
John Calvin’s Institutes of the Christian Religion remains one of the most influential works in Protestant theology. Across its four books, Calvin addresses the knowledge of God, salvation in Christ, the life of faith, and the nature of the Church.
Among these themes, Calvin frequently warns against idolatry — the worship of created things instead of the Creator. His discussions span biblical prohibitions, theological arguments, and critiques of both ancient paganism and medieval church practices.
The following is a curated reference guide highlighting where Calvin speaks about idolatry, idols, and related practices in the Institutes. Each citation is organized by Book, Chapter, and Section, and includes a brief quotation for context.
This guide is designed for students, pastors, researchers, or anyone interested in tracing Calvin’s thoughts on one of the central theological concerns of the Reformation.
Table of Contents
- Book 1: Of the Knowledge of God the Creator
- Book 2: Of the Knowledge of God the Redeemer
- Book 3: The Mode of Obtaining the Grace of Christ
- Book 4: Of the Holy Catholic Church
Book 1: Of the Knowledge of God the Creator
Chapter 10: In Scripture, the True God Opposed, Exclusively, to All the Gods of the Heathen
“Tertullian also proves the same thing from the common forms of speech. In his book, De Idolatria.” (Mentions “idolatry” in the title of Tertullian’s work.)
“For this reason, Habakkuk (2:20), after condemning all idols, orders men to seek God in his temple, that the faithful may acknowledge none but Him, who has manifested himself in his word.” (Mentions “idols”.)
Chapter 11: Impiety of Attributing a Visible Form to God—The Setting Up of Idols a Defection from the True God
Section 1: “Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the Lord thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me; and showing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments” (Exod. 20:4-6). (Implicit reference to idols/images.)
Section 8: “There was a kind of renewal of the world at the deluge, but before many years elapse, men are forging gods at will. … The human mind, stuffed as it is with presumptuous rashness, dares to imagine a god suited to its own capacity; as it labours under dullness, nay, is sunk in the grossest ignorance, it substitutes vanity and an empty phantom in the place of God.” (Mentions “idolatry”, “idols”.)
“To these evils another is added. The god whom man has thus conceived inwardly he attempts to embody outwardly. The mind, in this way, conceives the idol, and the hand gives it birth. That idolatry has its origin in the idea which men have, that God is not present with them unless his presence is carnally exhibited…” (Mentions “idol”, “idolatry”.)
Section 9: “And because God wills not to be worshipped superstitiously whatever is bestowed upon idols is so much robbed from him. Let those attend to this who set about hunting for miserable pretexts in defence of the execrable idolatry…” (Mentions “idols”, “idolatry”.)
“It hence appears that men do not fall away to the worship of images until they have imbibed some idea of a grosser description… It makes no difference whether they worship the idol simply, or God in the idol; it is always idolatry when divine honours are paid to an idol, be the colour what it may.” (Mentions “idol”, “idolatry”.)
Section 10: “…they fight for them to blood and slaughter, as for their altars and hearths, showing more willingness to part with the one God than with their idols… I am only referring to what those profess who are most desirous to clear themselves of idolatry.” (Mentions “idols”, “idolatry”.)
Section 11: “…they think themselves blameless if they are only the servants, and not the worshippers, of idols; as if it were not a lighter matter to worship than to serve… Let them show how the things differ if they would be thought different from ancient idolaters.” (Mentions “idols”, “idolaters”.)
Chapter 12: God Distinguished from Idols, That He May Be the Exclusive Object of Worship
Section 1: “But God, in vindicating his own right, first proclaims that he is a jealous God, and will be a stern avenger if he is confounded with any false god…” (Implicit reference to idolatry through “false god”.)
Section 3: “Let it suffice to remember, that whatever offices of piety are bestowed anywhere else than on God alone, are of the nature of sacrilege. First, superstition attached divine honours to the sun and stars, or to idols…” (Mentions “idols”.)
Book 2: Of the Knowledge of God the Redeemer
Chapter 8: Exposition of the Moral Law
Section 12: “…in enumerating the commandments, he follows this order, Let one God be religiously obeyed, let no idol be worshipped…” (Mentions “idol”.)
Section 15: “…abandoning the living God, and setting up an idol.” (Mentions “idol”.)
Section 17: “The grossest vice here prohibited is external idolatry.” (Mentions “idolatry”.)
Book 3: The Mode of Obtaining the Grace of Christ
Chapter 14: The Beginning of Justification
Section 1: “Mankind, either endued with no knowledge of God, are sunk in idolatry…” (Mentions “idolatry”.)
Section 2 (footnote): “…in the life of infidels and idolaters.” (Mentions “idolaters”.)
Chapter 20: Of Prayer
Section 14: “…they defraud him of his due honour just as much as if they were fabricating to themselves new gods and idols…” (Mentions “idols”.)
Book 4: Of the Holy Catholic Church
Chapter 2: Comparison Between the False Church and the True
Section 7: “…after they forsook the law of the Lord, and degenerated into idolatry and superstition…” (Mentions “idolatry”.)
Section 9: “They have a grosser idolatry…” (Mentions “idolatry”.)
Chapter 7: Of the Beginning and Rise of the Romish Papacy
Section 24: “…so blinded by error and sunk in idolatry…” (Mentions “idolatry”.)
Section 29: “…no more makes them the vicars of Christ, than it makes an idol to become God, when it is placed in the temple of God (2 Thess. 2:4).” (Mentions “idol”.)
Chapter 16: Paedobaptism
Section 6: “…so long as they were plunged in idolatry, were strangers to the covenant (Eph. 2:11).” (Mentions “idolatry”.)
Chapter 17: Of the Lord’s Supper
Section 36: “This adoration is mere idolatry.” (Mentions “idolatry”.)
Source: John Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion, available at CCEL.org.
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