561 - Dutch Calvinism in Modern America: A History of a Conservative Subculture

Dutch Calvinism in Modern America:
A History of a Conservative Subculture
By James D. Bratt
Grand Rapids, Eerdmans, 1984. 329 pp. $13.95.

Bratt skillfully analyzes the fate of Dutch Calvinism in nineteenth and twentieth century American society-a story largely of the Christian Reformed Church and to a lesser degree the Reformed Church in America. In early chapters, he sets the stage for the migration of the Dutch prior to the Civil War and the ecclesiastical disputes which encouraged the migration. Subsequent chapters chart the Dutch attempt both to disparage the culture that gave them prosperity and to embrace its values. The large canvass is the story of acculturation and the interaction of religion and ethnicity in America culture, but the detail is the fractious theological disputes which the Dutch enjoyed and by which they flourished. Bratt is himself a product of the tradition, and his book reflects both his admiration and disdain for the sub-culture he describes. There is a wonderful chapter on four Dutch novelists of the twentieth century (including Peter de Vries). Bratt is witty and discerning, and he is insightful in blending theological history with the history of American society.

John M. Mulder
Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary
Louisville, Ky.