ABSTRACT
Protestantism is, after all, in the first place a religious force, and only in the second or third place a civilising force in the narrower sense. It is, therefore, not to be wondered at that its really revolutionary effects are in the main to be found only in the religious sphere. The straight lines which run through the older Protestantism are simply produced in the same direction, though partially obscured by a motley collection of observations on the history of civilisation. Religious toleration and liberty of conscience are mainly the work of the mystical Spiritualism; the formation of Churches on the basis of voluntary association, and the independence of the religious community in relation to the State, are the work of the Baptists and of the aspect of Calvinism which was allied to them; while the philological and historical understanding of Christianity and its archives is due to the humanistic theology.
