Calvinism: Predestination, Sovereignty & Rigid Tribalism. Of all the Protestant denominations, none has shaped Western theology more than Calvinism. Emerging from John Calvin’s reforms in Geneva, it developed into a systematic theology emphasizing God’s sovereignty, predestination, and covenant. Its legacy is immense — from Puritanism to Presbyterianism to Reformed Baptists — yet it has also bred elitism, rigid doctrinal camps, and bitter divisions.