It is unclear as to what caused John Calvin’s split from the Catholic Church. While he originally wished to study theology, a falling out between his father and the bishop who held jurisdiction over Calvin’s hometown of Noyon caused him to pursue a path in law. After his father’s death, Calvin returned to Paris to finish his degree in theology. Calvin wrote little about the state of his soul, instead possibly drawing on the influence of his fellow humanists. These peers seem to have helped him come to the decision to withdraw from the Catholic faith and pursue Protestantism. John Calvin’s studies of the Bible lead him to  envision a society governed by Bible and its teachings, not the interpretations of Rome and the Catholic Church. This strict and dogmatic faith was incorporated into a document written by Calvin called The Geneva Ordinances.

Ordinances envisioned a society governed only by the Bible, observing that Catholic Church tradition has strayed from the Word and there is no authoritative interpretation of the Bible by a human. According to Calvin, only God has the authority to interpret scripture. It also taught that God predestined whom he wanted to predestine, without consideration of the predestined people’s merits. Calvin interpreted the Bible literally, and his followers did so as well.

Calvin sought to integrate theological ideals through punishment. According to Ordinances, they ranged from a fine of five to ten sous to an hour in the pillory for blasphemy to three days imprisonment for unworthy songs. Games played for money could earn a fine of five sous to the loss of money won, while drunkenness earned a fine of three to ten sous and imprisonment. The consistory, the council of community leaders, as well as the secular lords who governed local areas carried out these punishments. These guidelines reflect the concepts of the Reformation and the resistance of the excessive lavishness of the Catholic Church. The regulations of this strict society included imprisonment, fines paid for misbehavior and given to the poor and the authorities, and admonishment by the consistory, who were elected by the Church.

Calvin believed these regulations served as an improvement over the Catholic-led society because they offered a relationship with God that was unaffected by material possession. Calvin’s wish to create a Christian community manifested in a society that was not only ruled by the government, but by the Church as well.