這篇文章將探討約翰加爾文的著作與在歐洲的加爾文團體中有關人權觀念發展之間的歷史關聯，並且隨後試圖與在台灣的情境作某種聯繫。關於人權是首先在啟蒙時期與世俗理性主義影響下所發展出來的，這樣的一個普遍主張是有它的局限性。反而，正如在早期歐洲宗教改革時期對宗教自由的追求，那樣對宗教自由的追求其實才真正為普世人權預備了更寬廣的教義發展與道路。而加爾文對教會與社區社會結構的獨特見解（介於路德與極端重洗派之間），與宗教改革精神所帶出的行動與模式都為人權發展播下苗床。儘管加爾文的著作在這個領域的重要性，但是它仍受到嚴重的局限，特別是受限於過於倚賴簡單與不全備的聖經觀點（如以十誡作架構），使得在處理多元性社群的問題上顯得不足。從上述的這些局限中鼓勵我們繼續追求普世的世界人權。

This article will examine the historical connection between the work
of John Calvin and the development of the idea of human rights in Calvin-
ist communities in Europe, and will subsequently draw a tentative con-
nection with the context in Taiwan. It will begin by noting the limitations in the widespread belief that human rights were developed frst during the Enlightenment period and under the infuence of secular rationalism. This paper will show that the pursuit of freedom of religion, as it developed dur-ing the early European Reformation, prepared the way for the development of broader doctrines of universal human rights. This will then lead into a presentation of Calvin’s unique stance on the social structure of the church community (as a middle way between Lutheran and Anabaptist extremes), and the way in which this Reformed disposition acted as a seedbed for fur-ther rights development. While Calvin’s work in this area was important, it still suffers from important limitations, particularly an inability to deal with pluralistic communities and an over-dependance on a simplistic and trun-cated view of biblical law (as framed in the Decalogue). These limitations encourage us to continue moving ahead in the pursuit of universal human rights.