What Does Marilynne Robinson Mean By 'Calvinist'?

â??I am a Calvinist,â? writes the novelist Marilynne Robinson in her latest collection of essays, â??The Givenness of Things.â? She has proudly said so on many other occasions and, indeed, has cogently defended John Calvin and his 17th-century English-speaking followers, the Puritans, from the calumnies heaped on them by modern historians. It has never been clear to me, though, exactly what she means by Calvinist. I donâ??t know Ms. Robinsonâ??s theological convictionsâ??I sometimes find her discussions about God nebulous and confusingâ??but I suspect her Calvinism is more attitudinal than doctrinal. She admires the manâ??s achievements and appreciates his approach to theology and learning but only speaks up for distinctively Calvinist doctrines in the vaguest and most circuitous way.