Institutes of the Christian Religion
Regarding Robinson's theological influences in "Gilead", she herself has explained the importance of primary Calvinist texts, particularly Calvin's "Institutes of the Christian Religion". In regard to Calvin's Institutes, Robinson states in her Yves Simone lecture entitled "The Freedom of a Christian," that "one of the reasons these texts are important to me is because they have everything to do with my own theology certainly, with my aesthetic perhaps, and in so far as I can say I have an intention in writing, they have everything to do with my intention".