Abraham Kuyper championed historic Calvinism, the application of the Word of God to every sphere of life. He developed the theory of "sphere-sovereignty" in which every aspect of earthly activity--church, education, business, law, art, etc.--is independent of the others and directly accountable to God for its functioning. The state is limited in scope and likewise accountable to God. The state functions primarily as an "umpire," deciding disputes between the spheres, but not interfering in their internal affairs.