Pillars of Piety: Religion in the Netherlands in the Nineteenth Century 1813-1901

Plot

Pillars Of Piety Gives An Account Of The Religious History Of The Netherlands In The Nineteenth Century. It Provides A Synthesis And Overview Of Recent Research, Opening Up The Subject To Scholars Outside The Netherlands Who Do Not Read Dutch. The Golden Age Of The Dutch Republic Is Well Known To Historians The World Over, But The Period Since 1800 Has Attracted Little Interest Outside The Netherlands Until Recent Years. Religion Has Been Vitally Important To The Political Life Of The Dutch Nation For The Whole Of The Modern Period, In A Direct And Immediate Sense Which In The Anglo-american Political World Is Difficult To Conceive. This Is Partly Because Politics In The Netherlands, As In Many European Democracies, Is Heavily Influenced By The Christian Democrat Parties, Which Are Unknown In Anglo-saxon Politics.^ But Even Among Christian Democrat Nations In General, The Netherlands Still Figures As One Of The Countries Where Religion Is Most Likely To Excite Political Emotions, And To Be Called Into The Discussion At Every Stage. To A Large Extent This Is Due To The Dutch Phenomenon Of Verzuiling, 'pillarisation' Or 'vertical Pluralism': A Socio-political System In Which Groups With Different Ideologies--the Catholics, The Calvinists, The Socialists And The Liberals--lead Their Separate Lives In Isolated 'pillars', Only Coming Into Contact With Each Other At The Top Level, Where Their Leaders Confer And Compromise Among Themselves In Order To Run The Nation. The Conditions Under Which This System Functioned Were Being Created In The Nineteenth Century, And The Most Important Force Behind It Was Organised Religion. In This Way The History Of Dutch Religion In The Nineteenth Century Can Help To Explain The 'pillarised' Nature Of Society In The Netherlands For Most Of The Twentieth.^ ^^this Book Sets Out To Explain The Polarisation Which Took Place During The Nineteenth Century Between The Various Religious Groups, And Between Institutionalised Religion As A Whole And The Secular State. A Major Role Is Assumed By The Towering Figure Of Abraham Kuyper (1837-1920), Orthodox Calvinist Theologian, Publicist And Political Leader. The Book Provides A Counterpart To Studies Of Other European Countries In The Same Period, And Will Be Of Intrest To All Students Of The Socio-religious And Political History Of Europe In The Modern Period, As Well As To Dutch Specialists. 1. Introduction: Innovation Versus Tradition -- 2. New Directions In Religion In The Netherlands 1813-1848 -- 3. Reaction And Resistance To Innovation 1813-1848 : 1. Protestants ; 2. Roman Catholics And Liberals -- 4. The Heyday Of Liberalism: Progressive Religion 1848-1901 -- 5. The Reaction Of Progressive Religion 1848-1901 : 1. Roman Catholics ; 2. Protestants -- 6. Education And Vertical Pluralism. Michael Wintle. Includes Index. Bibliography: P. 77-86,