2004
  1. Home
  2. A-Z Publications
  3. Trajecta
  4. Volume 30, Issue 1
  5. Article
Volume 30, Issue 1
  • ISSN: 0778-8304
  • E-ISSN: 2665-9484
file format pdf download PDF

Abstract

Abstract

The twentieth century is widely considered a period in which Christendom lost its central position in the West. In the Netherlands, the influx of counter-cultural ideas and beliefs from the 1960s onwards brought about a decline in church membership and voter turnout for Christian parties. Simultaneously, societal critiques grew louder against the state’s accommodation of religion and its privileged positioning of Christianity. This article argues that the societal shifts stemming from the cultural turn of the 1960s, did not result in structural changes in the dialogue between church and state. I use the political negotiations that addressed spiritual care in the Dutch armed forces between 1946 and 1984 as a case study. My focus is on the Humanist League’s drive to obtain for the Humanist Service for Spiritual Care a status equal to that enjoyed by the churches. My analysis shows that the Humanist League mounted a forceful struggle to get access both before and after the 1960s. While the Humanist Service was formally installed in the army in 1967, no structural adaptations to the criterion to distribute positions followed. The ministry of Defense was unprepared to accommodate the humanists, and church-organizations were unwilling to give up their privileged position without a fight. The continuity in Dutch church-state relations and the comparative maneuverability of the churches can be understood by emphasizing the reluctance of state-actors to adapt existing policies. It is the degree of what I call institutional integration of religious organizations with the state which determined the leverage of institutions.

©Leonard van ’t Hul
Loading

Article metrics loading...

/content/journals/10.5117/TRA2021.1.002.THUL
2021-03-01
2024-11-05
Loading full text...

Full text loading...

/deliver/fulltext/07788304/30/1/TRA2021.1.002.THUL.html?itemId=/content/journals/10.5117/TRA2021.1.002.THUL&mimeType=html&fmt=ahah

References

  1. Amsterdam, Vrije Universiteit, HDC Centre for Religious History, Archief P.J. Verdam (Verdam) (collection number 449).
     [Google Scholar]
  2. Den Haag, Nationaal Archief, Archief Directoraat-Generaal Personeel/Ministerie van Defensie, 1980–1992 (MD) (collection number 2.13.225).
     [Google Scholar]
  3. Utrecht, Utrechts Archief, Archief Humanistisch Verbond, 1946–1976 (AHV) (collection number 75). Archief Interkerkelijk Contact in Overheidszaken (CIO) (collection number 1540).
     [Google Scholar]
  4. Becker, Frans, ‘Een strijd om nieuwe verhoudingen. Sociaaldemocraten en christendemocraten in de Nederlandse politiek na 1945,’ in: P.van Dam, J.Kennedy, and F.Wielenga (eds.), Achter de zuilen. Op zoek naar religie in naoorlogs Nederland (Amsterdam, 2014), 301–331.
     [Google Scholar]
  5. Bernts, Paul and JantineBerghuijs, God in Nederland, 1966–2015. Kampen, 2016.
     [Google Scholar]
  6. Bos, Anne, ‘De kwestie van de humanistische geestelijke verzorging in het parlement, 1946–1967.’ET VT, 21 (2002), 63–76.
     [Google Scholar]
  7. Bosman, F., R.Richardson, and N.Guns, Kleur Bekennen? Evaluatie van het Etnisch Cultureel Minderhedenbeleid Defensie 2000–2005. Den Haag, 2006.
     [Google Scholar]
  8. Bowen, John, Why the French Don’t Like Headscarves: Islam, the State, and Public Space. Princeton, 2007.
     [Google Scholar]
  9. Bowen, John, On British Islam: Religion, Law, and Everyday Practice in Shari’a Councils. Princeton, 2016.
     [Google Scholar]
  10. Bowen, John, ChristopheBertossi, JanWillem Duyvendak, and MonaLena Krook (eds.), European States and their Muslim Citizens. Cambridge, 2014.
     [Google Scholar]
  11. Brabers, Jules, Van pioniers tot professionals: de dienst humanistisch geestelijke verzorging bij de krijgsmacht (1964–2004). Utrecht, 2006.
     [Google Scholar]
  12. Calhoun, Craig, MarkJuergensmeyer, and JonathanVan Antwerpen (eds.), Rethinking Secularism. Oxford, 2011.
     [Google Scholar]
  13. Casanova, José, Public Religions in the Modern World. Chicago, 1994.
     [Google Scholar]
  14. Casanova, José, ‘The Religious Situation in Europe,’ in: HansJoas and K.Wiegandt (eds.), Secularization and the World Religions (Liverpool, 2009), 206–228.
     [Google Scholar]
  15. Casanova, José, ‘Secular Regimes and Religious Dynamics in Post-Soviet Societies, a Comparative Analysis of East-Germany, Poland, Ukraine, and Russia’. Conference talk at the National University of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy Ukraine, June18, 2013.
     [Google Scholar]
  16. Dam, Peter van, Staat van verzuiling. Over een Nederlandse mythe. Amsterdam2011.
     [Google Scholar]
  17. Dam, Peter van, ‘Voorbij verzuiling en ontzuiling als kader in de religiegeschiedenis.’ In: Petervan Dam, JamesKennedy en FrisoWielenga (eds.), Achter de zuilen. Op zoek naar religie in naoorlogs Nederland (Amsterdam, 2014), 31–53.
     [Google Scholar]
  18. Dekker, Gerard, Van het centrum naar de marge. De ontwikkeling van de christelijke godsdienst in Nederland. Kampen, 2006.
     [Google Scholar]
  19. Derkx, Peter, H.J. Pos, 1898–1955: Objectief en partijdig. Utrecht, 1994.
     [Google Scholar]
  20. Diepenhorst, Isaac A., De kerk en communisme in Rusland. Utrecht, 1949.
     [Google Scholar]
  21. Diepenhorst, Isaac A., Humanisme en humanistische “geestelijke verzorging”. Den Haag, 1952.
     [Google Scholar]
  22. Dobbelaar, T., ‘Humanisten moesten vroeger opboksen tegen het idee dat niet-geloven onfatsoenlijk was. Carla van Baalen en het brave humanisme van de jaren 50 en 60.’Humanist, februari (1996), 5–7.
     [Google Scholar]
  23. Eisinga, Rob, A.Felling, and P.H.Franses, ‘De afbrokkeling van het electoraat van (de voorlopers van) het CDA, 1965–1994.’Sociologische Gids, 44 (1997) 2, 77–99.
     [Google Scholar]
  24. Flokstra, T. and S.Wieling, 40 jaar Humanistisch Verbond, 1946–1986. Utrecht, 1986.
     [Google Scholar]
  25. Goossens, Leo, Geestelijke verzorging Koninklijke Landmacht, ontstaan en eerste ontwikkeling. Voorburg, 1974.
     [Google Scholar]
  26. Grotenhuis, H.F. te, R.N.Eisinga, T.W.G.van der Meer, and B.J.Pelzer, ‘Tanend appèl: de bijdrage van ontkerkelijking en ontzuiling aan het aantal CDA-zetels in de Tweede Kamer, 1970–2010.’Religie & Samenleving, 7 (2012) 1, 73–96.
     [Google Scholar]
  27. Halikiopoulou, Daphne, Patterns of Secularization. Church, State and Nation in Greece and the Republic of Ireland. Londen, 2017.
     [Google Scholar]
  28. Hul, W.L. van ‘t, Besloten. Politieke onderhandelingen tussen de Nederlandse overheid en religieuze organisaties, 1946–1996. PhD Dissertation University of Amsterdam, 2020.
     [Google Scholar]
  29. Kennedy, James C., Stad op een berg: de publieke rol van protestantse kerken. Utrecht, 2010.
     [Google Scholar]
  30. Kennedy, James C., ‘The Rise of a New Civil Society and the Decline of the Churches: The Dutch and American Cases,’ in: W.Damberg and T.Jänichen (eds.), Neue Soziale Bewegungen als Herausforderung sozialkirchlichen Handelns. Band 5 (Stuttgart, 2015), 31–48.
     [Google Scholar]
  31. Kennedy, James C., Nieuw Babylon in aanbouw. Nederland in de jaren zestig. Amsterdam, 1995.
     [Google Scholar]
  32. Knippenberg, Hans, ‘Secularization in the Netherlands in its historical and geographical dimensions.’GeoJournal, 45 (1998) 3, 209–220.
     [Google Scholar]
  33. Lijphart, Arend, The Trauma of Decolonization: The Dutch and West New Guinea. New Haven, 1966.
     [Google Scholar]
  34. Lijphart, Arend, Verzuiling, pacificatie en kentering in de Nederlandse politiek. 8th revised copy. Haarlem, 1990.
     [Google Scholar]
  35. Maussen, Marcel, Constructing Mosques: The governance of Islam in France and the Netherlands. PhD Dissertation University of Amsterdam, 2009.
     [Google Scholar]
  36. Mayrl, Damon, Secular Conversions: Political Institutions and Religious Education in the United States and Australia, 1800–2000. Cambridge, 2016.
     [Google Scholar]
  37. Meisen, A.G.M. van, Overheid en verzorging vanwege het Humanistisch Verbond. Den Haag, 1954.
     [Google Scholar]
  38. Morris, J., ‘The Strange Death of Christian Britain: Another Look at the Secularization Debate.’Historical Journal, 46 (2003) 4, 963–976.
     [Google Scholar]
  39. Musch, Elisabeth, ‘Overlegstructuren in het integratiebeleid. Nederland en Duitsland vergeleken.’Migrantenstudies, 2 (2010), 101–120.
     [Google Scholar]
  40. Nieuwenhuis, Arnout, ‘State and Religion, a Multidimensional Relationship: Some Comparative Law Remarks.’I-CON, 10 (2012) 1, 153–174.
     [Google Scholar]
  41. Ottingh, M.L., Humanistisch geestelijke verzorging in de Nederlandse strijdkrachten: de problematiek rond de verdeling van het aantal formatieplaatsen geestelijke verzorging die speelt vanaf de totstandkoming van de dienst humanistisch geestelijke verzorging. PhD Dissertation Erasmus University Rotterdam, 1993.
     [Google Scholar]
  42. Righart, Hans, De eindeloze jaren zestig. Geschiedenis van een generatieconflict. Amsterdam, 1995.
     [Google Scholar]
  43. Rooy, Piet de, Openbaring en Openbaarheid. Amsterdam, 2009.
     [Google Scholar]
  44. Soper, J. Christopher, KevinR. den Dulk, and StephenV. Monsma, The Challenge of Pluralism: Church and State in Six Democracies. Lanham, 2017.
     [Google Scholar]
  45. Schepens, Theo, LeoSpruijt, and JorisKregting, De Rooms-Katholieke Kerk in Nederland 1960–2000. Een Statistisch Trendrapport. KASKI-Memorandum 326. Nijmegen, 2002.
     [Google Scholar]
  46. Secretariaat Rooms-Katholieke Kerkprovincie, De Katholiek in het openbare leven van deze tijd. Bisschoppelijk Mandement, 1954.
     [Google Scholar]
  47. Singer Dekker, Hannie, ‘Geschiedenis van de politieke strijd voor gelijke rechten voor humanistische geestelijke verzorging van gedetineerden,’ in: E.de Boer, M.van Velzen, M.Bijleveld, M.Hoogeboom, W. terHorst van Delden, and H.Terpstra (eds.), De gedachten zijn vrij. 25 jaar Humanistisch Geestelijk Raadswerk bij de inrichtingen van Justitie (Ermelo, 1993), 9–24.
     [Google Scholar]
  48. Stepan, Alfred, ‘The Multiple Secularisms of Modern Democratic and Non-Democratic Regimes,’ in: CraigCalhoun, MarkJuergensmeyer & JonathanVan Antwerpen (red.), Rethinking Secularism (Oxford, 2011), 114–144.
     [Google Scholar]
  49. Swarte, Joost, Tussen schip en kaai. Geestelijke verzorging bij de krijgsmacht. Kampen, 1993.
     [Google Scholar]
  50. Wijssen, Frans, De multiculturele uitdaging. Omgaan met religieuze diversiteit in Nederland. Amsterdam, 2020.
     [Google Scholar]
  51. Zijderveld, Anton, The Institutional Imperative. The Interface of Institutions and Networks. Amsterdam, 2000.
     [Google Scholar]
/content/journals/10.5117/TRA2021.1.002.THUL
Loading
Claiming Conscripts
TRA 30, 14 (2021); https://doi.org/10.5117/TRA2021.1.002.THUL
/content/journals/10.5117/TRA2021.1.002.THUL
/content/journals/10.5117/TRA2021.1.002.THUL
Loading

Data & Media loading...

Keyword(s): Dutch Armed Forces; Humanist League; Ministry of Defense; Secularization; Spiritual Care

Most Cited Most Cited RSS feed

This is a required field
Please enter a valid email address
Approval was a Success
Invalid data
An Error Occurred
Approval was partially successful, following selected items could not be processed due to error