Pillarisation (from the nl, verzuiling) is the politico-denominational segregation of a society into groups by religion and associated political beliefs. These societies were (and in some areas, still are) vertically divided into two or more groups known as pillars (Dutch: ''zuilen''). The best-known examples of this have historically occurred in the Netherlands and Belgium. Each pillar may have its own social institutions and social organizations. These may include its own newspapers, broadcasting organisations, political parties, trade unions, farmers' associations, banks, stores, schools, hospitals, universities, scouting organisations and sports clubs. Such segregation means that many people have little or no personal contact with members of other pillars.

Netherlands

The Netherlands had at least three pillars, namely

Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century against what its followers perceived to b ...

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

and social-democratic. Pillarisation was originally initiated by Abraham Kuyper and his Christian Democratic and

neo-Calvinist Neo-Calvinism, a form of Dutch Calvinism, is a theological movement initiated by the theologian and former Dutch prime minister Abraham Kuyper. James Bratt has identified a number of different types of Dutch Calvinism: The Seceders, split into ...

('' gereformeerd'')

Anti-Revolutionary Party The Anti-Revolutionary Party ( nl, Anti-Revolutionaire Partij, ARP) was a Protestant conservative and Christian democratic political party in the Netherlands. The party was founded in 1879 by Abraham Kuyper, a neo-Calvinist theologian and mi ...

(ARP) in the late 19th century; it was part of its philosophy of

sphere sovereignty In neo-Calvinism, sphere sovereignty ( nl, soevereiniteit in eigen kring), also known as differentiated responsibility, is the concept that each sphere (or sector) of life has its own distinct responsibilities and authority or competence, and stan ...

. The Catholic pillar had the highest degree of organisation, because Catholic clergy promoted the organisation of Catholics in confessional institutions. Yet, the conservative Protestant pillar and the Socialist pillar, which mainly consisted of industrial workers, were nearly as tightly knit. The Protestant ('' hervormd'')

Christian Historical Union The Christian Historical Union ( nl, Christelijk-Historische Unie, CHU) was a Protestant Christian democratic political party in the Netherlands. The CHU is one of the predecessors of the Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA), into which it merged i ...

(CHU) (formed in 1908) did not organise a pillar of its own but linked to the Protestant pillar shaped by the ARP. People who were not associated with one of these pillars, mainly middle- and

upper-class Upper class in modern societies is the social class composed of people who hold the highest social status, usually are the wealthiest members of class society, and wield the greatest political power. According to this view, the upper class is gen ...

latitudinarian Latitudinarians, or latitude men, were initially a group of 17th-century English theologiansclerics and academicsfrom the University of Cambridge who were moderate Anglicans (members of the Church of England). In particular, they believed that ...

Protestants and atheists, arguably set up their own pillar: the liberal or "general" pillar. Ties between general organisations were much weaker than within the other three pillars. Liberals rejected the voluntary segregation of the society, and denied the existence of a "liberal pillar". The political parties usually associated with this group were the

Free-minded Democratic League The Free-thinking Democratic League ( nl, Vrijzinnig Democratische Bond, VDB) was a progressive liberal political party in the Netherlands. Established in 1901, it played a relatively large role in Dutch politics, supplying one Prime Minister, Wi ...

(VDB) and

Liberal State Party The Liberal State Party, "the Freedom League" ( nl, Liberale Staatspartij "de Vrijheidsbond", LSP), was a conservative liberal political party in the Netherlands from 1921 to 1948. It is historically linked to the People's Party for Freedom and ...

(LSP).

Communists Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, a s ...

Humanists Humanism is a philosophical stance that emphasizes the individual and social potential and agency of human beings. It considers human beings the starting point for serious moral and philosophical inquiry. The meaning of the term "humani ...

, and ultra-orthodox Protestant fundamentalists also set up similar organisations; however, such groups were much smaller. The development of pillarisation in the Netherlands was favoured by the emancipation of working and lower-middle classes on the one hand, and the execution of elite control on the other hand. The emancipation of the working class led to the establishment of socialist parties, trade unions, media, cooperative shops and collectively organised leisure activities. This "full care" of the socialist movement for its members existed similarly in other European countries. The emancipation of the conservative and often strongly religious lower-middle class fostered the emergence of the Protestant pillar. While the Dutch bourgeoisie was rather liberal and adhered to "enlightened" Protestantism, a large part of the lower-middle class embraced a more orthodox Calvinist theology, as taught by preacher and politician Abraham Kuyper. In 1866 Kuyper founded the ''gereformeerd'' ("reformed") current of Protestantism; it was both more conservative and more popular with ordinary people than the established Protestant churches in the Netherlands. Kuyper's worldview asserted the principle of "sphere sovereignty", rejecting both ecclesiasticism (rule of the Church over all parts of the society) and statist secularism (rule of the state over all parts of the society). He argued that both had their own spheres in which the other was not to interfere. In 1879 he founded the Anti-Revolutionary Party as the political wing of his religious movement and core of the Protestant pillar. At the same time, new and old elites tried to maintain their control over the newly emancipated social groups. For instance, the Catholic clergy set up confessional unions to prevent Catholic workers from joining socialist unions. One reason behind the formation of Christian parties was to counter the feared rise of left-wing mass parties.

Institutions by pillar

The following table shows the most important institutions by pillar:

Depillarisation

After

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

(during which even the Dutch resistance was pillarised) liberals and socialists, but also Protestants and Catholics, began to doubt the pillarised system. They founded a unity movement, the People's Movement ''

Nederlandse Volksbeweging The Nederlandse Volksbeweging (NVB, English: "Dutch People's Movement") was a political reform movement established in the Netherlands in 1945, immediately after the Second World War. The idea to found the movement originated during the war in a gr ...

''. Progressives of all pillars (including the Catholic resistance movement '' Christofoor'') were united in the aim to renew the political system (''

doorbraak The ''Doorbraak'' ("Breakthrough") was a Dutch short-term political movement after World War II, with the stated goal of renewing the politics of the Netherlands by coalescing progressive liberals, Christian democrats and social democrats in a sin ...

'', "breakthrough"). But pillarisation was ingrained in Dutch society, and could not be defeated that easily. In order to force this breakthrough, the socialist Social Democratic Workers' Party, the left-liberal VDB and the Christian-socialist CDU united to form the PvdA, a progressive party, which was open to all people. The new party did not, however, gain enough support under Catholics or Reformed, and the PvdA became encapsulated in the socialist pillar. Television broadcasting was also pillarised, but everyone watched the same broadcasts nonetheless, since initially only one channel was available in the Netherlands in the 1950s. During the 1960s the pillars largely broke down, particularly under political criticism from D66 and the group ' (New Left) in PvdA. Because of this and of increased mobility, many people could see that people from the other pillars were not that different from themselves. Increased wealth and education made people independent of many of the pillarised institutions, and young people did not want to be associated with these organisations anymore. In 1973, two main Protestant parties, ARP and CHU, merged with the Catholic KVP to form the

Christian Democratic Appeal The Christian Democratic Appeal ( nl, Christen-Democratisch Appèl, ; CDA) is a Christian-democratic political party in the Netherlands. It was originally formed in 1977 from a confederation of the Catholic People's Party, the Anti-Revolution ...

(CDA). They first participated in the 1977 general elections. In 1976, the Catholic trade union (NKV) started to cooperate with the trade union of the Socialist pillar (NVV), to merge into the

Federatie Nederlandse Vakbeweging The Federation of Dutch Trade Unions ( nl, Federatie Nederlandse Vakbeweging, FNV) is a national trade union centre in the Netherlands. In addition to member unions, workers in many sectors can join the FNV directly. History The FNV was founded ...

(FNV) in 1982. The pillarisation of society has not fully disappeared, and many remnants can still be seen in the 21st century:

public television Public broadcasting involves radio, television and other electronic media outlets whose primary mission is public service. Public broadcasters receive funding from diverse sources including license fees, individual contributions, public financing ...

, for instance, is still divided among several organisations, instead of being one organisation. The Netherlands has both public and religious schools, a divide which is also inherited from pillarisation. Moreover, some communities continue to behave as small "pillars" , although rather than forming the structure of society (a pillar), this currently moves them outside the mainstream of society. Members of the

Reformed Churches (liberated) The Reformed Churches in the Netherlands (Liberated) (Dutch: Gereformeerde Kerken in Nederland (vrijgemaakt)) are an orthodox Calvinist federation of churches. This church body arose in 1944 out of the so-called Liberation (') from the Reformed ...

have their own (primary and secondary) schools, their own national newspaper, and some other organisations, such as a labour union. Members of several

pietist Pietism (), also known as Pietistic Lutheranism, is a movement within Lutheranism that combines its emphasis on biblical doctrine with an emphasis on individual piety and living a holy Christianity, Christian life, including a social concern for ...

Reformed Churches have also founded their own schools, newspaper and political party. Increasingly, Muslim immigrants in the Netherlands are also using the legal possibilities created for the pillarised structure of society, by setting up their own schools.

Belgium

Apart from having no Protestant pillar, pillarisation in Belgium was very similar to that in Netherlands. There was also no "general" pillar, but a politically well-organised liberal pillar. In 1911, the British sociologist

Seebohm Rowntree Benjamin Seebohm Rowntree, CH (7 July 1871 – 7 October 1954) was an English sociological researcher, social reformer and industrialist. He is known in particular for his three York studies of poverty conducted in 1899, 1935, and 1951. The fi ...

noted that in Belgium: In both

Flanders Flanders (, ; Dutch: ''Vlaanderen'' ) is the Flemish-speaking northern portion of Belgium and one of the communities, regions and language areas of Belgium. However, there are several overlapping definitions, including ones related to cultu ...

and

Wallonia Wallonia (; french: Wallonie ), or ; nl, Wallonië ; wa, Waloneye or officially the Walloon Region (french: link=no, Région wallonne),; nl, link=no, Waals gewest; wa, link=no, Redjon walone is one of the three regions of Belgium—alo ...

, societies were pillarised between Catholic and Liberal political denominations which were subsequently joined by a Socialist pillar. Even though the liberals were stronger in Belgium (particularly in

Brussels Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...

) than in the Netherlands, they were still relatively weak, owing to their rather small, bourgeois support: liberal trade unions were very small. ''

De Tijd ''De Tijd'' (, ''The Times'') is a Belgian newspaper that mainly focuses on business and economics. It is printed on salmon pink paper since May 2009, following the example of its colleagues ''Financial Times'', ''Het Financieele Dagblad'', '' FT ...

'', a financial daily, is the newspaper aligned with the liberals, as its readership consists mainly of liberal supporters. However, a Flemish newspaper with historical liberal roots, '' Het Laatste Nieuws'', also exists. Denominational (many Catholic and a few Jewish) schools receive some public money, although not parity of funding as in the Netherlands, so that tuition is almost completely free. Belgian universities charge more or less the same, relatively low, tuition fees. As a consequence of the language struggle in the latter half of the twentieth century, the pillars split over the language issue, which became the most significant divisive factor in the nation. Now every language group has three pillars of its own. The pillar system remained to be the primordial societal dividing force much longer than it was in the Netherlands. Only near the end of the Cold War did it begin to lose importance, at least at the individual level, and to this day it continues to influence Belgian society. For example, even the 1999–2003 " Rainbow Coalition" of Guy Verhofstadt was often rendered with the terms of pillarisation. The political movements that appeared in the late 20th century (such as

Vlaams Blok ''Vlaams Blok'' ( en, Flemish Block, or VB) was the name of a Belgian far-right and secessionist political party with an anti-immigration platform.Erk, 2005, pp. 493-502. Its ideologies embraced Flemish nationalism, calling for the independen ...

, now

Vlaams Belang , ideology = , predecessor = Vlaams Blok , position = , europarl = Identity and Democracy , european = Identity and Democracy Party , youth_wing = Vlaams Belang Jongeren , colours = ...

;

Groen! Groen (English: Green; nl, Groen, ), founded as Agalev (see Name below), is a green Flemish political party in Belgium. Its French-speaking equivalent is Ecolo; the two parties maintain close relations with each other. Party history Before 1 ...

; and N-VA) did not attempt to build pillars. Pillarisation was visible even in everyday social organisations such as musical ensembles, sport clubs, recreational facilities, etc. Weakened in the current situation, many major social organisations (trade unions, cooperatives, etc.) still strictly follow the lines of pillars though.

Institutions by pillar with their ethnic divisions

The following table is limited to the most important institutions and it shows the current division of everyone by the three ethnic groups. {, class="wikitable" !style="text-align:left", !

Flemish Flemish (''Vlaams'') is a Low Franconian dialect cluster of the Dutch language. It is sometimes referred to as Flemish Dutch (), Belgian Dutch ( ), or Southern Dutch (). Flemish is native to Flanders, a historical region in northern Belgium; ...

! Walloon Catholic !

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

Catholic !Flemish

Socialist Socialism is a left-wing economic philosophy and movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to private ownership. As a term, it describes the ...

!Walloon Socialist !German Socialist !Flemish

Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...

!Walloon Liberal !German Liberal , - ! , colspan="3" style="background-color:orange;" , , colspan="3" style="background-color:red;" , , colspan="3" style="background-color:blue;" , , - style="vertical-align:top;text-align:center;" ! rowspan="2" style="text-align:left", Political parties before 1945 , colspan="3" , Catholic Party (until 1936)
Catholic Bloc (since 1936) , rowspan="2" colspan="3" ,

Belgian Labour Party The Belgian Labour Party ( nl, Belgische Werkliedenpartij, BWP; french: Parti ouvrier belge, POB) was the first major socialist party in Belgium. Founded in 1885, the party was officially disbanded in 1940 and superseded by the Belgian Socialist ...

(BWP/POB) , rowspan="2" colspan="3" ,

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. __TOC__ Active liberal parties This is a li ...

, - , Catholic Flemish People's Party (since 1936) , Social Catholic Party (since 1936) , , - style="vertical-align:top;text-align:center;" !style="text-align:left", Political parties between 1945 and 1970 , colspan="3" , Christian Social Party (CVP/PSC) , colspan="3" ,

Belgian Socialist Party nl, Belgische Socialistische Partij , logo = Logo of the Belgian Socialist Party.png , caption = The fist and rose emblem used by the party from 1973. , leader1_title = President , leader1_name = Achille Van Acker (first)André Cools (last) ...

(BSP/PSB) , colspan="3" , , - style="vertical-align:top" !style="text-align:left", Political parties after 1970 , ---- ;minor * ''VCP'' (2007–2014) * ''NCD'' (2012) , {{plainlist, * PSC (until 2002) * CDH (2002-2022) * '' Les Engagés'' (since 2022) ---- ;minor * '' MCC'' (since 1998) * ''CDF'' (2002–2012) , CSP ---- ;minor * '' PDB'' (until 2008) * '' ProDG'' (since 2008) , {{plainlist, * SP (until 2001) *

SP.A Vooruit (Dutch for Forward, ) is a Flemish social democratic political party in Belgium. The party was known as the Flemish Socialist Party (1978–2001: ''Socialistische Partij'', SP; 2001–2021: ''Socialistische Partij Anders'', SP.A) until 2 ...

(2001 - 2021) *

Forward Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People * Forward (surname) Sports * Forward (association football) * Forward (basketball), including: ** Point forward ** Power forward (basketball) ** Sm ...

(since 2021) , PS , SP , {{plainlist, * PVV (until 1992) *

VLD french: Libéraux et démocrates flamands ouverts , abbreviation = Open Vld , logo = , leader1_title = President , leader1_name = Egbert Lachaert , foundation = 1992 (VLD)2007 (Open Vld) , predecessor = P ...

(1992–2007) *

Open VLD french: Libéraux et démocrates flamands ouverts , abbreviation = Open Vld , logo = , leader1_title = President , leader1_name = Egbert Lachaert , foundation = 1992 (VLD)2007 (Open Vld) , predecessor = ...

(since 2007) , {{plainlist, * PRL (since 2002 part of MR) * MR (since 2002) , PFF , - style="vertical-align:top;text-align:center;" !style="text-align:left" rowspan="2" , Trade unions , colspan="3" ,

Confederation of Christian Trade Unions The Confederation of Christian Trade Unions ( nl, Algemeen Christelijk Vakverbond, or ACV; french: Confédération des syndicats chrétiens, CSC) is the largest of Belgium's three trade union federations. History The federation was founded in ...

(ACV/CSC) , colspan="3" ,

General Federation of Belgian Labour The General Labour Federation of Belgium (french: Fédération Générale du Travail de Belgique, or FGTB; nl, Algemeen Belgisch Vakverbond, ABVV) is a socialist national trade union federation in Belgium. It was founded in 1945. It is affiliated ...

(ABVV/FGTB) , colspan="3" ,

General Confederation of Liberal Trade Unions of Belgium The General Confederation of Liberal Trade Unions of Belgium (ACLVB or CGSLB) is the smallest of Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country i ...

(ACLVB/CGSLB) , - style="vertical-align:top" ,

Boerenbond The Boerenbond (Dutch, or german: Bauernbund; literally "Farmers' League") is a professional association of farmers active in the Flemish and German-speaking communities of Belgium. Founded in 1890 and based in Leuven, the Boerenbond is an orga ...

, style="background-color:#F3F3F3;" colspan="2" , , style="background-color:#F3F3F3;" colspan="3" , , style="background-color:#F3F3F3;" colspan="3" , , - style="vertical-align:top" !style="text-align:left", Health insurance , Christelijke Mutualiteit , Mutualité chrétienne , Christlichen Krankenkasse , Socialistische Mutualiteit , Mutualité socialiste , Sozialistische Krankenkasse , Liberale Mutualiteit , Mutualité Libérale , Freie Krankenkasse , - style="vertical-align:top" !style="text-align:left", Hospitals , White/Yellow Cross , Christian Fund , Christian Fund , (Center for) Homecare , Socialist Fund , Socialist Fund , Solidarity for the Family , Liberal Fund , Liberal Fund , - style="vertical-align:top" !style="text-align:left", Aid agencies , Caritas Vlaanderen , Caritas en Belgique francophone et germanophone , Caritas en Belgique Francophone-Deutschsprachiges Belgien , FOS-Socialistische Solidariteit , Solidarité Socialiste-FCD , Solidariteit-FCD , style="background-color:#F3F3F3;" , ''none'' , style="background-color:#F3F3F3;" , ''none'' , style="background-color:#F3F3F3;" , ''none'' , - style="vertical-align:top" !style="text-align:left", Newspapers , {{plainlist, * De Standaard * Gazet van Antwerpen * Het Volk * Het Belang van Limburg * Het Nieuwsblad ,

La Libre Belgique ''La Libre Belgique'' (; literally ''The Free Belgium''), currently sold under the name ''La Libre'', is a major daily newspaper in Belgium. Together with ''Le Soir'', it is one of the country's major French language newspapers and is popular in ...

Grenz-Echo ''Grenz-Echo'' is the only German language daily newspaper published in Eupen, Belgium, aimed at the German-speaking community and the neighbouring areas in the east of the country. History and profile ''Grenz-Echo'' was first published in June ...

, {{plainlist, *

Vooruit Vooruit ( nl, Kunstencentrum Vooruit, ) is a historic complex in Ghent, Belgium. Vooruit was originally the festival and art center of the Ghent-based labor movement, with a ballroom, cinema, theater, etc. It is now mainly used for concerts a ...

(until 1978) * Volksgazet (until 1978) *

De Morgen ''De Morgen'' (Dutch for ''The Morning'') is a Flemish newspaper with a circulation of 53,860. The paper is published in Antwerp, Belgium. History and profile ''De Morgen'' originates from a merger in 1978 of two socialist newspapers ' (meaning ...

(since 1978) , style="background-color:#F3F3F3;" , ''none'' , style="background-color:#F3F3F3;" , ''none'' , {{plainlist, * Het Laatste Nieuws *

Le Soir ''Le Soir'' (, "The Evening") is a French-language Belgian daily newspaper. Founded in 1887 by Emile Rossel, it was intended as a politically independent source of news. It is one of the most popular Francophone newspapers in Belgium, competing ...

, style="background-color:#F3F3F3;" , ''none'' , - style="vertical-align:top" !style="text-align:left", Cultural associations ,

Davidsfonds The Davidsfonds is a Catholic organisation in Flanders, Belgium with the purpose of promoting the Flemish culture in the areas of literature, history and art. The Davidsfonds was founded in Leuven, Belgium on 15 January 1875, with the motto ''Voor ...

, style="background-color:#F3F3F3;" , ''none'' , style="background-color:#F3F3F3;" , ''none'' , Vermeylenfonds , style="background-color:#F3F3F3;" , ''none'' , style="background-color:#F3F3F3;" , ''none'' , Willemsfonds , style="background-color:#F3F3F3;" , ''none'' , style="background-color:#F3F3F3;" , ''none'' , - style="vertical-align:top" !style="text-align:left", Schools , Flemish Secretariat for Catholic Education (Catholic Schools), Flemish Association of Catholic Colleges , Catholic schools , Public schools , Public schools , Public schools , Public schools, non-denominational private schools , Public schools, non-denominational private schools , Public schools, non-denominational private schools , - style="vertical-align:top" !style="text-align:left", Major universities , Katholieke Universiteit Leuven , Université catholique de Louvain , style="background-color:#F3F3F3;" , ''none'' , Ghent University , University of Liège , style="background-color:#F3F3F3;" , ''none'' , Vrije Universiteit Brussel , Université libre de Bruxelles , style="background-color:#F3F3F3;" , ''none'' , - style="vertical-align:top" !style="text-align:left", Other universities , {{plainlist, * University of Antwerp * Groep T, Industriële Hogeschool Brabant * Hogeschool-Universiteit Brussel, Hogeschool-Universiteit * Katholieke Hogeschool Kempen, Vlaams Verbond van Katholieke Hogescholen * Vesalius College * Institute of Tropical Medicine Antwerp , {{plainlist, * Facultés universitaires Notre-Dame de la Paix, Université de Namur * Facultés Universitaires Catholiques de Mons * Facultés universitaires Saint-Louis , style="background-color:#F3F3F3;" , ''none'' , Transnationale Universiteit Limburg, Trans-Universiteit Limburg , Faculté Universitaire des Sciences Agronomiques de Gembloux , style="background-color:#F3F3F3;" , ''none'' , Erasmushogeschool Brussel, Erasmus Hogeschool , Université de Mons , style="background-color:#F3F3F3;" , ''none'' , - style="vertical-align:top" !style="text-align:left", Youth organisations , {{plainlist, * Katholiek Vlaams Hoogstudentenverbond, KVHV * CD&V, JONGCD&V * Katholische Academische Verbindung Lovania Leuven, Katholische Academische Verbindung Leuven * Scouts en Gidsen Vlaanderen, SGV * Chiro Flanders, Chiro * {{Interlanguage link multi, KSJ-KSA-VKSJ, nl * {{Interlanguage link multi, Katholieke Landelijke Jeugd, lt=KLJ, nl, 3=Katholieke Landelijke Jeugd * Young Christian Workers, KAJ , {{plainlist, * FSC * GCB * Jeunes cdH , {{plainlist, * Christlich Soziale Partei (Belgium), Die Junge Mitte * FSC * GCB , {{plainlist, * Rode Valken * Socialistische Partij Anders, Animo Jong Links , MJS , MJS , {{plainlist, * FOS Open Scouting, FOS * VLDJONG , {{plainlist, * SGP * Les Jeunes Réformateurs , {{plainlist, * Partei für Freiheit und Fortschritt, JFF * SGP * MJS , - style="vertical-align:top" !style="text-align:left", Banks , Volksdepositokas Spaarbank , Dexia , style="background-color:#F3F3F3;" , ''none'' , De Post, Bank van De Post , Banque de La Poste , Bank von der Post , Generale Maatschappij, Generale Bankmaatschappij , Générale de Banque , Generale Bank , - style="vertical-align:top" !style="text-align:left", Sport clubs , {{plainlist, * {{Interlanguage link multi, Sporta, nl * Gym & Dans Vlaanderen , style="background-color:#F3F3F3;" , ''none'' , style="background-color:#F3F3F3;" , ''none'' , {{plainlist, * Arbeidersvoetbalbond, AVB (1919–2000) * Federatie voor Recreatie en Omnisport, FROS (1976–2000) * Vlaamse *AmateurssportConfederatie, VASCO (1993–2000) * FROS Amateursportconfederatie vzw (since 2000) , style="background-color:#F3F3F3;" , ''none'' , style="background-color:#F3F3F3;" , ''none'' , style="background-color:#F3F3F3;" , ''none'' , style="background-color:#F3F3F3;" , ''none'' , style="background-color:#F3F3F3;" , ''none'' , - style="vertical-align:top"

''Proporz'' in Austria

{{Main article, Proporz {{more citations needed, section, date=December 2013 The Austrian version of Verzuiling is the long-standing ''Proporz'' doctrine (a hypocorism for ''Proportionalität'', German language, German for 'proportionality'). This was first only within the politics of the second Austrian republic, but later degenerated into a neo-corporatist system of patronage and nepotism pervading many aspects of Austrian life. The ''Proporz'' was created, developed and promoted by the two mainstream parties, the

Austrian People's Party (ÖVP) and the Social-Democratic Socialist Party of Austria (since 1991 Social Democratic Party of Austria, both names with the acronym of SPÖ). This ''de facto'' two-party system collapsed with the Austrian legislative election, 1999, elections of 1999, which resulted in the joining of the national-conservative Freedom Party of Austria (FPÖ), whose political marginalisation and that of its predecessor, the Federation of Independents (VdU), was the main reason for the establishment of the ''Proporz'' policy, because of their Anschluss, pro-German, far right politics, far right and individualist views. The Proporz system arose out of the need for balanced, consensual governance in the early years of Austria's second republic. At that time, the country was consumed in an effort to rebuild the country after the devastation of World War II. Thus, the doctrine of Proporz is intimately linked to the idea of the grand coalition, in which the major political parties, in the case of post-war Austria the SPÖ and the ÖVP, share in the government. Like in the Netherlands or in Belgium the main parties have partly to this day, "black" and "red" parallel organizations, e.g. B. at touring clubs (ÖAMTC vs. ARBÖ), factions inside the Austrian Trade Union Federation (FCG vs. FSG vs. Freiheitlichen Arbeitnehmer (FPÖ)) or sports associations (Sportunion vs. ASKÖ).

Italy

A similar phenomena existed during the First Italian Republic. There are multiple trade unions: Italian Confederation of Workers' Trade Unions (CISL) which was close Christian Democracy (Italy), Christian Democracy (DC), Italian General Confederation of Labour (CGIL), close to Italian Communist Party (PCI), General Labour Union (Italy), General Labour Union, allied to the Italian Social Movement (MSI) and the Italian Labour Union which had ties Italian Republican Party (PRI) and Italian Democratic Socialist Party (PSDI). The state-owned public broadcaster RAI was split between the parties too. Rai 1 was said to be close to DC, Rai 2 was said to be close to PSI and Rai 3 to PCI.

Northern Ireland

{{see also, Segregation in Northern Ireland The term "pillarisation" has also been used to describe segregation of the two main ethnoreligious groups in Northern Ireland, especially between the foundation of Northern Ireland (1922) and the end of The Troubles (Northern Ireland), The Troubles (1969–1998); segregation and pillarisation persist but are declining. A difference in Northern Ireland is that one group (the Ulster Protestants, Protestant–Unionism in Ireland, Unionist–Ulster loyalism, Loyalist population) enjoyed clear political, economic and social dominance over the other group (the Irish Catholics, Catholics–Irish nationalist, nationalist–Irish republicanism, republicans). This has been described as pillarisation "without consociationalism."{{Cite web, url=https://books.google.ie/books?id=GiiPAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA272&dq=Pillarisation+%22northern+ireland%22&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiepLjQq-37AhWZhFwKHbTjBrcQ6AF6BAgLEAI#v=onepage&q=Pillarisation+%22northern+ireland%22&f=false, title=Reforming the Constitution: Debates in Twentieth-Century Britain, first1=Peter, last1=Catterall, first2=Wolfram, last2=Kaiser, first3=Ulrike, last3=Walton-Jordan, date=May 12, 2014, publisher=Routledge, via=Google Books {, class="wikitable" ! People !! Protestants !! Catholics , - , National identity , , "British", "Northern Irish" or "Ulster" , , "Irish" or "Northern Irish" , - , Religions , , Church of Ireland
Presbyterianism
Methodism , , Roman Catholicism , - , Political persuasions , , Unionism in Ireland, Unionism
Ulster loyalism, Loyalism
Ulster nationalism
Protestant Irish nationalists, Protestant Irish nationalism, , Irish nationalism
Irish republicanism
Irish republican socialism
Dissident republican , - , Political parties , , Democratic Unionist Party
Ulster Unionist Party
Traditional Unionist Voice
Progressive Unionist Party , , Sinn Féin
Social Democratic and Labour Party
Workers Party (Ireland), Workers' Party
Aontú
Irish Republican Socialist Party
Nationalist Party (Northern Ireland), Nationalist Party (before 1977) , - , Unions , , Ulster Workers' Council , , Irish Congress of Trade Unions , - , Languages , , English, Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster Scots
British Sign Language, Northern Ireland Sign Language , , English and Irish language, Irish
Irish Sign Language, Northern Ireland Sign Language , - , Schools , , Protestant schools, state schools, , Catholic schools , - , Universities , , Queen's University of Belfast
Magee College
Ulster University
Stranmillis University College
''Universities in Great Britain'' , , Ulster University
St Mary's University College, Belfast
''Universities in the Republic of Ireland'' , - , Sports , , Rugby union
Cricket
Field hockey
Soccer (most clubs) , , Gaelic football
Hurling and camogie
Soccer (Cliftonville F.C., Cliftonville, Derry City F.C., Derry City; Belfast Celtic F.C., Belfast Celtic until 1949) , - , Banks , , Ulster Bank
Belfast Banking Company (to 1970), , Bank of Ireland
Hibernian Bank (to 1958) , - , Newspapers , , ''Belfast Telegraph''
''News Letter''
''Sunday Life (newspaper), Sunday Life''
''Northern Whig'' (until 1963)
''Protestant Telegraph'' (1966–82) , , ''The Irish News''
''An Phoblacht''
''Lá'' (1984–2008) , - , TV and radio , , BBC Northern Ireland
Ulster Television, UTV
BBC Radio Ulster
Pirate radio: Voice of Ulster, Radio Orange, Radio Shankill, Radio Sundown, Radio Free Ulster , , RTÉ ''(Republic of Ireland state broadcaster)''
Pirate radio: Radio Free Belfast, Radio Free Derry Especially since the Belfast Agreement (1998), efforts have been made to break down segregation. "Cross-community" political parties such as the Alliance Party of Northern Ireland, Alliance Party, Green Party Northern Ireland, Green Party and People Before Profit exist, and a growing number of people who identify and vote as "other," rather than for "Catholic" or "Protestant" identities, as well as growing numbers of atheists; but elections are often derided as a "sectarian head-count," with growing Protestant anxiety over the possibility of a Catholic majority.{{Cite web, url=https://www.newsletter.co.uk/news/opinion/counting-catholics-not-sectarian-head-counting-countering-original-sectarian-headcount-310051, title=Counting Catholics is not sectarian head-counting but countering the original sectarian headcount, date=March 30, 2018, website=www.newsletter.co.uk Historically, other non-sectarian political parties also operated, most notably the Northern Ireland Labour Party and the Northern Ireland Women's Coalition.

References

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