The Bible Belt () is a strip of land in the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

with the highest concentration of conservative orthodox

Reformed Reform is beneficial change. Reform, reformed or reforming may also refer to: Media * ''Reform'' (album), a 2011 album by Jane Zhang * Reform (band), a Swedish jazz fusion group * ''Reform'' (magazine), a Christian magazine Places * Reform, Al ...

Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...

s in the country. Although the term is of recent origin (named by analogy after the

Bible Belt The Bible Belt is a region of the Southern United States and the Midwestern state of Missouri (which also has significant Southern influence), where evangelical Protestantism exerts a strong social and cultural influence. The region has been de ...

of the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

) the Dutch Bible Belt has existed for many generations. This Bible Belt stretches from

Zeeland Zeeland (; ), historically known in English by the Endonym and exonym, exonym Zealand, is the westernmost and least populous province of the Netherlands. The province, located in the southwest of the country, borders North Brabant to the east ...

in the southwest, through the West-

Betuwe Betuwe (), also known in English as Batavia ( ), is a historical and geographical region in the Netherlands, forming large fertile islands in the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta, river delta formed by the waters of the Rhine (Dutch: ''Rijn'') and ...

and Veluwe in the center of the country, to parts of the province

Overijssel Overijssel (; ; ; ) is a Provinces of the Netherlands, province of the Netherlands located in the eastern part of the country. The province's name comes from the perspective of the Prince-Bishopric of Utrecht, Episcopal principality of Utrecht ...

in the northeast. Municipalities in this area include Yerseke, Tholen,

Ouddorp Ouddorp is a village in the Dutch province of South Holland. It is part of the municipality of Goeree-Overflakkee. It is often referred to as ''Ouddorp aan Zee'' (Outdorp on the Sea) to promote itself as a seaside resort, because the village has ...

, Opheusden, Kesteren, Barneveld, Nunspeet, Elspeet,

Heerde Heerde () is a Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality and a town in the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of Gelderland, in the eastern Netherlands. Compared to the rest of the Netherlands, Heerde is fairly religious, as are many of t ...

, Epe, Hattem, Zwartewaterland and

Staphorst Staphorst () is a municipality and a town in the eastern Netherlands. History The villages of Staphorst and its southern neighbour Rouveen came into existence as in the 13th century monks started to bring the bogs and swamps into culture. All ...

. The three biggest cities regarded to be part of the Bible Belt are Ede, Veenendaal and Kampen. In Overijssel, the Bible belt is more dispersed and not always contiguous from one municipality to the next. Pockets exist such as in Rijssen. Some communities with strong conservative Reformed leanings are situated far outside the belt. For example, some municipalities of

Friesland Friesland ( ; ; official ), historically and traditionally known as Frisia (), named after the Frisians, is a Provinces of the Netherlands, province of the Netherlands located in the country's northern part. It is situated west of Groningen (p ...

, such as Dantumadiel, have characteristics typical of the Bible Belt. Similarly Urk, considered by many as one of the most traditional communities in the country, is separated from the Bible Belt by the

Noordoostpolder Noordoostpolder (; ) is a polder and Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the Flevoland province in the central Netherlands. Formerly, it was also called ''Urk, Urker Land''. Emmeloord is the administrative center, located in the hea ...

which is a

polder A polder () is a low-lying tract of land that forms an artificial hydrology, hydrological entity, enclosed by embankments known as levee, dikes. The three types of polder are: # Land reclamation, Land reclaimed from a body of water, such as a ...

created in 1942. The various conservative orthodox Calvinist denominations, such as the Old-Reformed Congregations in the Netherlands, have a combined official membership of about 400,000 people, approximately 2.5% of the entire population, although other sources estimates their share at about 7%.

History

When

Flanders Flanders ( or ; ) is the Dutch language, Dutch-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 culture, la ...

and

North Brabant North Brabant ( ; ), also unofficially called Brabant, Dutch Brabant or Hollandic Brabant, is a province in the south of the Netherlands. It borders the provinces of South Holland and Gelderland to the north, Limburg to the east, Zeeland to ...

were reconquered by the Spanish army during the

Eighty Years' War The Eighty Years' War or Dutch Revolt (; 1566/1568–1648) was an armed conflict in the Habsburg Netherlands between disparate groups of rebels and the Spanish Empire, Spanish government. The Origins of the Eighty Years' War, causes of the w ...

, their Protestant inhabitants were required to either convert to Catholicism or leave. Many emigrated north of the border, particularly during the

Twelve Years' Truce The Twelve Years' Truce was a ceasefire during the Eighty Years' War between Habsburg Spain, Spain and the Dutch Republic, agreed in Antwerp on 9 April 1609 and ended on 9 April 1621. While European powers like Kingdom of France, France began tre ...

of 1609–21. Many of them later became staunch supporters of the

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. Although the movement is ali ...

movement known as the ''nadere reformatie'' (further reformation). Following the 1832 schism, known as the ''Afscheiding'' ("Secession"), and the 1886 schism, ''Doleantie'' ("Sorrow"), which was led by Abraham Kuyper, they left the mainstream

Dutch Reformed Church The Dutch Reformed Church (, , abbreviated NHK ) was the largest Christian denomination in the Netherlands from the onset of the Protestant Reformation in the 16th century until 1930. It was the traditional denomination of the Dutch royal famil ...

and founded their own, more conservative congregations, the most notable of which are the Christian Reformed Churches and the Reformed Congregations ("Gereformeerde Gemeenten"), known colloquially as ''zwarte-kousenkerken'' ("black stockings churches"). The Bible Belt differs in many aspects (amongst them a regular Sunday

church attendance Church attendance is a central religious practice for many Christians; some Christian denominations require church attendance on the Lord's Day (Sunday). The Catholic Church teaches that on Sundays and other holy days of obligation, the faithf ...

– often twice on a Sunday) from the traditionally Catholic provinces of

and Limburg to the south (where Sunday church attendance averages between 2% and 3% of the population) and northern parts of the Netherlands, which are traditionally mainline Protestant (dominated by the

Protestant Church in the Netherlands The Protestant Church in the Netherlands (, abbreviated PKN) is the largest Protestantism, Protestant Christian denomination, denomination in the Netherlands, consisting of historical Calvinism, Calvinist and Lutheranism, Lutheran churches. It w ...

) and increasingly

secular Secularity, also the secular or secularness (from Latin , or or ), is the state of being unrelated or neutral in regards to religion. The origins of secularity can be traced to the Bible itself. The concept was fleshed out through Christian hi ...

, with similarly low church attendance figures.

Life and tradition

The church plays a central role in the life of Bible Belt communities and they typically oppose the liberal practices of mainstream Dutch society, such as

euthanasia Euthanasia (from : + ) is the practice of intentionally ending life to eliminate pain and suffering. Different countries have different Legality of euthanasia, euthanasia laws. The British House of Lords Select committee (United Kingdom), se ...

gay rights Rights affecting lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) people vary greatly by country or jurisdiction—encompassing everything from the legal recognition of same-sex marriage to the death penalty for homosexuality. Not ...

abortion Abortion is the early termination of a pregnancy by removal or expulsion of an embryo or fetus. Abortions that occur without intervention are known as miscarriages or "spontaneous abortions", and occur in roughly 30–40% of all pregnan ...

prostitution Prostitution is a type of sex work that involves engaging in sexual activity in exchange for payment. The definition of "sexual activity" varies, and is often defined as an activity requiring physical contact (e.g., sexual intercourse, no ...

, and

pornography Pornography (colloquially called porn or porno) is Sexual suggestiveness, sexually suggestive material, such as a picture, video, text, or audio, intended for sexual arousal. Made for consumption by adults, pornographic depictions have evolv ...

. In Staphorst, for instance, swearing is discouraged, many women wear skirts or dresses, and the automated bank machine is closed on Sundays.Alexandra Hudso
"Seeking security, Dutch turn to Bible Belt,"
(Reuters: March 12, 2007). In Bible Belt communities, strong religious tone in public life is accompanied by conservative outlook, preference for large families (the region has relatively high

fertility rate The total fertility rate (TFR) of a population is the average number of children that are born to a woman over her lifetime, if they were to experience the exact current age-specific fertility rates (ASFRs) through their lifetime, and they were t ...

s), and an emphasis on traditional values. An aspect of Bible Belt society that has drawn the attention of the Dutch general public in recent years (when concerns of a

measles Measles (probably from Middle Dutch or Middle High German ''masel(e)'', meaning "blemish, blood blister") is a highly contagious, Vaccine-preventable diseases, vaccine-preventable infectious disease caused by Measles morbillivirus, measles v ...

epidemic emerged) is the suspicion of parents towards state-run

vaccination Vaccination is the administration of a vaccine to help the immune system develop immunity from a disease. Vaccines contain a microorganism or virus in a weakened, live or killed state, or proteins or toxins from the organism. In stimulating ...

programmes.www.mmrthefacts.nhs.uk
{{webarchive , url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050927140129/http://www.mmrthefacts.nhs.uk/library/netherlands.php , date=September 27, 2005 The Bible Belt provides a base of support for the

Reformed Political Party The Reformed Political Party ( , SGP) is a conservative Reformed ChristianThese sources describe the SGP as a Calvinist (Reformed Christian) political party: * * * * political party in the Netherlands. The SGP is the oldest political party in the ...

(SGP) and Christian Union (CU).

History

Life and tradition

See also

References

Further reading