Minister of the Word, shepherd and teacher—the titles of Dutch pastors exude authority and prestige. In the course of the nineteenth century, however, their social position was slowly undermined by the separation of church and state, the emancipation of Catholics and dissenters, and the rise of all sorts of secular “shepherds” and “teachers.” This work of historical sociology analyzes the development of the profession of pastor in the Netherlands Reformed Church, focusing on pastors’ changing relationships with the state, the universities, other professions, and their own congregants. It paints a surprising, lively, and often humorous picture of nineteenth-century ecclesiastical and religious life, and of the many areas of Dutch society and culture where pastors made their mark—in particular, the literary world.
Author(s): David Bos
Series: Brill's Series in Church History and Religious Culture, 43
Publisher: Brill
Year: 2010
Language: English
Pages: 482
City: Leiden
Acknowledgements
Translator's Preface to the English Edition
Historical Passages
Terminology
Sources
Acknowledgements
Introduction
The Social Position of Pastors
Professions, Professionalism, and Professionalization
The Design of this Study
CHAPTER I. "For the Pulpit and Congregation" – The Work of Nineteenth-Century Ministers
Preaching
Worship
Rites of Passage
"Religious Education"
The Lord's Supper
Pastoral Care
A Social Calling
Conclusion
CHAPTER II. "Officials with the Title of Prophet" – The Reformed Church in King William's Realm
A Governing Elite
A Church Association
"Improvement of the Status of Ministers"
"A Circle of Reverend Men"
"Folly, Vanity, Damnation!": Discontent with the Enlightenment
"Secessionism"
Conclusion
CHAPTER III. The Light of Scholarship – Theologians, Academia, and the Church
Digression: Higher Education for Dissenting Ministers
Theological Education: The Struggle for Control
"Uplifting" the Congregation: the Groningen School
"The Flock Leading its Shepherds": Theologians versus the Laity
A Protestant Nation?
"Personal Relations between Professors and the Reformed Church"
Professors at the Synod
Conclusion
CHAPTER IV. "The Young Cleric" – The Life of a Theology Student
Recruitment
"Bowing, Groveling, Fawning": The Life of a Proponent
Theology on the Margins
A College of Their Own
A Map of Academy-Land
Theology Students Go to War
Theology Students and "the Corps"
Aspects of Integration
Frat Boys and Oinks
Conclusion
CHAPTER V. "That Fellow with the White Bowtie" – Theologians in Dutch Literary Life
Pastor-Professors
Cultural Capital
Formal Eloquence as Habitus
Received Standard Dutch
Theology Students as Romantics
"A Humoristic Revolution"
"How Do We Sound to Them?": Theology and Practice
Pastor-Poets
Conclusion
CHAPTER VI. "The Worst of the Five" – The Rise of the Young Doctor of Theology
"A Divine Beginning"
Background
The Rise of the Young Doctor
Theological Societies
University Essay Competitions
In the Interest of Theology
A Scholar in the Manse
Eager Learners
Modern Theology: "Faith plus Chemistry"
Building on Scholarship
Academic Manners
Experts and Laypeople
Conclusion
CHAPTER VII. Inequality and Fraternity – The Social Structure of the Ministry
Ministers-in-waiting
Seniority
Retirement
Career Alternatives
Climbing the Career Ladder
City and Country
The Road to the City
A Hierarchy of Congregations
Pastors and Professors
Very Reverend Gentlemen
Publish or Perish
Conclusion
CHAPTER VIII. Servants of the Congregation? – Reformed Pastors in Relation to their Flocks
Historical Background
"Render unto Caesar what is Caesar's"
"Called by God's congregation, and hence by God himself"
Ethical Theology: "The Faith of the Congregation"
"The Dominion of the Bourgeoisie": Church Elections
"The Right of the Congregations versus the Power of the Church": Abraham Kuyper and the Neo-Calvinist Party
The Church and the Masses: Abraham Kuyper and the Neo-Calvinist Party (II)
God and Mammon
Theology Times Two
The End of the Great Church: Abraham Kuyper and the Neo-Calvinist Party (III)
Conclusion
Conclusions
Glossary
Bilingual Glossary of Proper Names
List of Abbreviations
List of Illustrations
Tables
Sources and literature
Index
