Bible Belt (Netherlands)

Bijbelgordel ("Bible Belt" in Dutch) is the name given (after the Bible Belt in the USA) to a strip of land in the Netherlands, which is specifically inhabited by conservative people of Protestant faith. Bijbelgordel streches from Zeeland, through Betuwe and Weluwe, to the northern parts of the province Overijssel. However, some communities with strong conservative Protestant leanings are situated outside the belt. For example, Urk, considered by many as the most traditional settlement in the country, and some municipalities of Friesland have characteristics typical of Bijbelgordel.

When Flanders and Brabant were reconquered by the Spanish army during the Eighty Years' War, the Protestant inhabitants were given the options of either conversion to Catholicism or leaving. People of strong Calvinist denomination chose to leave in order to emigrate to the north of the border, in the period of 1609 - 1621. These people later became staunch supporters of the pietist movement nadere reformatie (further reformation). Following the 1886 schism, Doleantie (Sorrow), led by Abraham Kuyper, they left the mainstream Dutch Reformed Church and founded their own "orthodox" congregations.

Bijbelgordel differ in many aspects from the traditionally Catholic provinces of Noord-Brabant and Limburg to the south (note that church attendance among Dutch Catholics is at about 3 - 9 %)and the other parts of the Netherlands, which are traditionally mainstream Calvinist and increasingly secular. Church still plays a central role in the life of Bijbelgordel communities and they typically oppose the liberal ways of Dutch life, such as euthanasia, same-sex marriages, etc. In Bijbelgordel communities, strong religious tone in public life is accompanied by conservative outlook, preference for large families, and emphasis on traditional values. Another typical aspect of Bijbelgordel that drew the attention of Dutch public in recent years is the suspicion of parents towards state-run vaccination programmes. [1]

Bijbelgordel is the powerbase of small Christian Democratic and constitutional theocratic parties, especially the two klein Christelijk ("small Christian") parties; SPG and ChristenUnie.