Citation
Buitenwerf-van der Molen, M. F. (2007, March 21). God van vooruitgang : de
popularisering van het modern-theologische gedachtegoed in Nederland (1857-1880).
Uitgeverij Verloren, Hilversum|Department History of Christianity and Social Sciences,
Faculty of Theology, Leiden University. Retrieved from https://hdl.handle.net/1887/11453
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The subject of this study is modernism, a term that here strictly refers to the liberal stream within the Dutch Protestant Churches in the second half of the nineteenth century. The repre- sentatives of this church movement were convinced that modernity would eventually confront every traditional nineteenth-century Christian with problems of faith. The results of the natu- ral sciences became more and more widely known, for instance by the technological develop- ments that changed the appearance of the streets, such as trains and gas lighting. Scientific ad- vances were often at odds with traditionally Christian views; among other aspects, the authority of the Bible became an issue. The ‘moderns’ wanted to take the scientific world view as the basis of theology, because to them science presented the true image of reality. This meant that they, as did others who recognized the results of science, could no longer accept the tradi- tional Christian faith. In this study, the focus is on the popularisation of modern theology.
Chapter 1 sketches the context in which Protestant modernism was able to grow, by presenting an overview of the origin and development of this movement. Modernism was a typical product of its age, centring round the nineteenth-century notion of progress. Modernism was an impor- tant theological development not only in the Netherlands, but also abroad; parallel movements sprang up in, for instance, Germany, France, Switzerland, England and the United States.
Hence, Dutch modernism was also influenced by theologians from elsewhere, such as the Ger- mans Strauss and Baur, and the French Renan. Modern theology in the Netherlands started at the universities and from there spread to the congregations. The university professors J.H.
Scholten, C.W. Opzoomer and A. Kuenen are generally considered to have been the inspira- tion for the representatives of the later, popular modernism. Their historical-critical approach to the Bible, and their ideas on a modern perspective on Christian faith formed the basis for the later, popularizing literature.
The period on which this study focuses starts in 1857, the year in which the modern pastor Conrad Busken Huet published his modern-theological novel Brieven over den Bijbel (Letters about the Bible). This was one of the first books in which modern-theological views were pre- sented to a wider audience. The year 1880, in which the pessimistic article ‘Idealisme zonder ideaal’ (‘Idealism without an Ideal’) by the Leiden professor L.W.E. Rauwenhoff appeared, marks the end of the period under investigation, because this article initiated a clear change in the course taken by modernism. The period studied here saw a substantive shift in modernism:
during the second half of the 1860s ‘ethical modernism’ developed, a stream within the move- ment that stressed ethical conduct of the individual.
Within modernism, historical Bible criticism was of first importance. Its principles were in- troduced in theology, which the ‘moderns’ subsequently adapted for the regular parishioners.
Scientific results occupied an important position in modernism, because the moderns thought
Summary
that faith should adapt itself to the times, and so should meet the scientific requirements of the nineteenth century. For instance, the occurrence of actual miracles in biblical times was consid- ered impossible by the moderns, because miracles did not conform to the law of causality that was the foundation of the natural sciences. However, in their popularizing writing the moderns also discussed such topical issues as the school controversy and the social problem. In this way, they devised a theology that fitted the nineteenth-century notion of progress. The goal of this popularisation was apologetic: the moderns wanted to safeguard Christianity’s future and right to exist in modern society, by offering believers a modern form of Christian faith.
The desire to popularise modern-theological ideas confronted the moderns with various problems. These are discussed in Chapter 2. First, opinions were divided as to the audience they wanted to reach. Most moderns aimed their publications at the educated stratum of Dutch soci- ety. They considered their modern form of Christian faith most suitable for this part of the population. Others, however, thought that religious modernism was also very suitable for the less educated classes, because modernism distanced itself from various complicated dogmas and improbable biblical miracles. A standard topic in the modern popular works was the public’s fear of modern theology. This enabled the moderns to explicitly name the concerns of their au- dience, and at the same time refute the fear of modernism. By popularizing their theology, the moderns wanted to show believers that modernism did not aim at destroying the Christian faith. Rather, it would ensure that Christianity had a future, by linking up with nineteenth-cen- tury ideas. This did entail certain risks. Believers were urged by the moderns to form their own opinion of the Christian faith; they could even opt for a non-denominational position. When after some years people did actually start to leave the church, drawing the consequences of the modern doctrine, the moderns acknowledged this danger and adapted their theology accord- ingly.
In order to sell their product, the moderns used a wide range of popular genres, discussed in Chapter 3. The popularisation of modernism may be viewed as part of the broad nineteenth- century civilisation offensive, in which the cultured top layer of the Dutch population attempt- ed to improve the situation of the less privileged by educating them and raising them to a high- er level. The moderns wanted to sell modernism to their public by bringing it to their attention through as many channels as possible. Most moderns were pastors, which meant that the ser- mon was an important popularisation tool. The many sermons published in the nineteenth cen- tury offer us a clear picture of what the moderns wanted to get across to their audiences from the pulpit. Another favourite instrument for the oral dissemination of ideas was the public lec- ture. By means of the so-called ‘people’s lectures’ the moderns tried to reach a different audi- ence. In this way, for instance, they tried to reach the orthodox believers, who normally would not attend services led by a modern pastor, and the underprivileged. The printed press, too, was used to enlighten the public about modernism. In popular-scholarly books the academic back- ground of modernism was sketched, and the consequences for religious life were made clear.
Besides this, modernism also figured in novels and poems. Novels written by modern pastors often reflect the issues they encountered in their work. They made the modern-theological themes come alive for their readers, because the main characters were often regular parish- ioners. Also, the moderns often wrote for journals, and moreover published journals that were wholly devoted to modern theology. The various genres employed by the moderns were some- times also geared to very specific sections of the population. They wrote for almanacs, which were predominantly read by women; the daily dose of the modern-theological message for the family was dispensed by ‘Bible diaries’; for children and youngsters, children’s bibles and cate- chism books with a modern-theological message were published. Modernism was also market- ed in religious and secular songs. The use of all these genres contributed to the dissemination of modernism by the widest possible means to the largest number of people.
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Fairly early in the development of modernism its credibility became an issue both inside and outside modernist circles. One of the reasons for this was that a relatively large number of mod- ern pastors who could no longer reconcile their theological views with their position in the church resigned from their office. Among these were prominent moderns such as Conrad Busken Huet and Allard Pierson. Chapter 4 is about the resignations of these ministers from their pulpits. The opponents of the moderns, to be found among the orthodox as well as free- thinkers and atheists, used the departure of these prominent figures to point out to the stay-be- hinds that their position within the church could no longer be defended. This view was shared by former moderns such as Pierson and Huet. The moderns who did remain regarded the de- parture of their colleagues as a serious undermining of modernism. They also thought that min- isters who left the church put those believers who felt the need for a modernised form of Chris- tianity in a difficult position. Parishioners who saw no reason to attend church services anyway were by these resignations handed an excellent argument to leave the church. The departure of some modern pastors caused those colleagues who remained in their pulpits to look for a clear- er definition of modernism. Another consequence was that in their popularisation of mod- ernism they time and again had to prove the credibility of their message and position in the church.
A scientific development that long exercised the minds in the second half of the nineteenth cen- tury was the theory of evolution. In Chapter 5, the modern position as regards evolution is set out. Although the evolution theory is always strongly linked to Darwin and his On the Origin of Species, he was not the first scientist in the nineteenth century to argue that the world had de- veloped according to an evolutionary process. The educated part of the population were al- ready familiar with the idea of evolution by the time Darwin’s views were published, but it was only then that the theory really took off. Some evolution biologists argued that the origin of life on earth, including man, was based on coincidence. They saw no place for a God in the evolu- tionary process. Other scientists stated that God was the first cause of evolution. The moderns shared this view. They incorporated evolutionary ideas in their doctrine, and attempted to con- vince a wider audience of this evolutionary theology. In this way they tried to show that it was possible to combine a scientific concept of reality with faith in a higher power. This made mod- ern theology a form of Christian faith that was acceptable to those already convinced of the theory of evolution. Critics, however, thought that the moderns in so doing did justice to nei- ther the evolution theory nor to Christian faith. The modern theologians tried not only to demonstrate that the evolution theory could be accepted without problem by Christians, but they also utilized it in a positive way. In various modern publications we find the idea that modernism was the highest form of religion in relation to the stage of evolution then reached.
To begin with, the moderns said that religion had only come with the appearance of man on the scene as the highest stage of creation. Hence, religion belonged to the highest stage of evolution.
Of the existing religions, they considered Christianity the highest form; modernism, in turn, was the highest stage of Christianity.
The moderns’ rational view of the world was not without consequences for religious life. The scholarly basis of modernism created problems in answering questions concerning the meaning of life, asked by believers who had not been theologically trained. Yet, formulating answers to these questions was necessary in order to make modernism a success. In this respect the great cholera epidemic of 1866 was a crucial test. In Chapter 6 the moderns’ reaction to this epidemic is described. The cholera struck terror in large sections of the population, and traditional Chris- tianity offered believers the possibility to pray to God and attempt to persuade him to avert the disaster. The moderns, however, accepted the law of causality, essential in science. This made it impossible for them to believe in a direct intervention by God, and as a consequence they were
no longer able to ascribe the cause of a disaster to the wrath of God, or to pray to God for help.
Modern theologians explained to the believers that it was neither possible nor necessary any longer to trust in a direct intervention by God. They stated that the significance of a disaster such as the cholera epidemic lay in the progress that would eventually be made by mankind:
such a calamity forced people to look for a solution. The faithful were supposed to find solace in the idea of the improvement and progress that would result from the epidemic. According to the moderns the cholera was a link in the chain of progress, which in turn would bring an im- provement in living conditions. This new interpretation of disasters in general and cholera in particular the moderns substituted for the traditional model of disaster as a punishment from God. The new model of a calamity as a necessary correlate of progress fitted their rational mod- ern theology, and provided an answer to the obvious question about the meaning of a disaster.
However, we have to conclude that this new model can only have been relevant for a small elite of believers. The well-to-do middle class, whose habits were generally more hygienic than those of the poor, were usually not struck by the disease to the same extent as the have-nots. As they also had more knowledge of developments in the natural sciences, they generally had more affinity with the moderns’ rational model for making sense of life than the less educated.
In their views on social issues the moderns generally adopted a liberal perspective. As enlight- ened thinkers, for instance, they were in favour of the separation of church and state. One of the issues to which they devoted much attention in this respect was the so-called school controver- sy: the battle for the position of denominational schools. The modern view on religious educa- tion is discussed in Chapter 7. As the moderns saw it, school was not the right place to provide religious education, but this was the task of the church and the home. Consequently, they ad- vocated state schools, from which bible lessons had been banned since the new Education Act of 1857. The moderns tried to convince their readers that state education was the best option for their children as well. The mere fact that they wrote so much on this issue shows that they mainly targeted the higher middle classes – they addressed the sentiments prevailing among this group. State schools were financed by the government, whereas denominational schools were often funded by parents. Because the majority of pupils in the state schools were from the poor- er classes, the elite often preferred to send their children to a denominational school. In these schools religion was still taught in a traditional way. In order to safeguard the future of mod- ernism, the moderns wanted to start the training at the cradle: children should be acquainted with the modern-theological ideas from as early an age as possible. This was more difficult if they were taught traditional doctrines in school. For this reason, the moderns tried everything they could to persuade the elite to send their offspring to state schools. Be this as it may, many modern pastors still often arranged their catechism groups on the basis of socio-economic background. Hence, class differentiation remained, even within modern religious education in a church setting.
The way in which the moderns viewed the social question, described in Chapter 8, also re- flects their political liberalism. In the period under consideration here this issue had not yet reached its climax, but the moderns did have pronounced ideas about it. As former liberals they opposed charity, and thought that only upbringing and education could provide the necessary structural improvement of the socio-economic position of the underprivileged. They legit- imised the continuation of the nineteenth-century class society by deluding their readers with the notion that the positions of the rich and the poor had been lawfully ordered, and desired by God. Their idea that man acted according to God’s will when he bettered himself by hard work was inherent in their belief in progress and their positive anthropology. Some moderns saw modernism as the movement that might solve the social problem. For this they wanted to make use of specific core concepts of modernism, such as independence and equality. As they saw it,
Summary 238
modernism had annulled the distinction between clergy and the lay public. This would enable a better cooperation between the various estates, which would be helpful in resolving the social issue. Because modernism stimulated the independence of the individual it would be easier for the underprivileged to improve their economic situation. Moreover, by stating that religious modernism was indispensable for the solution of the social problem, these moderns also tried to create a wider support for modernism among the working classes.
In one respect the moderns had to agree with their orthodox critics. The emphasis, in the mod- ern gospel and the popularisation of their ideas, on believers’ freedom of thought and inde- pendent judging of religious matters eventually brought some modern believers to indifference.
In the course of the 1860s the modern theologians themselves concluded that something should be done about this. Chapter 9 describes how they began to put more stress on the content of modern faith, and tried to persuade their adherents that it remained necessary to maintain cer- tain Christian traditions such as prayer, bible reading, and church attendance. This also shows that in essence the moderns who remained in the church were apologists of Christianity. Their mission was to retain Christian faith for the modern nineteenth-century individual, even when this meant that is was necessary to re-define their initially radical liberal-Christian views.
