Servants of the Kingdom: Professionalization Among Ministers of the Nineteenth-Century Netherlands Reformed Church

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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. 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