The other day I was reading a blog post by a Facebook friend, Dvora Treisman, who lives in Spain. She was writing about the various festivals connected to Mary, mother of Jesus. I knew there were numerous virgin Mary churches and was aware from a marvellous book I read earlier this year that many spaniards have a deep attachment to their own district's madonna.
The blog and the book together have led me to ponder on the individual customs associated with religion in different countries and particularly in my own Netherlands. Now, most people perceive this country as being a progressive, secular, anything goes nation, and in many respects they'd be correct. Among other notable events, the Netherlands was the first to legalise same-sex marriage in 2001; it has long tolerated the use of cannabis and marijuana; and it was apparently the first to legalise euthanasia in 2002. However, in something of a paradox and to a noticeable degree, the country is still divided along religious lines. These days the distinctions are marked more by customs than church attendance, but for someone like me who grew up in the UK and never knew what religion anyone espoused it was a surprise to encounter them here.
The first thing I was made aware of was that the north of the country, including Zeeland in the west, is predominantly Protestant, while the south is mostly Catholic. The map has become more blurred in recent times but largely speaking the dividing line is still the same. The two maps below show the proportions in the 19th century and in 2015.
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| By I, Dimitri, The 1849 situation The green areas are Catholic |
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| The red/pink areas are predominantly Catholic: Downloaded from Quora: Sources from Statistics Netherlands (2016) |
Clearly, there has always been some overlap, but the situation hasn't changed all that much. Where I live in Zeeuws Vlaanderen (that narrow strip bottom left), we have quite a mixed scenario. Zeeuws Vlaanderen is part of Zeeland, which is traditionally Protestant, but the areas bordering Belgium and those closer to Antwerp are Catholic. This could, of course, be purely notional as the number of people attending church services has dropped substantially, but it's still prevalent in the local traditions.
One example is the celebration of Carnaval. Every February, Catholic towns and villages organise this three-day event with flamboyant floats, outrageous costumes and an emphasis on role reversal and social ridicule to prelude the start of Lent. If you like, it's the Dutch version of Mardi Gras, except the weather is usually awful, bitterly cold and painful grey (sorry).
In our disputed area, the towns and villages bordering Belgium are all Catholic, including our own, so we have carnaval here. Personally, I can't imagine anything more wretched than going out and following garishly coloured (but superbly constructed) floats in such horrible weather. However, it's hugely popular and widely supported. Ten kilometres up the road, we are in Zeeland proper and it's Protestant, so no carnaval...perish the thought.
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| Sourced from Wikipedia: Role reversal at carnaval is a common theme. |
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| Sourced from Wikipedia: 2013 Carnaval including social criticism |
This post was fascinating about cultural differences along Catholic Protestant lines. I am a Christian in the USA and interested in your topic.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Terra. I focused on the cultural differences as these are still noticeable. However, my partner tells me when he was young, the division was much more marked and that Protestants didn’t even consider Catholics to be Christian.
DeleteWhat an interesting topic, Val. The cultural differences seem very marked, to this day, in what is to we Australians, a very tiny country. I was intrigued to read about the Catholic parades and celebrations. I was raised Catholic and we never had such parades! It was priests and nuns from Ireland who brought Catholicism to Australia, and the English settlers established the Anglican church from the first European settlement. Cultural differences in the past seemed to be more along the lines of who can be employed in the Government and other establishments. However, this sort of discrimination has long disappeared. In fact, Australia has become extremely secular and the Christian churches mostly attended by Seniors, like me :)
ReplyDeleteRebecca, I was also raised a Catholic in the UK and we only had parades at school, but then Catholicism is very much a minority religion in England and it’s the majority faith here. I was surprised myself by the culture as in England, the Catholics were considered strict and severe. I went to a convent primary school, so we had to follow the rules quite rigorously. The perception of Catholics here is totally different!
DeleteI think the cultural & religious divide must be the same as in Ireland. I could never believe in any sort of religion but my wife had a strong faith. Since she died I've been questioning my views on Chistianity & religion and wishing I some sort of faith to help me
ReplyDeleteDavid, I feel for you. I was brought up as a Catholic but abandoned church and religion in my early twenties. I sometimes envy people who have great faith because they seem so at peace with themselves. I hope you find answers to your questions, and even if they don’t lead you to religion, I hope you find some heart’s ease. 🙏🏻
DeleteThank you Val
DeleteHi Val and thank you for another interesting blog. I was also christened a Catholic but wasn’t raised as one. Instead I have gone to quite a few different churches such as Methodist, Baptist, Church of England, Presbyterian, Spiritualist, etc. I stopped going to church in my twenties for various reasons and prefer to read everything and anything about different ideas and beliefs. 😁 it saddens me to see how much conflict has been caused throughout history in the name of religion and is still being caused.
ReplyDeleteI’m with you there, Lorraine. I also stopped going to church in my twenties, but I envy people who are committed to their faith. They often seem to be at peace with themselves. I agree about the wars and conflicts as well. Too much war has taken place in its name, for sure. However, I didn’t really want to focus on the religious side here; it’s more the cultural side that interests me because it’s so different from what I grew up with.
DeleteThis is a thoughtful post, Val. I think people here attend church services less often but many still stay connected to their religion via internet. However, I strongly think that people must believe in some Higher Power, regardless of what they call it in order to live a revered life. Too many of our youth only believe in themselves and are therefore lost.
ReplyDeleteYes, Lynn. You have a very good point there. Most people need something to aspire to and to revere. I agree.
DeleteOoos, I pressed publish before I’d finished. My focus here was more on the cultural differences between the two main faiths, though. This is what interests me as it is not the same as it was in England at all.
DeleteWhat an interesting and to the point blogpost!
ReplyDeleteFascinating! The only thing I have to offer is the difference between church services in the U.S. compared to services here in Scotland (especially in the Church of Scotland). In the U.S., we are so free, welcoming, and open in our praise and worship. When I first arrived here - Alan's congregation was shocked by me! Now that he's retired, we can attend a church a bit more like mine in the U.S., but there are still huge differences. I went to the Cowboy Church where folks brought their dogs and tied their horses up in back of the church so they could ride home after the service. My dog loved going to church. He never let me forget when it was Sunday! Anyway, thank you, Val. As always - a marvelous blog! (Steph)
ReplyDeleteSteph, that sounds like my kind of church. I'd love one that welcomed my dog or my horse. Thank you, my dear!
DeleteFascinating. I was brought up Catholic, via my Irish mother who was very devout. My father was nominally Anglican but a practising atheist. I existed in the Catholic bubble apart from living in a largely secular and/or Protestant country. I got to know lots of Free church types at university and they didn't seem to have much fun. I successfully corrupted a few with pubs and nights out! English Catholics tend to be dour like their Protestant counterparts (apart from the May Procession, etc) and keep their heads down, so it's nice to see some colour and festivals similar to the Spanish. There's some historical links and lots of wars involved between the Netherlands and Spain of course.
ReplyDeleteLovely pictures, Val.
Aidan, I too was brought up as a Catholic in England, and you're right, it was pretty strict and dour. I kind of like the Dutch approach! And yes, history definitely plays a huge role, not least of which is Calvin's influence on the Protestant areas.
DeleteI see, Val. This is a very good observation regarding the cultural differences between the Catholics and Protestants which has generated a lot of feedback.
ReplyDeleteIt's been a very interesting discussion, Lynn. Thank you, my friend!
DeleteWhat a very interesting blog Val. As you know I live in Central Scotland and there are at times some very obvious cultural differences between Catholic & Protestant. We are 'blighted' by Orange Order Parades during certain times of the Year celebrating King William of Orange & The Battle of the Boyne - customs brought over from Northern Ireland. Apart from those times we all manage to co exist peaceably enough. I'm a Churchgoer & the Catholics also use our Church as theirs has been found to have dangerous crumbling concrete. I'm thankful in my little town we don't have much trouble at all. Interesting that different parts of the UK can have very different experiences. 🤔
ReplyDeleteThank you, Rebecca. That's great that you share the same church. However, I never knew you had Orange parades there in Scotland too; I thought that was an Irish only custom and had no idea it had been transported to Scotland as well. Sadly, they only seem to stir up antagonism, so it's good to know your church is so accommodating.
DeleteHi Val -this one I need to re-read ... sometime! An interesting historical update ... cheers Hilary
ReplyDelete