A map showing where the Political Reformed Party received a significant amount of votes in 2003, and therefore shows the extent of the Dutch Bible Belt.

The Bible Belt ("De Bijbelgordel" 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 Protestants. The Bijbelgordel stretches from Zeeland, through the Betuwe and Veluwe, 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 the Bijbelgordel. Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (534x616, 13 KB) SGP voters per municipality in the Netherlands, 2003 parliament elections. ... Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (534x616, 13 KB) SGP voters per municipality in the Netherlands, 2003 parliament elections. ... The Staatkundig Gereformeerde Partij (SGP, literally Constitutional Reformed Party) is a Dutch constitutional theocratic political party following conservative Christian principles, in the tradition of the Dutch Reformed Church. ... The approximate extent of the Bible Belt, indicated in red A Bible Belt is an area in which socially conservative Christian Evangelical Protestantism is a pervasive or dominant part of the culture. ... Protestantism is a general grouping of denominations within Christianity. ... Capital Middelburg Queens Commissioner drs. ... Satellite image of the upper part of the Rhine-Meuse delta showing the Betuwe region (5). ... A forest on the Veluwe The Veluwe is a forest-rich ridge of hills in the province of Gelderland in the Netherlands. ... Flag of Overijssel Overijssel is a province of the Netherlands, located in the central eastern part of the country. ... Urk is a municipality and a town in the Flevoland province in the central Netherlands. ... Capital Leeuwarden Queens Commissioner drs. ...

When Flanders and North 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 known as the nadere reformatie (further reformation). Following the 1832 schism, known as the Afscheiding ("Secession") and the 1886 schism, Doleantie ("Sorrow") led by Abraham Kuyper, they left the mainstream Dutch Reformed Church and founded their own, more conservative congregations, the most notable of which are the Christian Reformed Churches and the Reformed Congregations ("Gereformeerde Gemeenten"), known colloquially as zwarte-kousenkerken ("black stockings churches"). Flanders (Dutch: ) has several main meanings: the social, cultural and linguistical, scientific and educational, economical and political community of the Flemings; some prefer to call this the Flemish community (others refer to this as the Flemish nation) which is, with over 6 million inhabitants, the majority of all Belgians; a... North Brabant (Dutch: Noord-Brabant) is a province of the Netherlands, located in the south of the country, bordered by Belgium in the south, the Meuse River (Maas) in the north, Limburg in the east and Zeeland in the west. ... Combatants Dutch rebels Spanish Empire The Eighty Years War, or Dutch Revolt (1566[1]–1648), was the revolt of the Seventeen Provinces in the Netherlands against the Spanish (Habsburg) empire. ... As a Christian ecclesiastical term, Catholic - from the Greek adjective , meaning general or universal[2] - is described in the Oxford Dictionary as follows: ~Church, (originally) whole body of Christians; ~, belonging to or in accord with (a) this, (b) the church before separation into Greek or Eastern and Latin or Western... Calvinism is a system of Christian theology and an approach to Christian life and thought within the Protestant tradition articulated by John Calvin, a Protestant Reformer in the 16th century, and subsequently by successors, associates, followers and admirers of Calvin, his interpretation of Scripture, and perspective on Christian life and... // Events April 4 – King of Spain signs an edit of expulsion of all moriscos from Spain April 9 – Spain recognizes Dutch independence May 23 - Official ratification of the Second Charter of Virginia. ... Events February 9 - Gregory XV is elected pope. ... Pietism was a movement within Lutheranism, lasting from the late-17th century to the mid-18th century. ... 1832 was a leap year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ... 1886 (MDCCCLXXXVI) is a common year starting on Friday (click on link to calendar) // Events January 18 - Modern field hockey is born with the formation of The Hockey Association in England. ... Portrait of Abraham Kuyper by Jan Veth Abraham Kuyper (1837-1920) was born in the town of Maassluis and was a Dutch Calvinist theologian, scholar, and statesman. ... The Dutch Reformed village church of St. ... The Christian Reformed Churches (Christelijke Gereformeerde Kerken) are a protestant church in the Netherlands with about 75,000 members. ...

The Bijbelgordel differs in many aspects from the traditionally Catholic provinces of Noord-Brabant and Limburg to the south (where regular church attendance is at about 3 - 9%) and the other parts of the Netherlands, which are traditionally mainstream Protestant and increasingly secular. North Brabant (Dutch: Noord-Brabant) is a province of the Netherlands, located in the south of the country, bordered by Belgium in the south, the Meuse River (Maas) in the north, Limburg in the east and Zeeland in the west. ... Capital Maastricht Queens Commissioner L.J.P.M. (Leon) Frissen Religion (1999) Roman Catholic 80% Protestant 3% Area  â€¢ Land  â€¢ Water   2,153 km² (9th) 56 km² Population (2005)  â€¢ Total  â€¢ Density 1,135,962 (6th) 528/km² (4th) Inclusion 1839 Anthem In t Bronsgroen Eikenhout ISO NL-LI Official website... This article concerns secularity, that is, being secular, in various senses. ...

The Church plays a central role in the life of Bijbelgordel communities and they typically oppose the liberal and "tolerant" 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 (with relatively higher fertility rates), and emphasis on traditional values. Another typical aspect of Bijbelgordel that drew the attention of Dutch public in recent years (when concerns of a measles epidemic emerged) is the suspicion of parents towards state-run vaccination programmes. [1] [2] Euthanasia (from Greek: ευθανασία -ευ, eu, good, θανατος, thanatos, death) is the practice of terminating the life of a person or an animal because they are perceived as living an intolerable life, in a painless or minimally painful way either by lethal injection, drug overdose, or by the withdrawal of life support. ... Same-sex marriage is the legal union of two people who are of the same biological sex or gender. ... The (total) fertility rate of a population is the average number of child births per woman. ... Vaccination is the process of administering weakened or dead pathogens to a healthy person or animal, with the intent of conferring immunity against a targeted form of a related disease agent. ...

The Bijbelgordel is a powerbase of Christian Democratic parties, especially the two kleine Christelijke ("small Christian") parties; SGP and ChristenUnie. Christian Democracy is a heterogeneous political ideology and movement. ... The Staatkundig Gereformeerde Partij (SGP, literally Constitutional Reformed Party) is a Dutch constitutional theocratic political party following conservative Christian principles, in the tradition of the Dutch Reformed Church. ... The ChristenUnie (Christians Union) is a relatively young political party in the Netherlands. ...

See also

• Reformed Churches in the Netherlands
• Pillarisation