Hervormd Gereformeerde Staatspartij
Encyclopedia
The Hervormd Gereformeerde Staatspartij (in English: Reformed Reformed State Party (see below), HGS) was a Dutch
orthodox Protestant political party
during the interbellum. For its orthodox political ideals and its refusal to cooperate in any cabinet, the party is called a testimonial party
.
. The party's support from female suffrage and the Catholic/Protestant coalition
were important reasons for the split. The direct reasons was a series of demonstrations held in Amsterdam
by orthodox Protestants, who opposed the lifting of the ban on catholic procession
s in the Northern provinces. The movement had called itself the June Movement, a reference to the April movement which was crucial in the formation of the first Protestant party, the ARP
. A driving force in the split had been the minister Casper Lingbeek. The split is very similar to the split of the orthodox Protestant SGP from the mainstream Protestant ARP.
The party entered in the 1925
and won one seat, it was taken by Lingbeek. The elections were turbulent because the cabinet led by Charles Ruijs de Beerenbrouck
had fallen over the Dutch representation at the Holy See
an issue that had divided Catholics and Protestants. In the 1929 election
the party retained its one seat. In 1931 Lingbeek stood down, in favour of Peereboom. In the 1933 elections
Lingbeek was asked to return to parliament by his supporters. In the 1930s the party was methodically isolated by other Protestant parties. The appeal of the Protestant ARP
's strongman Hendrikus Colijn
, who promised to end the economic crisis, on the party's electorate as well as the appeal of the NSB
on several prominent party members, caused the downfall of the party. The party also lacked a strong pillarized organization around it. It was unable to win a seat in the 1937 elections
.
After the war former members of the HGS founded the Protestant Union, with several former members of the CHU. It entered in the 1946 elections but was unable to win any seats. It continued to exist as a study club until the 1980s
(Nederlands Hervormde Kerk), hence Hervormd and Reformed Churches in the Netherlands
(Gereformeerde Kerken Nederland), hence Gereformeerd. It sought to unite these two religions in one national Protestant church. The party was called staatspartij because it represented the general interest and not some partial interest. The acronym was taken by the party's founders to also mean "Hear Gods Voice" (Hoor Gods Stem).
and theocracy
.
The party wanted to, in their view, return the Netherlands to its original form: a Protestant nation, based on principles of the bible
. It identified heavily with the Geuzen
, the Protestant resistance movement which was crucial in Eighty Years' War against the catholic Spaniards. The HGS feared the emancipation of the Dutch Catholics
, because it saw Catholicism as a false religion and feared that the Catholics might try to take over the country. The party saw the doleantie
in which the Dutch Reformed Church was split as a historic mistake as it weakened the power of the Protestant part of the population .
In its manifesto of principles it explained their view on the ten commandments
. The first commandment ("Thou shalt have no other gods before Me...") was interpreted as a rejection of the false gods of Plutos
(capitalism
), Demos
(democracy
) and Ochlos
(socialism
). The party rejected both socialism and strike
s as a political tool, and capitalism and exploitation
. Both in their view were in contradiction with the eight commandment ("Thou shalt not steal").
Practically this meant that the party was opposed to government control of society, like compulsory voting
, compulsory vaccination
, and social security
.
and local legislatures in cities like the Hague
, Arnhem
and Vianen.
). It two-weakly periodical was the State and Church.
Christian Right
.
Politics of the Netherlands
The politics of the Netherlands take place within the framework of a parliamentary representative democracy, a constitutional monarchy and a decentralised unitary state. The Netherlands is described as a consociational state...
orthodox Protestant political party
Political party
A political party is a political organization that typically seeks to influence government policy, usually by nominating their own candidates and trying to seat them in political office. Parties participate in electoral campaigns, educational outreach or protest actions...
during the interbellum. For its orthodox political ideals and its refusal to cooperate in any cabinet, the party is called a testimonial party
Testimonial party
Testimonial party is a political party that focuses on its principles, instead of adapting them to local or temporal issues in the pursuit of coalition government participation...
.
Party History
The HGS was founded in 1921 as split from the Protestant Christian Historical UnionChristian Historical Union
The Christian Historical Union was a Dutch conservative Protestant political party. The CHU is one of the predecessors of the Christian Democratic Appeal.-History before 1908:...
. The party's support from female suffrage and the Catholic/Protestant coalition
Christian democracy in the Netherlands
This article gives an overview of christian democracy in the Netherlands, which is also called confessional politics, including political Catholicism and Protestantism. It is limited to Christian democratic parties with substantial support, mainly proved by having had a representation in parliament...
were important reasons for the split. The direct reasons was a series of demonstrations held in Amsterdam
Amsterdam
Amsterdam is the largest city and the capital of the Netherlands. The current position of Amsterdam as capital city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is governed by the constitution of August 24, 1815 and its successors. Amsterdam has a population of 783,364 within city limits, an urban population...
by orthodox Protestants, who opposed the lifting of the ban on catholic procession
Procession
A procession is an organized body of people advancing in a formal or ceremonial manner.-Procession elements:...
s in the Northern provinces. The movement had called itself the June Movement, a reference to the April movement which was crucial in the formation of the first Protestant party, the ARP
Anti Revolutionary Party
The Anti Revolutionary Party was a Dutch Protestant Christian democratic political party. The ARP is one of the predecessors of the Christian Democratic Appeal. After 1917 the party never received more than twenty percent of the vote.-History before 1879:The anti-revolutionary parliamentary caucus...
. A driving force in the split had been the minister Casper Lingbeek. The split is very similar to the split of the orthodox Protestant SGP from the mainstream Protestant ARP.
The party entered in the 1925
Dutch general election, 1925
A general election of the House of Representatives of the Dutch Parliament was held in the Netherlands on July 1, 1925.-National summary:-Parties:* Anti Revolutionary Party * Agrarians' League...
and won one seat, it was taken by Lingbeek. The elections were turbulent because the cabinet led by Charles Ruijs de Beerenbrouck
Charles Ruijs de Beerenbrouck
Jhr. Charles Joseph Maria Ruijs de Beerenbrouck was a Dutch nobleman and Prime Minister of the Netherlands from 1918 to 1925 and again from 1929 to 1933...
had fallen over the Dutch representation at the Holy See
Holy See
The Holy See is the episcopal jurisdiction of the Catholic Church in Rome, in which its Bishop is commonly known as the Pope. It is the preeminent episcopal see of the Catholic Church, forming the central government of the Church. As such, diplomatically, and in other spheres the Holy See acts and...
an issue that had divided Catholics and Protestants. In the 1929 election
Dutch general election, 1929
A general election of the House of Representatives of the Dutch Parliament was held in the Netherlands on July 3, 1929.-National summary:-Parties:* Anti Revolutionary Party * Agrarians' League...
the party retained its one seat. In 1931 Lingbeek stood down, in favour of Peereboom. In the 1933 elections
Dutch general election, 1933
A general election of the House of Representatives of the Dutch Parliament was held in the Netherlands on April 26, 1933.-National summary:-Parties:* Anti Revolutionary Party...
Lingbeek was asked to return to parliament by his supporters. In the 1930s the party was methodically isolated by other Protestant parties. The appeal of the Protestant ARP
Anti Revolutionary Party
The Anti Revolutionary Party was a Dutch Protestant Christian democratic political party. The ARP is one of the predecessors of the Christian Democratic Appeal. After 1917 the party never received more than twenty percent of the vote.-History before 1879:The anti-revolutionary parliamentary caucus...
's strongman Hendrikus Colijn
Hendrikus Colijn
Hendrikus Colijn was a successful Dutch soldier, businessman and politician.-Early life:He was born in 1869 in the Haarlemmermeer to Antonie Colijn and Anna Verkuil, who had migrated to the Haarlemmermeer polder from the Land of Heusden and Altena for religious reasons...
, who promised to end the economic crisis, on the party's electorate as well as the appeal of the NSB
National Socialist Movement in the Netherlands
The National Socialist Movement in the Netherlands was a Dutch fascist and later national socialist political party. As a parliamentary party participating in legislative elections, the NSB had some success during the 1930s...
on several prominent party members, caused the downfall of the party. The party also lacked a strong pillarized organization around it. It was unable to win a seat in the 1937 elections
Dutch general election, 1937
A general election of the House of Representatives of the Dutch Parliament was held in the Netherlands on May 26, 1937.-National summary:-Parties:* Anti Revolutionary Party...
.
After the war former members of the HGS founded the Protestant Union, with several former members of the CHU. It entered in the 1946 elections but was unable to win any seats. It continued to exist as a study club until the 1980s
Name
The party's name, Hervormd Gereformeerde Staatspartij, is rather difficult to translated because it refers to two kinds of Protestantism, the main-stream Dutch Reformed ChurchDutch Reformed Church
The Dutch Reformed Church was a Reformed Christian denomination in the Netherlands. It existed from the 1570s to 2004, the year it merged with the Reformed Churches in the Netherlands and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in the Kingdom of the Netherlands to form the Protestant Church in the...
(Nederlands Hervormde Kerk), hence Hervormd and Reformed Churches in the Netherlands
Reformed Churches in the Netherlands
The Reformed Churches in the Netherlands was the second largest Protestant church in the Netherlands until it merged into the Protestant Church in the Netherlands in 2004.-History:...
(Gereformeerde Kerken Nederland), hence Gereformeerd. It sought to unite these two religions in one national Protestant church. The party was called staatspartij because it represented the general interest and not some partial interest. The acronym was taken by the party's founders to also mean "Hear Gods Voice" (Hoor Gods Stem).
Ideology & Issues
The HGS was an orthodox Protestant party with a strong nationalist tendency, based on two core ideas: virulent anti-catholicismAnti-Catholicism
Anti-Catholicism is a generic term for discrimination, hostility or prejudice directed against Catholicism, and especially against the Catholic Church, its clergy or its adherents...
and theocracy
Theocracy
Theocracy is a form of organization in which the official policy is to be governed by immediate divine guidance or by officials who are regarded as divinely guided, or simply pursuant to the doctrine of a particular religious sect or religion....
.
The party wanted to, in their view, return the Netherlands to its original form: a Protestant nation, based on principles of the bible
Bible
The Bible refers to any one of the collections of the primary religious texts of Judaism and Christianity. There is no common version of the Bible, as the individual books , their contents and their order vary among denominations...
. It identified heavily with the Geuzen
Geuzen
Geuzen was a name assumed by the confederacy of Calvinist Dutch nobles and other malcontents, who from 1566 opposed Spanish rule in the Netherlands. The most successful group of them operated at sea, and so were called Watergeuzen...
, the Protestant resistance movement which was crucial in Eighty Years' War against the catholic Spaniards. The HGS feared the emancipation of the Dutch Catholics
Roman Catholicism in the Netherlands
The Catholic Church in the Netherlands; , is part of the worldwide Catholic Church, under the spiritual leadership of the Pope and curia in Rome. Although the number of Catholics in the Netherlands has decreased significantly in recent decades, the Dutch Catholic Church is today the largest...
, because it saw Catholicism as a false religion and feared that the Catholics might try to take over the country. The party saw the doleantie
Reformed Churches in the Netherlands
The Reformed Churches in the Netherlands was the second largest Protestant church in the Netherlands until it merged into the Protestant Church in the Netherlands in 2004.-History:...
in which the Dutch Reformed Church was split as a historic mistake as it weakened the power of the Protestant part of the population .
In its manifesto of principles it explained their view on the ten commandments
Ten Commandments
The Ten Commandments, also known as the Decalogue , are a set of biblical principles relating to ethics and worship, which play a fundamental role in Judaism and most forms of Christianity. They include instructions to worship only God and to keep the Sabbath, and prohibitions against idolatry,...
. The first commandment ("Thou shalt have no other gods before Me...") was interpreted as a rejection of the false gods of Plutos
Plutocracy
Plutocracy is rule by the wealthy, or power provided by wealth. The combination of both plutocracy and oligarchy is called plutarchy. The word plutocracy is derived from the Ancient Greek root ploutos, meaning wealth and kratos, meaning to rule or to govern.-Usage:The term plutocracy is generally...
(capitalism
Capitalism
Capitalism is an economic system that became dominant in the Western world following the demise of feudalism. There is no consensus on the precise definition nor on how the term should be used as a historical category...
), Demos
Demos
Demos may refer to:* Demos, a rhetorical term for the population of an ancient Greek state** Deme or Demoi, the term for an ancient subdivision of Attica, Greece...
(democracy
Democracy
Democracy is generally defined as a form of government in which all adult citizens have an equal say in the decisions that affect their lives. Ideally, this includes equal participation in the proposal, development and passage of legislation into law...
) and Ochlos
Ochlocracy
Ochlocracy or mob rule is government by mob or a mass of people, or the intimidation of legitimate authorities.As a pejorative for majoritarianism, it is akin to the Latin phrase mobile vulgus meaning "the fickle crowd", from which the English term "mob" was originally derived in the...
(socialism
Socialism
Socialism is an economic system characterized by social ownership of the means of production and cooperative management of the economy; or a political philosophy advocating such a system. "Social ownership" may refer to any one of, or a combination of, the following: cooperative enterprises,...
). The party rejected both socialism and strike
Strike action
Strike action, also called labour strike, on strike, greve , or simply strike, is a work stoppage caused by the mass refusal of employees to work. A strike usually takes place in response to employee grievances. Strikes became important during the industrial revolution, when mass labour became...
s as a political tool, and capitalism and exploitation
Exploitation
This article discusses the term exploitation in the meaning of using something in an unjust or cruel manner.- As unjust benefit :In political economy, economics, and sociology, exploitation involves a persistent social relationship in which certain persons are being mistreated or unfairly used for...
. Both in their view were in contradiction with the eight commandment ("Thou shalt not steal").
Practically this meant that the party was opposed to government control of society, like compulsory voting
Compulsory voting
Compulsory voting is a system in which electors are obliged to vote in elections or attend a polling place on voting day. If an eligible voter does not attend a polling place, he or she may be subject to punitive measures such as fines, community service, or perhaps imprisonment if fines are unpaid...
, compulsory vaccination
Vaccination
Vaccination is the administration of antigenic material to stimulate the immune system of an individual to develop adaptive immunity to a disease. Vaccines can prevent or ameliorate the effects of infection by many pathogens...
, and social security
Social security
Social security is primarily a social insurance program providing social protection or protection against socially recognized conditions, including poverty, old age, disability, unemployment and others. Social security may refer to:...
.
Representation
This table show the HGS's results of the HGS in elections to the House of Representatives and Senate, as well as the party's political leadership: the fractievoorzitter, is the chair of the parliamentary party and the lijsttrekker is the party's top candidate in the general election, these posts are normally taken by the party's leader.| Year | HoR | S | Lijsttrekker Lijsttrekker Lijsttrekker is a Dutch term for the top candidate of a party on a party list. He or she is almost always the party's political leader. After an election, this person usually leads the party's faction in the States-General, or serves in a senior position in the Cabinet if his party is part of... |
Fractievoorzitter |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1925 Dutch general election, 1925 A general election of the House of Representatives of the Dutch Parliament was held in the Netherlands on July 1, 1925.-National summary:-Parties:* Anti Revolutionary Party * Agrarians' League... |
1 | 0 | Casper Lingbeek | Casper Lingbeek |
| 1926 | 1 | 0 | no elections | Casper Lingbeek |
| 1927 | 1 | 0 | no elections | Casper Lingbeek |
| 1928 | 1 | 0 | no elections | Casper Lingbeek |
| 1929 Dutch general election, 1929 A general election of the House of Representatives of the Dutch Parliament was held in the Netherlands on July 3, 1929.-National summary:-Parties:* Anti Revolutionary Party * Agrarians' League... |
1 | 0 | Casper Lingbeek | Casper Lingbeek |
| 1930 | 1 | 0 | no elections | Casper Lingbeek |
| 1930 | 1 | 0 | no elections | Casper Lingbeek |
| 1931 | 1 | 0 | no elections | Casper Lingbeek |
| 1932 | 1 | 0 | no elections | Bate Peereboom |
| 1933 Dutch general election, 1933 A general election of the House of Representatives of the Dutch Parliament was held in the Netherlands on April 26, 1933.-National summary:-Parties:* Anti Revolutionary Party... |
1 | 0 | no elections | Casper Lingbeek |
| 1934 | 1 | 0 | no elections | Casper Lingbeek |
| 1935 | 1 | 0 | no elections | Casper Lingbeek |
| 1936 | 1 | 0 | no elections | Casper Lingbeek |
Municipal and Provincial Government
The party also held one to two seats provincial legislature of South HollandSouth Holland
South Holland is a province situated on the North Sea in the western part of the Netherlands. The provincial capital is The Hague and its largest city is Rotterdam.South Holland is one of the most densely populated and industrialised areas in the world...
and local legislatures in cities like the Hague
The Hague
The Hague is the capital city of the province of South Holland in the Netherlands. With a population of 500,000 inhabitants , it is the third largest city of the Netherlands, after Amsterdam and Rotterdam...
, Arnhem
Arnhem
Arnhem is a city and municipality, situated in the eastern part of the Netherlands. It is the capital of the province of Gelderland and located near the river Nederrijn as well as near the St. Jansbeek, which was the source of the city's development. Arnhem has 146,095 residents as one of the...
and Vianen.
Electorate
Support for the HGS was religiously based. Many of the party's supporters came from was supported by the Confessionele Union, the orthodox wing of the Dutch Reformed Church.Linked organisations
The party's youth movement was called the Jonge Geuzen (Young BeggarsGeuzen
Geuzen was a name assumed by the confederacy of Calvinist Dutch nobles and other malcontents, who from 1566 opposed Spanish rule in the Netherlands. The most successful group of them operated at sea, and so were called Watergeuzen...
). It two-weakly periodical was the State and Church.
Relations to other parties
The HGS was methodically isolated, and isolated itself. Because of its anti-Catholicism it was opposed to the catholic RKSP. It was also opposed to the liberalism of the LSP and the socialism of the SDAP. The CHU and to a lesser extent the ARP were reminded by the party of their original ideals, they rejected the ideological orthodoxy of the HGS however.International Comparison
Internationally the party is comparable to the some of the extreme organizations of the AmericanPolitics of the United States
The United States is a federal constitutional republic, in which the President of the United States , Congress, and judiciary share powers reserved to the national government, and the federal government shares sovereignty with the state governments.The executive branch is headed by the President...
Christian Right
Christian right
Christian right is a term used predominantly in the United States to describe "right-wing" Christian political groups that are characterized by their strong support of socially conservative policies...
.