For the passive and lateral segments, bringing the next generation (of children or grandchildren) into contact with the Bible was the most important drive, accounting for 30.5% in the lateral segment and 11.1% in the liberal passive segment. Through the Bible, ones faith is strengthened. In 2016 and 2017, the Dutch Bible Society (Nederlands Bijbelgenootschap [NBG]),[3] in cooperation with market research agency Blauw Research,[4] and the academic research center, Centre of Contextual Biblical Interpretation (CCBI),[5] conducted[6] a large-scale mixed-method (qualitative and quantitative) research project into practices of ordinary Bible reading in the Netherlands, in which ordinary readers are readers who do not have formal training in Biblical exegesis and hermeneutics. Having outlined both the scholarly significance of the research project that this study focuses on at large and having positioned it within extant research, it is now possible to turn to the project proper, its methods and results, and thereby also outline how it moves beyond extant research. PKN (2), Baptist Church (1), VEG (1), GKV (1). (2010). Passio Compassio. Younger participants appeared to be more pragmatic and practical concerning their views of the Bible. Through the Eyes of Another: Intercultural Reading of the Bible. Amsterdam: Athenaeum.Search in Google Scholar, Luteyn, M.-J., M. Klomp, and P.-B. Secondly, a schools formal identity as reflected in official school documents, for example stricter recruitment policies, seems to be an important factor in facilitating a more or less explicit role for the Bible in daily school life. One lead and facilitated the conversation, whereas the other took notes and had no other active role. (2014). When they did read the Bible, they favored the New Testament over the Old Testament as the New Testament was experienced as more accessible and relevant, whereas the Old Testament was considered more difficult and distant. How familiar were they with the NBG, and what were their attitudes and expectations vis--vis the organization? De Bijbel in de eigentijdse Nederlandse literatuur., Houtman, D. 2008. Heerenveen: Groen.Search in Google Scholar, Stoffels, H. 2004. Hilversum: Verloren.Search in Google Scholar, van Keulen, D. 2003. The same was true for radical passive segment, with 65% of the passive readers being female versus 35% male. In the radical active segment, 61.9% of the drives that were mentioned as most important centered around putting God first: it brings me into contact with God, helps me to trust in God, helps me understand God, and helps me to worship God. Liberal active was more diverse: the statements it brings me into contact with God, teaches me important life lessons, helps me to trust in God, and I want my children to learn something about the Bible each account for 10% of the motives that were mentioned. (2015). When the main findings of both the qualitative and quantitative part of the research study are taken together, overall analysis reveals a number of characteristics and developments regarding practices of ordinary Bible reading in the Netherlands. They did not read the Bible regularly. [24] To begin with, Bible ownership has decreased across the board, throughout all age categories. 2020. *Key: Protestant Church of the Netherlands (PKN); Dutch Reformed Churches (NGK); Reformed Churches in the Netherlands (Liberated; GKV); Christian Reformed Churches (CGK); Old-Catholic Church (OKK); Free Evangelical Churches (VEG); Roman Catholic Church (RKK). What significance do people attach to the Bible? Bible reading was seen as a necessary and fundamental aspect of ones faith, and as nourishing and strengthening the personal relationship with God. A society benefits from insight into the significance of its own sources for its members. In the same vein, the Bible would lend itself to many different interpretations although this was not necessarily perceived as negative, but rather as added value. Regarding their living situation, 495 participants lived in one-or two-person households (respectively 21 and 45%), 203 participants (27%) were parents with children living at home, and 48 participants (6%) were young adults living with their parents (while 1% indicated other for living situation). 2020. Amsterdam: Amsterdam University Press.Search in Google Scholar, van den Berg, A. J. Fifth, and more practically, for biblical (and theological) scholarship that seeks to connect with societal developments, either to study them or to address them (or both), it is a considerable advantage to know how, where, and by whom the Bible is being used. This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. Although, notably, the latter conclusion is not supported by all studies covered by the KASKI report. Smit. Bible stories that appeal to people are particularly captivating narratives and texts concerning human experience. The Minto Pyramid Principle: Logical in Writing, Thinking and Problem Solving. Gerling, G. M. A. 2018. Utrecht: Kok.Search in Google Scholar. 1994. In addition, the Bible has a clear image problem: only 18% of the participants in the survey considered the Bible to be an up-to-date or current book; negative views of the Bible are a contributory factor that prevent people from reading it. The participants were distributed more or less evenly over three of the four regions of the Netherlands identified by Nielsen (from the West, East, and South, the proportion belonging to each group ranging from 25 to 30%); 12% of all participants lived in the Northern region, and 9% in the three largest cities (Amsterdam, Rotterdam, The Hague) and their suburbs. [19] Also, recent research has shown that not only is the number of people who affiliate themselves with a religious tradition declining, but also those who do believe less firmly in the doctrines that their parents or grandparents accepted unquestioningly. That's why audio Bibles are a necessity and why audio Bibles on solar power are a great missionairy tool. We supply individuals, evangelist and bookshops, but also large christian organisations in the Netherlands and beyond. Thus, depended on the particular focus group, PKN may refer to either group of believers. The Bible is part of our cultural sources and also shapes our culture. 2018. de Wit, H., L. Jonker, and M. Kool, eds. Christenen in Nederland. In het licht: Rembrandt, schilder van de Bijbel. In addition to more technical questions about reading frequency and preferred translations, respondents were also asked to reflect on drives and barriers influencing their reading habits, and on the way in which reading the Bible affects them. Not just Dutch Bibles,German Bibles and English Bibles, but fromAmharic New Testaments andChinese study Bibles to Persian Bibles, Spanish children's Bibles and Swedish gospel tracts. Faith journals, or other biblical journals, were scarcely used, because they were often evaluated as too evangelical or Protestant. On the other hand, ecumenical Bible-reading gatherings were regarded as enriching. de Groot, K. 2013. Moreover, the living situation or life stage of the participants also informed their practices and attitudes towards the Bible. Heerenveen: Jongbloed.Search in Google Scholar, van der Meiden, W. 2009. The BasisBijbel is the most easy to read Dutch Bible, We arethe Dutchdistributor of MegaVoice audio Bibles. However, perceived importance does not automatically translate into actual significance: a deeper look reveals that churches and society at large seem to be somewhat at a loss as to how to actually use the Bible, either as a source of culture in general or as a source of religious and spiritual inspiration. Participants qualified as active when they read the Bible at least once a month, and as passive if they read less than monthly, sporadically, or not at all. In terms of their attitude towards the Bible, participants who chose the Bible is literally Gods Word as one of their three possible answers from a list of statements about the Bible were labelled radical. Participants who picked descriptions more in terms of inspirational literature, which allows the reader to form his or her own opinions were labelled liberal. The two axes of this segmentation resulted in four plus one segments: radical active (19%); radical passive (7%); liberal active (23%); liberal passive (34%), and lateral (17%), with the last group selecting descriptions of the Bible that related to its cultural rather than inspirational significance. This is of significance in terms of gaining insight into the functioning of a religion in a society, as well as for scholarship interested in the Bible. However, the kind of tools that were requested varied: from more historical background information, to information concerning the cultural value of the Bible, to aids for connecting the Bible to everyday life. Wie is religieus, en wie niet? The survey was completed by 756 individuals, 388 participants identified as male (51%) and 368 as female (49%). (1971). Popular (mass) culture grassroots interpretations are seldom studied,[14] which results in a gap in scholarly knowledge and a skewed impression concerning the actual significance of the Bible in Dutch society. The Hague: CBS.Search in Google Scholar, Schmeets, H. 2018. The use and the significance attributed to the Bible in the Netherlands and the manner of its reception, is, of course, tightly bound up with the development of the Dutch religious landscape in general. Journal of the Bible and its Reception, Vol. De Bijbel op School. "The Most Significant Book of the Netherlands And Its Ordinary Readers". Eugene: Wipf and Stock.Search in Google Scholar, van Dam, P. 2008. Een analyse van de rol van Judas en Pilatus in de evangelin en in The Passion 2019.. Sind die Sulen noch tragfhig? Accordingly, five segments emerged from the quantitative survey: radical active (19% of the participants); radical passive (7% of the participants); liberal active (23% of the participants); liberal passive (34% of the participants), and lateral (denoting views of the Bible that related to its cultural rather than inspirational significance; 17% of the participants). As to gender, active and radical readers were more often women (63%) than men (37%). From a society that is often described as intensively religious, especially in the period 18501950, Dutch society developed, at an increasingly rapid speed since the 1950s, to a situation in which more than half of the population is religiously unaffiliated. One main source of insight into the development of this landscape is the periodically repeated survey, God in Nederland [God in the Netherlands], which has been conducted since 1966,[15] and repeated approximately every 10 years (1966, 1979, 1996, 2006 and 2015). Goedegebuure, J. Furthermore, comparatively, women read the Bible more frequently than men do, and individuals with higher education read it more frequently than those with lower education. Although the Netherlands has become one of the most secular countries in the world, the Bible still plays an important role for many people as a source of cultural and spiritual inspiration. Based on their research, Nagel-Herweijer and Visser-Vogel suggest a number of factors that are associated with such extensive diversity in Bible usage. In a more orthodox context, individuals consider the Bible the Word of God, containing truths. In addition, contrary to popular perception, the most frequent and fervent Bible-readers are to be found among evangelical rather than orthodox Protestant Christians (i.e. Orthodox individuals seek clarification or explanation when confronted with difficult texts or ambiguity, whereas liberals seem to appreciate the ambiguity and enjoy encountering different voices or viewpoints in the Bible. Different translations of the Bible were used, for example the Roman Catholic Willibrord Bible translation (of 1995; earlier edition: 1978). The collected data were checked for completeness and consistency and made suitable for statistical analysis. Many reported the desire to participate in some form of reading group or shared their positive experiences with such a group. Most significant in light of the researchs leading questions, was that Bible usage among Dutch Bible readers no longer appears to follow the traditional lines of denominational segmentation but is rather to be categorized according to active or passive reading habits (reading the Bible once a month versus less than monthly) and radical or liberal attitudes towards the Bible (viewing the Bible as literally Gods Word versus inspirational literature). However, the Bible is not always experienced as easy to understand: there are, for example, a lot of violent passages and a thorough study of passages is needed to be able to understand and contextualize such violence. Een analyse van de rol van Judas en Pilatus in de evangelin en in The Passion 2019. Kerk en Theologie 71: 14152.Search in Google Scholar, Minto, B. Utrecht: Ten Have.Search in Google Scholar, de Groot, K. 2013. Families with children still living at home were more represented in the active segments versus the passive segments (39 vs. 17%). Elkhart: Institute of Mennonite Studies.Search in Google Scholar, Drop, W., and J.W. Steenbeek, eds. Schools that stand within a specific Christian tradition make different choices compared to less pronounced and more religiously diverse schools. 52% of the participants had attained a medium level of education, 23% had attained higher education, and 25% had a lower level of education. When an evangelical person is not able to read the Bible on a regular basis, he or she can feel guilty before God. In the introductory questions, in addition to basic demographic data, participants were asked to provide information about the ways in which they give shape to, and experience, their faith, and the needs they experience with regard to their faith. As indicated, the research project that this article reports aimed to acquire more knowledge of contemporary practices of ordinary Bible reading in the Netherlands. Foppen, A., Schol-Wetter, A., Smit, P. & van Urk-Coster, E. (2021). Third, for forms of theological scholarship that wish to take into account the voice of the church at large, that is, the entire community of the faithful, for instance along the lines of the concept of the sensus fidelium in Catholic theology, insight into what such faithful do with one of the sources of their faith, and developing ways of listening to such faithful, are needed the research presented here is one form of doing just this. Amsterdam: Atlas Contact.Search in Google Scholar, Zink, J. Groningen: Wolters-Noordhoff.Search in Google Scholar, Gerling, G. M. A. The more traditional schools, in this research called type 1 schools, often seek new ways to articulate the relevance of the Bible to their students, whereas schools with students and teachers from more diverse religious backgrounds choose to embody their Christian identity in new ways, in which the Bible plays a subordinate role. How often did they read their Bible, and on what occasions? The international operating Pocket Testament League (PTL) opened an office in The Netherlands in 1914. For several of the participants, it had also been a religious experience. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the more frequently a person attends church, the higher the probability that she or he will read the Bible. Less is More: Revisiting Classical Christian Texts in a De- Churched Society The Case of Philippians. In, van Dam, P. 2008. More orthodox participants also expressed a need for clarity in the sense of uniform messages, whereas more liberal participants appreciated multivalence and ambiguity. 2018. Descriptive data of the participants of the six panels. Klomp, M. 2018. Catholic participants, furthermore, indicated that the Bible helps them to reflect on their personal lives as it is a source of inspiration to them. De Bijbel in Nederland: De plaats van de Bijbel in kerk en samenleving. Moreover, the study shows that emotions that trigger individuals to read the Bible are more frequently negative (arising from sadness, anxiety, or struggling with problems) than positive, and specific occasions are more often a trigger for reading (or listening to) the Bible than personal emotions are. A teacher for whom the Bible is an important book of faith will make different choices compared to a colleague who sees the Bible only as a book of wisdom. What motives and occasions prompt people to read the Bible? Nominal participants reported sporadic, incidental use of the Bible. Bachs Passions Transformed into a Passion Transcending Christianity. In, Luteyn, M.-J., M. Klomp, and P.-B. Rembrandts Biblische Frauenportrts: Eine Begegnung Von Theologie Und Malerei. Daily Bible-reading after the evening meal continues to be a sine qua non for many families in these contexts. As is to be expected, practices of Bible reading are impacted by the decline in church membership and the increasingly secularized, or rather, dechurched, Dutch culture. Among Protestants, the majority read the Bible, while in all other groups (from Roman Catholics to people who do not subscribe to any particular religious view, or secular worldview), a minority of people read the Bible. In the opinion of the four evangelical participants, the Bible is explicitly considered to be the Word of God. The Bible contains Gods message to humans and through the Bible one can learn more about who God is. The most striking outcome was that denominational affiliation did not appear to be a distinguishing factor in Bible usage. Each focus group consisted of four to five participants, of various ages and sexes, belonging to either liberal,[30] mainline Protestant, orthodox Protestant, evangelical, or Catholic church communities. According to participants answers on a multiple response item, 61 individuals (42%) in the radical active segment, and 70 individuals (44%) in the liberal active segment follow a reading plan. They were asked to write down, by means of free association, some catchwords that they associated with the word Bible. In what follows, the main findings will be presented (more detailed and elaborate results such as percentages are presented in Section 2 Methodology and Results, as well as a description of the research sample). Furthermore, age also appeared to play a significant role. Amsterdam: Trouw.Search in Google Scholar, van Urk, E., and P.-B. Through reading the Bible, one obtains knowledge of God and Gods plans for the world. God in Nederland, 19662015. The Bible was, therefore, closely linked to their personal lives: they seek comfort, encouragement, confirmation, and so forth in the Bible depending on the specific situation at hand. No problem! Many participants had positive experiences of reading the Bible in a group setting, as reading the Bible together generated a shared sense of its importance and/or spiritual value. The gross dataset was weighed in terms of these reference numbers (education, age, gender) by means of post-stratification. Around a quarter of the Dutch population read the Bible in 2003, slightly fewer than in 1996. De Bijbel voor ongelovigen 16. The Netherlands may well be one of the most secularized countries of our global community. Furthermore, they frequently used biblical resources on the internet to find texts on certain topics more easily, and to search inspiration for personal notes on postcards. The two main goals consisted of, firstly, generating current insight into societal and denominational profiles of Bible readers and the characteristics of their Bible-reading practices and, secondly, determining whether a categorization of this segment of Bible readers on the basis of church denominational lines is still representative in a Dutch society that has become more fluid and in which people tend to church hop.[37] In this section, the main findings of the qualitative and quantitative part of the research will be succinctly summarized, as well as those of the entire research study;[38] the leading questions that guided the overall project will be answered in the conclusion. Leiden: Brill.Search in Google Scholar, de Hart, J., and P. van Houwelingen. (2004). The first two categories, as already mentioned, are of more direct relevance within the scope of his article, these results alone will be presented here, as they stem from broader analysis. Vertaald verleden: beknopte geschiedenis van Bijbelvertalen in Nederland. Moreover, younger participants approached the Bible in concrete and pragmatic ways, valuing simplicity and direct applicability, whereas older participants dealt with the Bible in more abstract and theoretical ways, appreciating nuance and in-depth study. The third and last practice was the use of brief thematic editions (excerpts) of the Bible, for example focused on emotions, versus the use of complete biblical editions with explanatory notes and included commentaries. Staat van verzuiling: over een Nederlandse mythe. First, there was a short introduction in which more information was provided on the research goals, methods, and issues of confidentiality, and the participants were invited to introduce themselves to each other. In addition, other creative forms were used to contemplate or process the biblical texts, such as painting or drawing. Also, compared to 1996, people who do possess a Bible read it less frequently in 2003, although younger age groups have begun to read the Bible a little more frequently, while the reverse is the case for older age groups. [17] In sum, during the course of the 20th century, the religious affiliation of the population of the Netherlands underwent a drastic change. Such insight into the current state of affairs is highly desirable to enable the NBG to continue to fulfill its mission to bring the Bible close to people and society, using a variety of formats and media. Since then we have always attempted to motivate fellow christians to Read Gods Word, to Carry it with them wherever they go, so they can Share His message of Salvation with the people they meet. Foppen, Annemarie, Schol-Wetter, Anne-Mareike, Smit, Peter-Ben and van Urk-Coster, Eva. Foppen, A., Schol-Wetter, A., Smit, P. and van Urk-Coster, E. (2021) The Most Significant Book of the Netherlands And Its Ordinary Readers. (2004). The second, evaluative goal was to investigate whether it is still useful in a de-pillarized[8] and church-hopping society to divide the Bible-reading (predominantly Christian) segment of Dutch society along church denomination lines, or whether another means of categorization has become more appropriate. Liberal participants preferred historical-critical interpretative approaches towards reading the Bible, approaches that have eye for contextuality. God in Nederland 19962006 Enkele godsdienstsociologische routines ter discussie. Religie & Samenleving 3: 1735.Search in Google Scholar, Jaakke, A., and T. Evert Willem, eds. Also it is the cheapest Dutch Bible you can buy in any bookshop. The former survey, Bijbelbezit en Bijbelgebruik [Bible ownership and Bible use], presents a number of insights that are relevant for the current study, alongside general findings concerning a decrease in (institutional and Christian) religiosity in the Netherlands. (2015). Zrich: Theologischer Verlag.Search in Google Scholar, Snel, J.D. 2007. De Bijbel cultureel. BASISBIJBEL - NT - For you - The Bible in Ukrainian childrens Bible Jos Perez Montero. There is a shift in the reasons given for reading the Bible, towards reading it for cultural reasons or as a reference work; while reading the Bible for reasons such as sustaining the faith has decreased in significance over time. They frequently made use of daily Bible-reading plans (with or without added commentaries) and various kinds of devotional writings on the Bible. Versulung in der niederlndischen Historiographie.. Versulung in der niederlndischen Historiographie. Schweizerische Zeitschrift fr Religions- und Kulturgeschichte 102: 41533.Search in Google Scholar, van Dam, P. 2011. Nevertheless, one out of three Dutch people in the survey indicated that they would potentially be interested in film versions of Bible stories. In particular, in more orthodox Protestant communities, typically found in the Dutch Bible belt,[25] a strong tradition persists of reading the Bible regularly, even daily, in private settings, outside of formal worship. Mainline Protestant participants listed various Bible-reading practices. Second, such research gives insight into what the Bible is in terms of its use and functioning; insight into the use of the Bible by ordinary readers sheds light on what this book is in terms of its use, which thus surpasses descriptions of its contents, its historical emergence, or its discussion in theology what books are is also determined by how they are used and, in order to appreciate that, insight into their use by their broadest readership is important. Foppen A, Schol-Wetter A, Smit P, van Urk-Coster E. The Most Significant Book of the Netherlands And Its Ordinary Readers. 2006. Haarlem: Nederlands Bijbelgenootschap.Search in Google Scholar, Bernts, T., and J. Berghuijs. (2014). Bible reading for orthodox Protestants often goes hand in hand with prayer. The quantitative part of the research consisted of a 10-min online questionnaire on Bible usage and attitudes towards the Bible, with the aims of: Quantifying drives and barriers in Bible reading; Testing the hypotheses concerning denominational segmentation; Exploring the popular reception of new Bible products; Mapping trends in relation to former studies on Bible possession and Bible use. The ZakBijbelBond is the Dutch office of the Pocket Testament League. Regarding views of the Bible, significant distinctions were found between participants differing in the degree of orthodoxy and age. The data collected during the six focus groups was analyzed during a joint meeting with Blauw Research. De Refoband of Refogordel als onderdeel van de Protestantenband. In, Stoffels, H. 2004. In spoken form we have nowadays over 6.000 languages available in our Bible webshop.Click here for solar poweredaudio Bibles, We have a wide offer of Wedding Bibles in stock. The qualitative part of the study had an exploratory character. De Bijbel in de eigentijdse Nederlandse literatuur. Ons Erfdeel 37: 699707.Search in Google Scholar, Houtman, D. 2008. Aspects that they considered to be a burden were the norms, values, and dogmas that people take from the Bible. Religion in Liquid Modernity: Collective Manifestations of Religion in Seculaizing Dutch Society. In Religion beyond its Private Role in Modern Society, edited by W. Hofstee, and A. van der Kooij, 171282. Moreover, at the end of the focus groups, when people were leaving, participants conveyed a lot of positive reactions about our get-together. Despite extant empirical research, there remains a pressing gap of knowledge concerning the actual use of the Bible by ordinary readers. This makes it more difficult for organizations such as the Dutch Bible Society to engage the public with the distribution of Bible translations and inspirational products. If one, for example, does not possess sufficient background knowledge then one could easily get lost. Before turning to extant empirical research, it should be acknowledged that other quantitative studies on the role of the Bible in the Netherlands exist. BASISBIJBEL - The Bible in easy Dutch - NT 'For you', Ukrainian Children's Bible by Gilbert Beers, Ukrainian childrens Bible illustrated by Jos Perez Montero, Dutch gospel booklet 'Happy are those', BASISBIJBEL - The Bible in easy Dutch - Paperback, Engelse Bijbel in de New International Version - Ruby Journalling Bible, BASISBIJBEL - The Bible in easy Dutch - Marriage Bible. London: Minto International.Search in Google Scholar, Nagel-Herweijer, C., and E. Visser-Vogel. In that respect, they distil various layers within the biblical texts. When you call us, our purchaser can tell you everything about all the different English Bibles and English Bible translations. In the third round, participants also shared their knowledge and experiences of the Dutch Bible Society (NBG). Bijbelgebruik en bijbelbezit in Nederland. In De bijbel opnieuw vertaald, edited by L. Dros, and E. Drayer, 163200. One of the most significant results is that biographical factors appear more indicative for how the Bible is approached than more conventional denominational factors such as church affiliation. You may unsubscribe at any moment. Rather, they saw it as being written in human language and through human minds. 2015. This both helps to identify sites for research, for instance for those interested in empirical hermeneutics and biblical reception studies, and to find potential allies and audiences for research into the Bible and the reception of this research. In 2017, the association for Catholic and Christian education, Verus, conducted a research into Bible usage in Protestant-Christian education.
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