Bible Belt (Netherlands)

The Bible Belt (De Bijbelgordel in Dutch) is a strip of land in the Netherlands with the highest concentration of conservative Calvinist Protestants in the country. It was named after the Bible Belt of the United States.

The Bible Belt stretches from Zeeland, through the West-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 one of the most traditional communities in the country, and some municipalities of Friesland have characteristics typical of the Bible Belt. Other places in this area are Yerseke, Tholen, Ouddorp, Opheusden, Kesteren, Barneveld, Nunspeet, Elspeet and Staphorst. The three biggest cities regarded to be part of the Bible Belt are Ede, Veenendaal and Kampen. Outside the Bible Belt are also places, in which a lot of Calvinist Protestants live, for example Rijssen.

When Flanders and North Brabant were reconquered by the Spanish army during the Eighty Years' War, their Protestant inhabitants were required to either convert to Catholicism or leave. Many emigrated north of the border, particularly during the Twelve Years' Truce of 1609–21. Many of them 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"), which was 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").

...
Wikipedia