1. Christian Politics According to Abraham Kuyper
Understanding World Religions
Chapter Twenty-Two
Christian Politics According to Abraham Kuyper
© 2011 Irving Hexham
Source: Free University of Amsterdam, Archives, Poster presented to Irving Hexham when he was working on his PhD in Amsterdam by Jan Dengerink and the then librarian at the archives of the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, whose name I have sadly forgotten, in © 2011 Irving Hexham
Abraham Kuyper
( )

2. Christian Politics of Abraham Kuyper
Thirty years ago there were very few “Christian” schools in North America. Today they are common. Yet few people know anything about the political background to the Christian School movement. This section explores that background in through the work of the Dutch politician and Christian leader Abraham Kuyper.
Source: Photo by Jeremy Hexham © 2011 Irving Hexham

3. Christian Politics of Abraham Kuyper
Guillaume Groen van Prinsterer ( ), a Dutch politician, argued that teaching is not “neutral.” Therefore, what is taught in schools ought to reflect the beliefs of the parents whose children who attend them.
In his view Christian parents had the right to expect that their children would receive a Christian education. But this expectation, he observed, was not happening. Instead schools promoted modern ideas that discredited things like Biblical miracles. Therefore, he argued for the right of parents to create their own “Christian schools.”
Source: Free University of Amsterdam, Archives, Poster presented to Irving Hexham when he was working on his PhD in Amsterdam by Jan Dengerink and the then librarian at the archives of the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, whose name I have sadly forgotten, in © 2011 Irving Hexham

4. Groen’s Co-Workers
Source: Free University of Amsterdam, Archives, Poster presented to Irving Hexham when he was working on his PhD in Amsterdam by Jan Dengerink and the then librarian at the archives of the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, whose name I have sadly forgotten, in © 2011 Irving Hexham

5. Groen and the problem of Sovereignty
Tyrant - King
Monarchy
Chaos
Oligarchs
Republic
People
Democracy

6. Christian Politics of Abraham Kuyper
Source: Free University of Amsterdam, Archives, Poster presented to Irving Hexham when he was working on his PhD in Amsterdam by Jan Dengerink and the then librarian at the archives of the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, whose name I have sadly forgotten, in © 2011 Irving Hexham
The ideas of Groen van Prinsterer deeply affected Abraham Kuyper who set about making them a reality. To do this he helped develop a Christian school system which needed approval by the Dutch Government. This led Kuyper to enter politics and build his own political party.

7. Kuyper’s Co-Workers
Source: Free University of Amsterdam, Archives, Poster presented to Irving Hexham when he was working on his PhD in Amsterdam by Jan Dengerink and the then librarian at the archives of the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, whose name I have sadly forgotten, in © 2011 Irving Hexham

8. Kuyper’s Anti-Revolutionary Party
Free University of Amsterdam, Archives, anniversary poster depicting the historical roots of the Dutch Anti-Revolutionary Party. It ws presented to Irving Hexham when he was working on his PhD in Amsterdam by Jan Dengerink and the then librarian at the archives of the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, whose name I have sadly forgotten, in The poster shows the way the ARP viewed its historical roots. © 2011 Irving Hexham

9. Christian Politics of Abraham Kuyper
Source: A copy of a photo of Abraham Kuyper provided by the Free University of Amsterdam, Archives, in ©2011
The best English introduction to Kuyper’s views on politics and society is found in his 1989 Stone Lectures delivered at Princeton University in These were published as his Lectures on Calvinism.

10. Christian Politics of Abraham Kuyper
Church
State
Kuyper argued that the traditional distinction between Church and State was misleading because it failed to recognize that Church and State are fundamentally different. In his view the State is a human creation and as such can be viewed as a mechanism for organizing society. On the other hand the Church is an organic realm within society. Therefore, he proposed a more complex model pluralistic model.
Diagram by Irving Hexham. © 2011 Irving Hexham

11. Christian Politics of Abraham Kuyper
State
Society
Mechanistic
Organic
In Kuyper’s view society is an organism consisting of numerous organisms which he called “spheres.” Each sphere has a right to exist and is directly responsible to God. This doctrine he termed “sphere sovereignty.” But, the State is a man made mechanism that may take many forms. Its duty is to ensure justice in society.
Diagram by Irving Hexham. © 2011 Irving Hexham

12. Christian Politics of Abraham Kuyper
College
Church
Arts
Business
School
Family
Trade
Diagram by Irving Hexham.. © 2011 Irving Hexham
Kuyper believed that each social sphere has its own laws and right to exist. No sphere, he argued, should dominate another sphere of social life. Neither the Church nor State should control schools, the family, or any other sphere of society.

13. Christian Politics of Abraham Kuyper
Kupyer’s abstract theory has important consequences. First, it embraces pluralism. Second, the State has a duty to protect the weak. Third, it recognizes the importance of religious beliefs in society. Christian schools in this theory are important because they help ensure the independence of the education from control by the State and any social sphere. In many ways his ideas are like those of the British statesman Wílliam Eward Gladstone ( )
Photo by Irving Hexham © 2011 Irving Hexham