Orthodoxe religie als vuil in de formele en informele orde in de Nederlandse samenleving

Abstract

As various cases prove, the place of orthodox forms of religion in West-European countries like The Netherlands is not uncontested. This study investigates the place of orthodox, traditional forms of religion in The Netherlands by means of a conceptual framework of ‘order’ and ‘dirt’. Order and dirt are in this framework relative notions: dirt is the by-product of a systematic ordering of an environment. Consequently, dirt is ‘matter out of place’ and not to be seen as wrong in itself. Depending on the ideal that underlies an order, orthodox forms of religion can be constructed as ‘in order’ or as ‘matter out of place’ in formal and informal structures in the Dutch society. The exclusion of orthodox religion from Dutch society can be studied with this framework of ‘order’ and ‘dirt’. Those relative notions render it possible to investigate this relation between orthodox religion and the Dutch society without taking a normative stance in advance. Nonetheless, the exclusion of orthodox religious views and practices in formal and informal structures in society lead to democratic challenges.