{"id":1387,"date":"2016-12-09T10:38:46","date_gmt":"2016-12-09T09:38:46","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/?p=63152\/"},"modified":"2025-12-19T11:22:06","modified_gmt":"2025-12-19T10:22:06","slug":"remonstrants-stood-at-the-universitys-cradle","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/2016\/12\/09\/remonstrants-stood-at-the-universitys-cradle\/","title":{"rendered":"Remonstrants stood at the university\u2019s cradle"},"content":{"rendered":"

After all, its precursor, the Netherlands School of Commerce, was established in 1913 by a group of Rotterdam businessmen who wanted to satisfy the demand for staff with solid commercial qualifications. They didn\u2019t hope to \u2018edify the common man\u2019 \u2013 the mission of Amsterdam\u2019s VU University. Or to promote the emancipation of the Catholic population of the Netherlands \u2013 as was the case in Nijmegen and Tilburg. A hundred years ago, they had the same ambition in Rotterdam as they do today: to be the self-proclaimed \u2018warranted purveyor to the country\u2019s boardrooms\u2019. No Supreme Being involved.<\/p>\n\n\t

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\n\t\tThe \u2018fur coat church\u2019\n\t<\/blockquote>\n\n\t<\/figure>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n

But a closer examination reveals a different story. Because the founding fathers of our institution did come from a demonstrably religious background. J.A. Ruys (who sold typewriters) was the son of a Dutch Reformed minister, while Messrs C.A.P. van Stolk (grain merchant) and W.C. Mees (ship mortgages) were both members of the Remonstrant church. They attended the Arminiuskerk, near Eendrachtsplein in the city centre. Every Sunday the cream of Rotterdam\u2019s business community gathered here. Indeed, people referred to the Arminiuskerk as the \u2018fur coat church\u2019, Tjaard Barnard \u2013 one of the congregation\u2019s three ministers and church historian \u2013 doesn\u2019t hesitate to say.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s even an expression that gives a good idea of the Remonstrants\u2019 status at the turn of the last century. If it was busy somewhere, people would say it was \u2018as crowded as a ship owner\u2019s wedding at the Remonstrant church\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n

Existential questions<\/h3>
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Can we establish any other connections between the Remonstrants and the University? Certainly. If only our institution\u2019s name giver since 1973: Desiderius Erasmus (1466-1536). Erasmus was the founder of religious humanism, which is also one of the basic tenets of the Remonstrant church: faith starts with humanity. Erasmus was the first person in his times to state that human beings had free will and that faith was not about rules, but about the ideal. He looked back to the origins of Christianity and argued for maintaining a critical perspective. \u201cThe Remonstrant Brotherhood is very open to scholarly pursuits,\u201d explains Barnard. \u201cThere\u2019s a reason why every minister in Rotterdam has a doctorate.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201dThe most recent census in the 1970s also revealed that the Remonstrant Brotherhood has the highest share of academic graduates.\u00a0Giving careful thought to things is encouraged in our church.\u201d<\/p>\n

Nevertheless, the Remonstrant minister doesn\u2019t think that faith played a role in the decision of Messrs Van Stolk, Mees and Ruys to establish the Netherlands School of Commerce. \u201cThe rest of the week they focused on earning money; Sunday was for spiritual development. Although this isn\u2019t to say that the Remonstrant elite didn\u2019t feel a social responsibility. In the 1920s and 1930s, the traders actually tried to outbid each other in their donations to the Remonstrant diaconate.\u201d<\/p>\n

Horizontal faith<\/h3>\n\t
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\n\t\t\u2018Still, a Remonstrant thread continues to\r\nrun through EUR from its establishment to the present\r\nday.\u2019\n\t<\/blockquote>\n\n\t<\/figure>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n

More than one Remonstrant liberal in Rotterdam made it all the way to Mayor of the port city. However, according to Barnard, after founding the University, the Remonstrants didn\u2019t play a prominent role in its senior management. Further enquiry within the University does not yield any new insights. Still, a Remonstrant thread continues to run through EUR from its establishment to the present day: Huib Pols, its current Rector Magnificus, is also a member of the Remonstrant community. However, he emphasises that he has no desire to call attention to his personal beliefs. \u201cI do not have extremely deep convictions. For some people, faith is a vertical line that leads up to the heavens. My faith is more horizontal. There are many things that I am far from certain about. There is a God \u2013 but as far as appearance is concerned\u2026 occasionally, I have an image in my mind, but it\u2019s very unstable. It is precisely within my church community that I can find peace.\u201d<\/p>\n

The reasons for Pols and his wife to join the Remonstrants were very pragmatic. Raised in a liberal Reformed church, Pols moved to Rotterdam from Dordrecht for his work. By sheer coincidence, the Arminiuskerk was around the corner from the Pols\u2019s new home. The couple liked what they saw there. They started as friends of the church, and later became members. \u201cWhat appeals to me about the Remonstrants is the absolute freedom to believe and to experience your faith. To be who you are. I feel very happy with this approach \u2013 because if there\u2019s one thing I can\u2019t stand, it\u2019s being hemmed in. At the same time, I need a community like this, because otherwise faith becomes too noncommittal. Just like at the University, it\u2019s about the fact that you can share things and are able to achieve far more together.\u201d<\/p>\n

Everything\u2019s allowed<\/h3>

Although he wasn\u2019t aware of the background of founding fathers Van Stolk and Mees, Pols does see a logical connection between being a Remonstrant and founding a university. \u201cThe Remonstrants are one of the groups that helped build modern-day Rotterdam. In addition, one can find quite a few members of the elite in our congregation, so it doesn\u2019t surprise me.\u201d At the same time, Pols doesn\u2019t believe the gentlemen\u2019s motives for setting up the first school of commerce in the Netherlands were religious. Rather, they simply required more people with commercial expertise.<\/p>\n\n\t

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\n\t\t\u2018Secularity isn\u2019t necessarily the same as being against organised religion or faith.\u2019\n\t<\/blockquote>\n\n\t<\/figure>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n

Pols personally sets great store by a secular university \u2013 one \u2018that offers scope for every thought\u2019. \u201cI feel more comfortable working here than at a university based on Reformed Protestant principles like VU University. That would amount to a restriction.\u201d According to the Rector, secularity isn\u2019t necessarily the same as being against organised religion or faith. \u201cEverything\u2019s allowed here \u2013 and indeed can be found here. That\u2019s why I don\u2019t oppose a \u2018quiet room\u2019 at the University. It\u2019s a place that anyone can visit for a moment of peace, or for reflection. Who am I to determine what\u2019s right or wrong? Indeed, that\u2019s a typical Remonstrant trait, this tolerant approach. Although there are limits. If you plan to hold a service in the quiet room twice a week, I prefer you do it at your own place.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\t

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De redactie<\/h2>\n\t\t\n\t\t
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