| This study concerns an analysis of theories of clerical identity and forms of intellectual (theological) communication in the Northern Netherlands between 1580 and 1840. In the proposed research project three related problems will be addressed. (1) Which ideas and theories were put forward to defend the clerical order, enhance its significance, reform its activities or criticize its predominance in the Netherlands between 1580 and 1840? (2) Which forms of communication were employed in theological activity in this period and how do these relate to the nature of, and changes in, clerical identity? (3) How did the clergy justify in moral/ethical terms their objectives, means and methods? Particular attention will be given to the changing socio-political and cultural contexts within the period to be examined. |
