Roelof (Roel) Kuiper (born 5 April 1962 in
Mariënberg) is a Dutch historian, philosopher, ideologue, politician and university professor. He was from 2007 to 2019 a member of the Dutch
Senate
A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...
, and is professor of
Reformational philosophy
Reformational philosophy of society is a neo-Calvinistic movement pioneered by Herman Dooyeweerd and D. H. Th. Vollenhoven that seeks to develop philosophical thought in a Reformed Christian direction. It is related to the idea of a politi ...
at the
Erasmus Universiteit Rotterdam
Erasmus University Rotterdam (abbreviated as ''EUR'', nl, Erasmus Universiteit Rotterdam ) is a public research university located in Rotterdam, Netherlands. The university is named after Desiderius Erasmus Roterodamus, a 15th-century humanist ...
in the name of the Association for Reformational philosophy, teaching Society Issues at the Christelijke Hogeschool Ede and Gereformeerde Hogeschool Zwolle and Political and social philosophy at the
Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam
The Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam (abbreviated as ''VU Amsterdam'' or simply ''VU'' when in context) is a public research university in Amsterdam, Netherlands, being founded in 1880. The VU Amsterdam is one of two large, publicly funded research ...
(VU).
Kuiper received his doctorate in
History
History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the History of writing#Inventions of writing, invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbr ...
in 1986 at the VU. In 1992 he got his promotion at the same university on the subject: ''Zelfbeeld en wereldbeeld: antirevolutionairen en het buitenland 1848–1905''. He received his doctorate in
Philosophy
Philosophy (from , ) is the systematized study of general and fundamental questions, such as those about existence, reason, knowledge, values, mind, and language. Such questions are often posed as problems to be studied or resolved. Some ...
at the VU in 1998.
Positions
After his doctorate in History Kuiper had, besides what is written above, different other positions, like teacher at the MO-teacherseducation History, at the Evangelische Hogeschool in Amersfoort, from 1991 until 1995 he was director of the
Association for Reformational Philosophy
Association may refer to:
*Club (organization), an association of two or more people united by a common interest or goal
*Trade association, an organization founded and funded by businesses that operate in a specific industry
*Voluntary associatio ...
in Utrecht and in 1995 he succeeded
André Rouvoet as director of the
Marnix van Sint Aldegonde Stichting, the Scientific Institute of the Reformational Political Federation until 2002. From 2000 until 2002 he was director of the Scientific Institute of the
Christian Union, the
Groen van Prinsterer Stichting.
Currently Kuiper is member of the 'Nationale Conventie', a think tank for a revision of the national political system. This system consists presently of an executive government, a
bicameral
Bicameralism is a type of legislature, one divided into two separate assemblies, chambers, or houses, known as a bicameral legislature. Bicameralism is distinguished from unicameralism, in which all members deliberate and vote as a single grou ...
parliament, the judiciary and the political parties. The central question is if changes in that system can contribute to recovery of faith between citizens and government.
The historical, political and philosophical publications by Kuiper are often
apologetic
Apologetics (from Greek , "speaking in defense") is the religious discipline of defending religious doctrines through systematic argumentation and discourse. Early Christian writers (c. 120–220) who defended their beliefs against critics and ...
by nature, defending the Christian faith in the Netherlands against ongoing secularization. Many of his ideas are inspired by
Guillaume Groen van Prinsterer
Guillaume Groen van Prinsterer (21 August 1801 – 19 May 1876), was a Dutch politician and historian; he was born in Voorburg, near The Hague.
Overview
Groen is a Dutch historical icon. He was an educated and devout man of the Dutch middle cla ...
, the intellectual father of the Antirevolutionary Party; Kuiper wrote a biography of Groen in 2001.
Politics
Kuiper was a
Christian Union member of the
Senate
A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...
from 12 June 2007 until 11 June 2019. He was also a
Senate group leader
A parliamentary leader is a political title or a descriptive term used in various countries to designate the person leading a parliamentary group or caucus in a legislature, legislative body, whether it be a national or sub-national legislature. T ...
from 7 June 2011 until 11 June 2019, succeeding
Egbert Schuurman
Egbert Schuurman (born 23 July 1937) is a Dutch engineer, philosopher, politician for the Christian Union, and Emeritus Professor of Philosophy in the Netherlands.
Biography
Born in Borger, Schuurman attended the Protestant primary school i ...
.
Publications
* Zelfbeeld en wereldbeeld. Antirevolutionairen en het buitenland, 1848–1905 (Uitgeverij Kok: Kampen, 1992). Proefschrift.
* Herenmuiterij. Vernieuwing en sociaal conflict in de antirevolutionaire beweging, 1871–1894 (Leiden, 1994)
* Uitzien naar de zin. Inleiding tot een christelijke geschiedbeschouwing (Uitgeverij Groen: leiden, 1996).
* ‘Das abschied eines antirevolutionärs von Deutschland. Abraham Kuyper (1837–1920) und Adolf Stoecker (1835–1909)’, in: Jahrbuch Zentrum Für Niederlande-Studien (Verlag Regensberg: Münster, 1998).
* Op zoek naar de samenleving. Over anti-utopisch denken en politieke verantwoordelijkheid (Rotterdam, 1999). Inaugurele oratie.
* Op het breukvlak van twee millennia (Willem de Zwijgerstichting: Apeldoorn, 1999)
* Kunst van het leven. De cultuuruitdaging van de 21e eeuw (Rotterdam, 1999). Redactie met L. la Riviere en prof.dr. J.-P. Balkenende
* ‘Tot een voorbeeld zult Gij blijven’. Mr. G. Groen van Prinsterer. Biografie (Amsterdam, 2001).
* ‘Techniek en politiek: humaniteit, moraliteit en openbaar bestuur’, in: Kees Boersma, Jan van der Stoep, Maarten Verkerk, Ad Vlot, Aan Babels stromen. Een bevrijdend perspectief op ethiek en techniek (Amsterdam, 2002).
* ‘Human Identity and Reformational Social Philosophy’, in: Philosophia Reformata (jaargang 69, 2004, no. 1).
* ‘Dialoog en vervreemding als politieke werkelijkheid’, in: Govert Buijs, Peter Blokhuis,
Sander Griffioen Sander Griffioen (born 31 May 1941) is a Dutch philosopher, and Emeritus Professor for intercultural philosophy at the Vrije Universiteit in Amsterdam.
Biography
Born in Loenen aan de Vecht, Griffioen studied at the Vrije Universiteit
The V ...
, Roel Kuiper (redactie), Homo Respondens. Verkenningen rond het mens-zijn (Buijten en Schipperheijn: Amsterdam, 2005).
* Over de schutting, Op weg naar nieuwe solidariteit, Redactie samen met Cors Visser (Buijten en Schipperheijn: Amsterdam, 2005).
* ‘Groen van Prinsterer’s Ongeloof en Revolutie (1847)’, in: F.G.M. Broeyer en D.Th. Kuiper, Is ’t waar of niet? Ophefmakende publicaties uit de ‘lange’ negentiende eeuw (Meinema: Zoetermeer, 2005).
* ‘Heimat und Fremde – Herausforderungen im Zeitalter von Migration und Globalisierung’, in: Erkenntnis und Glaube, band 36 (
Evangelische Verlagsanstalt
The Evangelische Verlagsanstalt (EVA) is a denominational media company founded in Berlin in 1946. Its shareholders are the and the Evangelical-Lutheran Church of Saxony. The managing director is Sebastian Knöfel.
Book publisher
The range inc ...
: Leipzig, 2006).
* ‘De praktijk van het sociaal werk’, in: Henk Jochemsen, Roel Kuiper, Bram de Muynck, Een theorie over praktijken. Normatief praktijkmodel voor zorg, sociaal werk en onderwijs (Buijten en Schipperheijn: Amsterdam, 2006).
References
*
Parlement.com biography
External links
*
Senate biography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kuiper, Roel
1962 births
Living people
20th-century Dutch philosophers
21st-century Dutch philosophers
21st-century Dutch politicians
Calvinist and Reformed philosophers
Christian apologists
Christian Union (Netherlands) politicians
Dutch Christian writers
20th-century Dutch historians
Academic staff of Erasmus University Rotterdam
Members of the Senate (Netherlands)
People from Hardenberg
Reformed Churches (Liberated) Christians from the Netherlands
Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam alumni
Academic staff of Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam