The Roman Catholic State Party ( nl, Roomsch-Katholieke Staatspartij, RKSP) was a

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

political party in the Netherlands This article lists political parties in the Netherlands, which has a multi-party system with numerous political parties, in which any one party has little chance of gaining power alone, and parties often work with each other to form coalition go ...

. The party was founded in 1926 as a continuation of the

General League of Roman Catholic Caucuses A general officer is an officer of high rank in the armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colonel."general, adj. and n.". OED O ...

. During its entire existence, the party was in government. In 1945 the party became the

Catholic People's Party The Catholic People's Party ( nl, Katholieke Volkspartij, KVP) was a Catholic Christian democratic political party in the Netherlands. The party was founded in 1945 as a continuation of the Roman Catholic State Party, which was a continuation of ...

(KVP).

History

The RKSP was founded 3 June 1926, as the continuation of the

. Since 1918, the General League called itself RKSP informally. Instead of the loose league of caucuses with little

party discipline Party discipline is a system of political norms, rules and subsequent respective consequences for deviance that are designed to ensure the relative cohesion of members of the respective party group. In political parties specifically (often refe ...

, as the General League was, the RKSP became a real party, with stronger party discipline and organisation. In 1922 another Catholic party, the

Roman Catholic People's Party The Roman Catholic People's Party (in Dutch: ''Roomsch-katholieke Volkspartij'', RKVP) was a Dutch Social Catholic political party. The RKVP played only a marginal role in Dutch politics. Party History The RKVP was founded in 1922 by Pius Arts. I ...

, was founded by former members of the General League. It was oriented towards Catholic workers. The General League received little competition from this party, but accelerated the RKSP's process of party-formation. During the 1920s and the 1930s, the RKSP was the biggest party in the Netherlands, receiving a steady 30% percent of the vote at each election. During this entire period the party was in government, in coalition with the

Anti-Revolutionary Party The Anti-Revolutionary Party ( nl, Anti-Revolutionaire Partij, ARP) was a Protestant conservative and Christian democratic political party in the Netherlands. The party was founded in 1879 by Abraham Kuyper, a neo-Calvinist theologian and mi ...

(ARP) and the

Christian Historical Union The Christian Historical Union ( nl, Christelijk-Historische Unie, CHU) was a Protestant Christian democratic political party in the Netherlands. The CHU is one of the predecessors of the Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA), into which it merged i ...

(CHU), two

Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century against what its followers perceived to b ...

parties. This coalition was called the Coalition. Despite its success, the party was blocked from many political offices. Positions like the Vice-President of the

Council of State A Council of State is a governmental body in a country, or a subdivision of a country, with a function that varies by jurisdiction. It may be the formal name for the cabinet or it may refer to a non-executive advisory body associated with a head o ...

and the President of the Senate and

House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entitles. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often c ...

of the

States General The word States-General, or Estates-General, may refer to: Currently in use * Estates-General on the Situation and Future of the French Language in Quebec, the name of a commission set up by the government of Quebec on June 29, 2000 * States Gener ...

were all occupied by Protestants. The RKSP also supplied only one Prime Minister,

Charles Ruijs de Beerenbrouck Charles Joseph Marie Ruijs de Beerenbrouck (1 December 1873 – 17 April 1936) was a Dutch politician of the defunct Roman Catholic State Party (RKSP), later formed to the Catholic People's Party (KVP) now merged into the Christian Democratic A ...

, between 1929 and 1933. The cooperation with the ARP and CHU was problematic. In 1925 the Ruijs de Beerenbrouck cabinet was composed of the ARP, the CHU and the General League fell over the Dutch representation at the

Holy See The Holy See ( lat, Sancta Sedes, ; it, Santa Sede ), also called the See of Rome, Petrine See or Apostolic See, is the jurisdiction of the Pope in his role as the bishop of Rome. It includes the apostolic episcopal see of the Diocese of R ...

. This issue continued to divide the RKSP and the CHU and the ARP, as did the prohibition of traditional marches by Catholic churches and the role of government in the economy. The

second Colijn cabinet The Second Colijn cabinet was the cabinet of the Netherlands from 26 May 1933 until 31 July 1935. The cabinet was formed by the political parties Roman Catholic State Party (RKSP), Anti-Revolutionary Party (ARP), Christian Historical Union (CHU) ...

fell because the RKSP wanted a more interventionist economic policy, but that cabinet was restored. In 1939, however, the fourth Colijn cabinet fell again on economic policy. In 1939, a coalition of RKSP, CHU,

Free-thinking Democratic League The Free-thinking Democratic League ( nl, Vrijzinnig Democratische Bond, VDB) was a progressive liberal political party in the Netherlands. Established in 1901, it played a relatively large role in Dutch politics, supplying one Prime Minister, ...

(VDB) and Social Democratic Workers' Party (SDAP) ended more than 20 years of Coalition government. After

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

, the RKSP was replaced by the

Ideology

The RKSP based on biblical norms and

Catholic dogma A dogma of the Catholic Church is defined as "a truth revealed by God, which the magisterium of the Church declared as binding." The ''Catechism of the Catholic Church'' states: Dogma can also pertain to the collective body of the church's d ...

. An important encyclical was '' Rerum novarum'' of 1891. In this Pope

Leo XIII Pope Leo XIII ( it, Leone XIII; born Vincenzo Gioacchino Raffaele Luigi Pecci; 2 March 1810 – 20 July 1903) was the head of the Catholic Church from 20 February 1878 to his death in July 1903. Living until the age of 93, he was the second-ol ...

called for stronger government interference in the economy, while denouncing

socialism Socialism is a left-wing Economic ideology, economic philosophy and Political movement, movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to Private prop ...

. The RKSP wanted strong government control over public morality: divorce should be limited, the Sunday's rest was to be kept, cinemas and theatres should be kept under tight government control,

alcohol addiction Alcoholism is, broadly, any drinking of alcohol that results in significant mental or physical health problems. Because there is disagreement on the definition of the word ''alcoholism'', it is not a recognized diagnostic entity. Predomin ...

should be combated. The party was a staunch proponent of a

corporatist Corporatism is a Collectivism and individualism, collectivist political ideology which advocates the organization of society by Corporate group (sociology), corporate groups, such as agricultural, labour, military, business, scientific, or guil ...

economy, where

employer's organisation An employers' organization or employers' association is a collective organization of manufacturers, retailers, or other employers of wage labor. Employers' organizations seek to coordinate the behavior of their member companies in matters of mutual ...

union Union commonly refers to: * Trade union, an organization of workers * Union (set theory), in mathematics, a fundamental operation on sets Union may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * Union (band), an American rock group ** ''Un ...

s and

state State may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State * ''The State'' (newspaper), a daily newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, United States * ''Our S ...

work together for the common good. The RKSP was in favour of

social Social organisms, including human(s), live collectively in interacting populations. This interaction is considered social whether they are aware of it or not, and whether the exchange is voluntary or not. Etymology The word "social" derives from ...

and labour legislation. During Great Depression, the call for a more active role of government was strengthened. Regarding foreign affairs, the RKSP was an advocate of Dutch neutrality, which was to be maintained by a strong army and navy. Furthermore, the party was in favour of the colonial government of the Dutch East Indies.

Electoral performance

Linked organisations

The KVP had close links to many other Catholic institutions such as the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

and together they formed the Catholic

pillar A column or pillar in architecture and structural engineering is a structural element that transmits, through compression, the weight of the structure above to other structural elements below. In other words, a column is a compression member. ...

. These organisations included the Catholic Labour Union, the Catholic Employers Organisation, the Catholic Farmers' Organisation, Catholic Hospitals united in the Yellow-White Cross and Catholic Schools. The Catholic Broadcasting Association KRO and the Catholic paper De Volkskrant were the voices of the RKSP.

Important figures

The Limburg-based priest Weil Nolens led the party since its foundation, till his death in 1931. The former professor and minister

Piet Aalberse Petrus Josephus Mattheus "Piet" Aalberse Sr. (27 March 1871 – 5 July 1948) was a Dutch politician of the defunct General League of Roman Catholic Caucuses (ABRK) later the Roman Catholic State Party (RKSP) and later co-founder of the Catholic P ...

succeeded Nolens. Other prominent figures were

, Prime Minister between 1918 and 1925, and again from 1929 and 1933, and the young Carl Paul Maria Romme, who would lead the KVP in the 1940s and 1950s.

Electorate

The RKSP was supported by Catholics of all classes. In

North Brabant North Brabant ( nl, Noord-Brabant ; Brabantian: ; ), also unofficially called Brabant, is a province in the south of the Netherlands. It borders the provinces of South Holland and Gelderland to the north, Limburg to the east, Zeeland to the w ...

and

Limburg Limburg or Limbourg may refer to: Regions * Limburg (Belgium), a province since 1839 in the Flanders region of Belgium * Limburg (Netherlands), a province since 1839 in the south of the Netherlands * Diocese of Limburg, Roman Catholic Diocese in ...

, it often got more than 90% of the vote.

References

Literature

External links

* {{Dutch Christian political parties Confessional parties in the Netherlands Catholic political parties Defunct political parties in the Netherlands Social conservative parties 1926 establishments in the Netherlands Political parties established in 1926 Political parties disestablished in 1945 Defunct Christian political parties 1945 disestablishments in the Netherlands