The Christian Historical Voters' League (, CHK) was a

conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...

protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...

political party A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular area's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific political ideology, ...

in the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

Party history

The CHK was founded in 1897. It was a continuation of the National Party, which was founded in 1888 but had never won a seat in parliament. They were founded as one of several parties that were founded in the 1890s, which all turned again the leadership and ideology of

Abraham Kuyper Abraham Kuyper ( , ; 29 October 1837 – 8 November 1920) was the Prime Minister of the Netherlands between 1901 and 1905, an influential neo-Calvinist pastor and a journalist. He established the Reformed Churches in the Netherlands, which upo ...

, the leader of the Protestant

Anti-Revolutionary Party The Anti-Revolutionary Party (, 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 minister who served as Prime Mi ...

. Kuyper had initiated a new political course for Protestantism in the Netherlands, which included cooperation with the

Catholics The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

in the

Coalition A coalition is formed when two or more people or groups temporarily work together to achieve a common goal. The term is most frequently used to denote a formation of power in political, military, or economic spaces. Formation According to ''A G ...

, strategical support for extension of suffrage, a rejection of

theocracy Theocracy is a form of autocracy or oligarchy in which one or more deity, deities are recognized as supreme ruling authorities, giving divine guidance to human intermediaries, with executive and legislative power, who manage the government's ...

in favour of a specific conception of state neutrality,

sphere sovereignty In neo-Calvinism, sphere sovereignty (), also known as differentiated responsibility, is the concept that each sphere (or sector) of life has its own distinct responsibilities and authority or competence, and stands equal to other spheres of lif ...

and a strong party organisation and

party discipline The term party discipline is used in politics in two closely related, yet distinct, meanings. In a broad sense (also known as party cohesion), the discipline is adherence of the party members at large to an agreed system of political norms and ru ...

. The party was led by two

Reformed Reform is beneficial change. Reform, reformed or reforming may also refer to: Media * ''Reform'' (album), a 2011 album by Jane Zhang * Reform (band), a Swedish jazz fusion group * ''Reform'' (magazine), a Christian magazine Places * Reform, Al ...

ministers Minister may refer to: * Minister (Christianity), a Christian cleric ** Minister (Catholic Church) * Minister (government), a member of government who heads a ministry (government department) ** Minister without portfolio, a member of government w ...

Bronsveld and De Visser. In the 1897 general election, De Visser was elected to the

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

for the district of Rotterdam I, while Bronsveld became

party chair In politics, a party chair (often party chairperson/-man/-woman or party president) is the presiding officer of a political party. The nature and importance of the position differs from country to country, and also between political parties. Th ...

. A conflict between the two developed, as De Visser sought for the party to cooperate with other Christian historical parties, such as the Frisian League and

Free Anti Revolutionary Party The Free Anti Revolutionary Party (, VAR) was a Dutch conservative Reformed political party, which existed from 1898 to 1903. Party history The VAR was founded as one of several parties that were founded in the 1890s, which all turned against th ...

(VAR), while Bronsveld did not. In the 1901 general election, De Visser was elected for the district of Amsterdam II. In the same year, De Visser succeeded Bronsveld as chair and opened talks with the VAR. In April 1903, the VAR and the CHK merged to form the

Christian Historical Party The Christian Historical Party (, CHP) was a conservative Reformed political party in the Netherlands which existed from 1903 to 1908. History The CHP was founded in April 1903 as a merger of two conservative Protestant parties, the Free Anti Re ...

(CHP); in 1908, the CHP would in turn merge with the Frisian League to form the

Christian Historical Union The Christian Historical Union (, 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 in September 1980. History 187 ...

Name

The term "Christian historical" was used before 1897 to denote supporters of the main Protestant party, the Anti-Revolutionary Party, emphasising the Protestant nature of the

history of the Netherlands The history of the Netherlands extends back before the founding of the modern Kingdom of the Netherlands in 1815 after the defeat of Napoleon. For thousands of years, people have been living together around the river deltas of this section of th ...

. Furthermore, the CHK styled itself a voters' league instead of a conventional political party.

Ideology & issues

The CHK was formed as a result of dissent within the main Protestant party, the

. Unlike that party, the CHK did not recognise

Catholicism The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

as a legitimate religion. The party was strongly

anti-papist Anti-Catholicism is hostility towards Catholics and opposition to the Catholic Church, its clergy, and its adherents. Scholars have identified four categories of anti-Catholicism: constitutional-national, theological, popular and socio-cul ...

. Furthermore, the party opposed

universal suffrage Universal suffrage or universal franchise ensures the right to vote for as many people bound by a government's laws as possible, as supported by the " one person, one vote" principle. For many, the term universal suffrage assumes the exclusion ...

. The party was divided over the issue of

religious education In secular usage, religious education is the teaching of a particular religion (although in the United Kingdom the term ''religious instruction'' would refer to the teaching of a particular religion, with ''religious education'' referring to t ...

, with Bronsveld advocating Protestant-inspired public education and De Visser advocating separate Protestant schools.

Representation

This table show the CHK's results in elections to the

and

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 ...

, as well as the party's parliamentary leader.

Electorate

The electorate of the CHK was mainly constituted by adherents of the

Dutch Reformed Church The Dutch Reformed Church (, , abbreviated NHK ) was the largest Christian denomination in the Netherlands from the onset of the Protestant Reformation in the 16th century until 1930. It was the traditional denomination of the Dutch royal famil ...

from the upper class.

References

{{Defunct political parties in the Netherlands Protestant political parties Defunct political parties in the Netherlands Confessional parties in the Netherlands Political parties established in 1897 Political parties disestablished in 1903 Defunct Christian political parties Conservative parties in the Netherlands