The Netherlands:Society, Media & the Church

Fifth Professional Seminar for Church Communications Offices

Pontificia Università della Santa Croce

27th of april 2006

Dutch society (1)

• 16 million inhibitants

• Randstad versus other provinces

• ‘Americanisation’ of the economy

• Central right government

• Murder of Pim Fortuyn and Theo van Gogh

Dutch society (2)

• Assylum/ integration of foreigners one of the leading political themes

• As you all know…: strong on liberal values (homosexuality, euthanasia, drugs, prostitution)

Religion (1)

• Dominant secular society, but ‘kind of religious intuition’ remains present

• The image of a ‘protestant nation’, but catholic church by far the largest (4.5 million vs 2.5 million Reformed Church)

• Mainstream Reformed Church in decline, growth of orthodox-protestant and evangelical movements

Religion (2)

• Islam is growing fast (800.000-1 million), but lack of clarity in leadership

• Hardly known: number of foreign christians also increasing strong (Rotterdam)

• Church versus State ‘hot’ political issue (mainly because of radical muslim movements)

Catholic Church (1)

• From one of the strongest catholic provinces in the world to the lowest

• Seven percent of catholics attend Sunday mass (95% in the beginning of 20th cent)

• Lack of vocations (esp. religious life)

• Large number of lay pastoral assistents

• Financial & organisational problems

Catholic Church (2)

• Orthodox leadership versus dominant liberal flock & clerus

• But… the ‘hot’ polarisation has ended

• Looking for new inititiatives (small christian communities, Alpha course, etc)

• New movements welcome, strong in quality but low in number

Media (1)

• Explosion of tv-broadcasters in the last two decades

• Radio more and more a ‘jukebox’

• Internet strong and still booming

• Watching tv on internet increasing fast

• Newspapers structural in decline

Media (2)

• No catholic daily newspaper

• One semi-large general christian newspaper, two small orthodox-protestant newspapers

• Two more or less catholic magazines with a small audience; no real popular ‘family style’ magazine

Media & Religion (1)

• New generation of journalists: from specialists with own agenda to generalists without knowledge

• Islam has given new attention to public role of religion

• Catholic church leadership leading in image of christianity

Media & Religion (2)

• Death of John Paul II turning point in media attention for catholic church

• Bishops active on medical-ethical and social issues

• Media attention strong on folkloristic and surprising news, low in ‘serious’ matters

Church & Communication (1)

• Professional quality (information bulletin Bconference, diocesan magazines, etc.)

• Communication office Bishopsconference: 4 professionals

• Communication offices dioceses: 1-3• Internet ok on national and diocesan level,

moderate – weak in parishes• Electonical communication with parishes in

development

Church & Communication (2)

• ‘Internal’ communication impossible without using external channels

• Weak in measuring results of communication

• Weak in focussing on a few issues

• Difficult to broathen ‘the catholic voice’ to others than the bishops

RKK-zendtijd (1)

• Unique in the world• State sponsored/ budget: EUR 7 mio • 56 hrs Television, nearly 200 hrs Radio and

a very well developed website• From a service to catholics to an instrument

for evangelisation• www.katholieknederland.nl develops into

an independant broadcaster

RKK-zendtijd (2)

• Television: strong in emotion, weak in content

• Radio: strong in content, weak in outreach

• Internet: possibilities without a limit, but danger of becoming a narrowcaster

RKK-zendtijd (3)

• God voor…

• Afzien

• Childtelevision

• Videocasting on Internet

Having Fun!

• Campaign style of communications

• Tests on internet

• Sms mobile service Lent

• Benedetto shirts during WYD

• Podcasting priest

• Daily mass by the Cardinal

And a campaign that didn’t make it…

Thoughts on the future…

• Internet & Mobile Phone the most important “killer applications”

• Church communications has to be cross medial

• Need for courage to explore new ways (games!) and strategies

Anselm Grun osb:

“The most important challenge for a succesfull organisation

in our times is:

how to organize creativity”