The Low Countries

Abstract

In 2009 the world celebrated the Darwin year. In the Low Countries too, the twohundredth anniversary of Charles Darwin’s birthday and the onehundredfiftieth anniversary of the publication of On the Origin of Species were commemorated by countless events, exhibits, and publications. In Belgium, these celebrations did not inspire a public debate, let alone religious protest. In the Netherlands, however, creationists organized a leaflet campaign by which they intended to inform each and every household about their creationist alternative. This response did not come out of the blue. For decades, evolution has evoked heated debates both among Dutch Christians and in the public domain. In this chapter, we highlight the most relevant historical developments relating to creationism in both countries and cautiously provide an explanation for the remarkable difference in religious responses in the two small adjacent countries.