Changing Images of the Nation in England, Germany and the Netherlands: A Comparison

Abstract

This article surveys how national self‐awareness, national master narratives and political action in the Netherlands, England and Germany were dominated by self‐images of being a Protestant nation through the nineteenth century until the 1960s in a comparative perspective. In spite of the existence of considerable Catholic minorities in all three countries under investigation, nineteenth century's processes of nation building were marked by the dominance of Protestants in the societal and political realm. Nineteenth century's historical master narratives in the ‘second confessional age’ forged a ‘symbiotic relationship’ between Protestantism and the nation. Historians played a crucial part in its establishment and consolidation. Throughout the nineteenth century Protestant historians nationalized religion and sacralized the nation. Although inclusive master narratives existed alongside Protestant imaginations of the past, Protestant historians enjoyed a privileged position in confessionally mixed states such as the Netherlands, England and Germany. The sacralization of the nation was epitomized in ideas of being a chosen people, an elect or holy nation. The decisive overall feature of corresponding Protestant self‐images was the belief in the singularity of the prevailing nation and its history. This article sets out to show that the alleged uniqueness did not correspond to reality. A comparative survey of dominant national self‐images reveals that they are less unique than propagated and rather overlap and resemble each other substantially.