De grootte van de Bond. De getalsmatige ontwikkeling van de Gereformeerde Bond 1973-2015

Abstract

This article analyzes the numerical growth of the Gereformeerde Bond (GB), one of the largest groups of reformed Christians in the Netherlands, by calculating the number of its adherents on the basis of ministers shared by local congregations associated with the GB. A period of modest growth in the 1970s and 1980s is followed by a rapid decline: in 2015 the total number of adherents is approximately half that of 1973. This decline in adherents per congregations starts earlier and is more substantial than that of local congregations with at least one GB minister. The emergence of the Hersteld Hervormde Kerk played only a minor role in this process. Compared to all reformed denominations in the Netherlands, the decline in membership of the GB is larger.