Overleven zonder grensbehoud: een landelijke protestantse gemeente in Vlaanderen

Samenvatting

The Protestant enclave of Maria-Horebeke is unique in Belgium. It is a rural Flemish community of 40 Protestant families united in a collective consciousness of being authentic descendants of the sixteenth-century bosgeuzen. They survived as a coherent & insulated community in a predominantly Catholic environment. Historical research shows processes of boundary maintenance that are no longer effective. Using triangulated research strategies, the community's survival chances without boundary maintenance were investigated. In the opinions of the community members, lack of local employment, the disappearance of agriculture, & the necessity of interfaith marriages, all leading to emigration, were the community's most important challenges. In addition to these external factors, overlooked internal factors include: the changing beliefs of youngsters, family quarrels caused by inheritance problems, the impact of family problems in the work of voluntary associations, & the emphasis on upward mobility stimulated by educational opportunities. Interfaith marriages can be functional under certain conditions, as can the presence in the community of people without family relations. Appendixes. Modified HA.