Constructing Meaning and Group Identity Through the Gender Debate: The Case of Dutch Reformed Pietists on the Platform ‘Biblical Council M/F’

Abstract

In this study, we examined the gender debate within the conservative Dutch reformed pietist community. Using social scientific methods, we conducted an empirical analysis of 65 opinion articles on the platform ‘Biblical Council M/F’, to analyze how theological interpretations of gender and gender diversity functioned in the context of processes of meaning making and construction of group identity. Selected articles referred to either ‘gender ideology’ or ‘order of creation’ (terminology used on the platform). Articles were coded per section in NVivo, in two rounds. Our findings show that, in constructing group identity, authors contrasted people adhering to biblical values with those who did not, or those acknowledging binary categories with ‘postmodernists’. We identified a mixture of biblical and common-sense arguments along the lines of biology, which were used to highlight male-female differences. Furthermore, authors accentuated potential loss of religious freedoms, and employed alarmist language, urging readers to speak up against progressive norms in society. To reinforce this call, authors cited other Christians, but also non-Christians, as they were seen as witnesses to moral ‘truths’. We conclude that used arguments and framings, often negative and politically reactive, are part of a discursive strategy and have implications for the identity and meaning system of community members, particularly for those not conforming to the community’s gender norms.